T Paard, The Hague, The NetherlandsNovember 30th 2005
Apocalyptica
After playing at the Paradiso in Amsterdam the Sunday before, it was now time to hit the stage in The Hague. A freezing night, but luckily there were no lines outside. It seemed to be a quiet evening but the closer we got to the start of the show, the venue filled up more and more.
Music
Their set list was a mixture of almost all their albums. ‘Master of Puppets’ from their first album was sung along enthusiastically by the audience as was ‘Nothing Else Matters’, which was a wonderful moment of rest and sadness in the show. ‘Somewhere Around Nothing’ is the first song which is announced by Eicca. During this song Mikko gets his space for a deep and impressive drum solo to which the cellos are just support. All other band members were focussed on him, this was his moment and he got it. ‘Bittersweet’ could of course not be left out. They started playing this very delicate with 4 softly played cellos. Then under a loud applause Mikko returned and the song becomes powerful and intense. For their final bang they played ‘The Hall of the Mountain King’, this accelerating song was of course nice for some last minute head banging.
Their set list was a mixture of almost all their albums. ‘Master of Puppets’ from their first album was sung along enthusiastically by the audience as was ‘Nothing Else Matters’, which was a wonderful moment of rest and sadness in the show. ‘Somewhere Around Nothing’ is the first song which is announced by Eicca. During this song Mikko gets his space for a deep and impressive drum solo to which the cellos are just support. All other band members were focussed on him, this was his moment and he got it. ‘Bittersweet’ could of course not be left out. They started playing this very delicate with 4 softly played cellos. Then under a loud applause Mikko returned and the song becomes powerful and intense. For their final bang they played ‘The Hall of the Mountain King’, this accelerating song was of course nice for some last minute head banging.
Performance
The excitement rose while getting closer to the start of the show. Then softly an intro set in, distant cellos were to be heard. The audience immediately started to scream and many moved closer to the stage. Their light show was fantastic, it created just the right atmosphere for each song and emphasised the music. At the end of ‘Nothing Else Matters’ the only lights on stage were those shining through the deadheads at the top of their impressive chairs which was a great sight to see. Apocalyptica expects (deserves) and gets response from the audience. During their performance they all had contact amongst each other, jokes, remarks and looks were exchanged. They were enjoying the show just as much as the audience, even Antero left his chair (and not just to get off stage), Perttu took the microphone and screamed and the entire audience joined him. Many times the audience was asked to clap or shout and everyone joined in. Problems that occurred were solved with a smile such as the bow of Paavo exploding into one big bush of hairs and one of Perttu’s snares breaking. At the end Eicca’s bow was put to the test as well for he was banging his cello with it while his cello was lying on the floor. One by one they left the stage. Screams arose and then they returned with the entire band and they were welcomed like heroes, shaking hands and saying their goodbyes.
The excitement rose while getting closer to the start of the show. Then softly an intro set in, distant cellos were to be heard. The audience immediately started to scream and many moved closer to the stage. Their light show was fantastic, it created just the right atmosphere for each song and emphasised the music. At the end of ‘Nothing Else Matters’ the only lights on stage were those shining through the deadheads at the top of their impressive chairs which was a great sight to see. Apocalyptica expects (deserves) and gets response from the audience. During their performance they all had contact amongst each other, jokes, remarks and looks were exchanged. They were enjoying the show just as much as the audience, even Antero left his chair (and not just to get off stage), Perttu took the microphone and screamed and the entire audience joined him. Many times the audience was asked to clap or shout and everyone joined in. Problems that occurred were solved with a smile such as the bow of Paavo exploding into one big bush of hairs and one of Perttu’s snares breaking. At the end Eicca’s bow was put to the test as well for he was banging his cello with it while his cello was lying on the floor. One by one they left the stage. Screams arose and then they returned with the entire band and they were welcomed like heroes, shaking hands and saying their goodbyes.
Rating
Music 9
Performance 9
Light 9
Sound 8
Total 9 (8,9)
Music 9
Performance 9
Light 9
Sound 8
Total 9 (8,9)
Comments powered by CComment