Nightwish gave first show in Kyiv with Floor Jansen
Last weekend, some of Kyiv’s concert halls were shaken at ones with two famous foreign bands, which were rocking thousands of Ukrainians. On Saturday, May 21, we’ve enjoyed the evening with the German industrial metallers Oomph! and the next day there was the show of the Finnish legendary band Nightwish.
The news about the Nightwish’s unscheduled gig in Kyiv appeared just a couple months ago. Previously the band was expected in Minsk, however, the organizers were forced to cancel the event in their town and move it to the stage of the Palace "Ukraine" in Kyiv. Thus, last Sunday, the Finnish metallers played the incredibly loud concert in Kyiv, presenting their latest LP "Endless Forms Most Beautiful". Nightwish also visited Ukraine for the first time with the new vocalist Floor Jansen.
The first thing that caught an eye about the advertising posters was the concert's venue. However, for sure, there was no way to find in Kyiv a better place in such a short period of time to hold thousands of people that have occupied the stalls, all the rows of the upper circle and even the side lodges. Several floors and a large number of entries and exits helped the organizers to avoid the crowds. The show had to start at 7pm, by this time the concert hall was already filled up with the listeners of all ages. The first sectors were actively preparing for the flashmob to greet the band. The noise of the crowd and chants like "Nightwish" began even before the musicians came on stage. Later it seemed that the shouts and whistles didn’t stop at all.
After the short instrumental intro the Finnish metal band came up to the stage, which was adorned with some interesting decorations following the style of the latest record. With the musicians’ coming out, the listeners immediately jumped to feet, filled the place near the stage and the aisles, completely forgetting about their sits. The first track "Shudder Before The Beautiful", which also opens the new album, was accompanied by endless shouts, jumps and real bustle in the stalls. The audience sang the verses of the song and dragged to the stage. During the last notes of the track the huge Finnish flag appeared in the first sectors consisting of blue and white A4 papers sheets in people’s hands.
Floor Jansen turned to the audience, expressing her admiration for this energy flow and such a warm welcome. After a few words about the spontaneous appearance in Kyiv, the musicians continued the show with the track "Yours Is The An Empty Hope". The concert was accompanied by stunning light effects, the large and relatively low stage allowed the band members endlessly move on it, playing in pairs, and to approach close to fans.
Nightwish have made truly "live" performance. The bass player and second vocalist Marco Hietala also spoke a lot with the audience between songs, the narrator’s voice have told some short legend tales and Troy Donockley’s Irish bagpipe music became a kind of melodic intros to the following songs.
Such a bright set lasted about two hours. During this time the musicians performed sixteen songs: six tracks from the last album and some other popular compositions, including "Nemo", "She Is My Sin", "While Your Lips Are Still Red". At the time of the next short break Floor Jansen spoke with the audience again, the singer mentioned the Eurovision Song Contest and congratulated Ukrainians on winning.
Having finished the second and the third part of the final song "The Greatest Show On Earth", the band's members gathered in the stage center for a final bow. With the loud applause the musicians were shaking hands with people in the first rows, the guitarist Erno Vuorinen pleased the crowd with several mediators and setlists. The band has already disappeared behind the scenes, but the storm of emotions in the concert hall did not abate for a long time. The listeners continued to chant "Nightwish" staying on their places, even though the lights in the hall were already lit.
Setlist:
- Intro: Roll Tide / Hans Zimmer
- Shudder Before The Beautiful
- Yours Is An Empty Hope
- Ever Dream
- Storytime
- My Walden
- While Your Lips Are Still Red
- Elan
- Weak Fantasy
- Sahara
- She Is My Sin
- I Want My Tears Back
- Nemo
- Stargazers
- Ghost Love Score
- Last Ride Of The Day
- The Greatest Show On Earth (chapters 2 & 3)
By Yuri Somov and Anastezia
Noizr Zine thanks The Motley Concerts for the accreditation