Reviewed by: Andrew Treadwell
Evanescence seemed to almost become the band that time forgot, with an extended break from music and touring, but if the crowds judgement was anything to go by, no one forgot them, but they did certainly miss them, and made sure they showed their appreciation, throughout the set.
Supporting on this tour was Blaqk Audio, which consisted of the front man from AFI and a DJ. An interesting support choice as the music was a lot more pop which you would think wouldn’t mesh well with the crowd. It very much reminded me of Australian band Amy Meredith to be perfectly honest. None the less the crowd seem to enjoy it.
After a small break Evanescence took to the stage powering into What You Want from their newest and self titled release. Amy Lee commanded every part of the stage making sure all of the fans pressed up against the barrier got their fair share of attention, as did the photographers in the pit. Not wasting anytime they tore into the huge hit Going Under which led to this loud high pitched squeal from the audience which drowned out the band. The band behind Amy was really firing on all cylinders especially drummer Will Hunt, who mixed some absolutely brutal hitting with some unbelievable showmanship. Now at most shows I find myself watching the drummer, and you can tell the ones who mask there playing with lots of tricks, but Will didn’t need to mask anything, he gave the band a solid back bone for the night, and the fans what they paid for.
On the band I will say that guitarist Terry Balsamo barely acknowledged the audience all night, and pretty much faced the side of the stage all night, which seemed a little weird, but on the other side you had Troy McLawhorn on rhythm guitar and Tim Mccord on bass who played up to the fans making sure they got the obligatory gig souvenir of a guitar pick.
Amy kept the banter between songs to a minimum, which I thought made the show flow alot better, having big breaks makes it lose the energy. The next three songs were back to back, Weight Of The World, Oceans and Made Of Stone, after which a piano was wheeled to centre stage, and this is really where you saw Amy shine.
The small piano set consisted of Lost in Paradise, then the latest single My Heart Is Broken, which got a great response, then followed up with Lithium and Swimming Home. With the piano now gone the band belted out Sick, The Change, then another high pitched squeal for the massive chart hit Sober, again the crowd drowning out the band who couldn’t hide their smiles. This followed up with “Imaginary” and then one of the songs that put evanescence on the map Bring Me to Life rounded out the main set.
Of course the fans cheered for more and the band came out to finish off the night, again with Amy at the piano with Your Star and the chart smash My Immortal. You could tell the fans wanted more but up came the house lights and off they went into the night, many still dressed like Amy Lee.
Not really being a fan of Evanescence before I really was taken aback by how great they performed, and Amy Lee is just an unbelieve front woman, if they come to your neck of the woods, don’t waste your time decided, I’ve done it for you….
Essential Information
Date: 26 March 2012
Venue: Convention Centre, Brisbane
Website: www.evanescence.com
Check out the live photo gallery of the show courtesy of Andrew Insyghtphotography right here….
