Nightwish: Rocking Out Showbox Sodo

Nightwish w/ Sonata Arctica, Delain
Showbox SoDo, Seattle, WA
03.07.16

This is the second leg of the Endless Forms Most Beautiful tour for Nightwish. They have once again brought Dutch band Delain and fellow Finnish friends Sonata Arctica for this 27-date North American trek.

The Showbox SoDo was already packed to the hilt for Delain. So many people, and this was the start of the show. You could feel the energy and the passion from everybody there. Due to this being such a strong Symphonic metal line up, and the fact that both Delain and Nightwish are great female-fronted bands, it brings out the diversity of the audience. Lots of female fans of various ages, and parents as well.

Delain rocked the house with a 35 minute set. Things got even more exciting when they brought Nightwish bassist/singer Marco Hietela to perform with them on the song “Sing with Me”. The crowd went completely wild. You could tell Delain was quite thrilled with the reaction they received.

Next up was 5-piece Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. Though a different style than Delain, they had the audience eating out of the palms of their hands. Very high energy, plenty of jumping, and anthemic songs filled their 45 minute set.

The band everyone was here to see was quite obvious when the lights dimmed and the intro music started to play. It was an elaborate background set for the small Sodo stage. The large backdrop and all the amps were behind beautiful printed scrims, yet it was far less complex than the first leg of the album cycle.

Floor Jansen is an Amazonian vocal goddess. She is such a dynamic front woman with such a fitting voice. As they went through a diverse arrangement of songs from the catalogue, one could see how well Floor has taken over from the beginnings. Nightwish has always been a female-fronted band and it is clear to see how Floor has made this transition from her ReVamp/After Forever days.

At one point in the evening Floor took a moment to thank Seattle and the band for welcoming her on this journey that started nearly four years ago. Things started here in Seattle for her when she was flown in to replace former singer Anette Olzon. She said that night she was “shitting her pants” realizing what she was about to do and how almost four years have flown by, and that she has the band and the fans to thank for welcoming her into this crazy world. Even Nightwish main man/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen said to her and the adoring crowd that he always knew she was the one for the job.

The band played nearly 2 hours and sounded amazing. The crowd at times was as loud, if not louder than the band. They were all so happy and appreciative of the reactions. They put so much energy into the set and they got it back tenfold from the audience. Guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, Marco Hietela, and Tuomas Holopainen had several moments together, trading licks and laughs throughout the set while multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley added to the show during his later appearance. Drummer Kai Haito is incredible to watch. He is the driving force, laying down the beat to keep them all together.

The packed, nearly sold-out show was something special for all that were there, young and old alike, singing along with Floor as she performed. It was a great show, and everyone was thrilled to be a part of the homecoming.

Delain Set List
Suckerpunch
Get the Devil out of Me
Army of Dolls
Sing to Me (w/ Marco Hietela of Nightwish)
Sleepwalkers Dream
We Are the Others
Don’t Let Go
Not Enough

Sonata Arctica Set List
Intro
The Wolves Die Young
My Land
FullMoon
Tallulah / Last Drop Falls
I Have a Right
8th Commandment
Don’t Say a Word

Nightwish Set List
Intro
Shudder before the Beautiful
Yours Is an Empty Hope
Ever Dream
Storytime
My Walden
While Your Lips Are Still Red
Elan
Weak Fantasy
Wishmaster
I Want My Tears Back
The Siren
Sahara
Stargazers
Ghost Love Score
Last Ride of the Day
The Greatest Show on Earth (Chapter 2 & 3)
Outro