It has been a while since the Arkansas, Grammy award winning phenomenon, hereby known as Evanescence, have been here in the UK. Slotting in 2 sold out shows during their European festival run, the British audience were privileged to see the new re-rejuvenated band at their finest.
Opening the show were Arcane Roots, a three-piece alternative rock band from Kingston Upon Thames. There was definitely a lot of love in the Apollo tonight for these guys. The nearest I can get to describing their sound would be Biffy Clyro meets Nirvana. Known for their energetic and hi-octane live shows they did not disappoint tonight. Opening with the full on “Over and Over” from ’14 single, the set then went on to lean heavily on their 2015 EP “Heaven and Earth”. They certainly put on a great show that was very much appreciated by the very vocal crowd tonight.
And so to the main event. Evanescence is just one of those bands that never fail when it comes to live performance. Amy Lee is an incredible front woman who draws the crowd in from the start. Her vocal was on top form tonight as indeed were the rest of the band. Amy’s single “Speak to Me” from the film “Voice from the Stone” is getting a lot of airplay at the moment, and along with the birth of her son 3 years ago she is in a good place right now. Also making her UK debut was German guitarist Jen Majura and it was clear that Amy is enjoying the injection of a second female in the band. This was particularly evident with the short acoustic set during the show.
The blistering 19 song setlist reads like a greatest hits album and this was clearly appreciated by the crowd. The set was clearly aimed to set us up nicely for the new album “Synthesis”, a collection of re-recordings of classic Evanescence tracks with an orchestra along with 2 new songs.
The London crowd were in fine voice this evening and unlike on many occasions, this really added to the atmosphere of the show. This was particularly poignant during the ballads “My Immortal” and “Lithium”. Of course, we were treated to the classics such as, “Going Under”, “Call Me When You’re Sober” and “Bring Me to Life” and there are just no words to describe how good these songs are, and live, well, just awesome.
It really was a privilege to be part of these shows in some small way with this review and photos and I for one cannot wait for the band to return to the UK.
Setlist:
Everybody’s Fool
What You Want
Going Under
The Other Side
Lithium
Breathe No More
My Heart Is Broken
Made of Stone
Haunted
Weight of the World
Say You Will
My Immortal (Acoustic)
The Change (Acoustic)
Whisper
Call Me When You’re Sober
Imaginary
Bring Me to Life
Encore: Your Star, Disappear
