Portland Nightwish show review

Melusina

Century Child
Aug 12, 2007
127
0
16
37
OR
kpesznecker.aminus3.com
Alright as promised here is my take on last nights show.

First off as I have said I might not be the best person to do this because I do love Floor, but that being said I am not just giving her a free pass because I like her. I also consulted with my hubby as to his feeling on things because he had never heard Floor until last night. He 100% approved of her, but did remark that her shear size scared him a bit :p

I also feel like I should give a little background on my history with the band since many of you don't know me. I found Nightwish in 2003 and have been lucky enough to see them perform 5 times and have seen them with all three singers. It took me awhile to warm up to Anette when the change happened, but I have to say at that point after the Once album I had started to become disenchanted with Tarja's voice, at that point I had moved into listening to different metal and while Nightwish will always and forever be my favorite band, I actually kind of welcomed the change. So moving on to the show.

I have to give Anette credit for finally getting a decent crowd in Portland, let's just say my first two shows in Portland were complete and utter disappointment as for crowd turn out and participation especially compared when I saw them in Seattle which was a spectacular crowd. Last night the house was packed and the energy was high. When the band stepped on stage the place just lit up. As I said earlier Floor was given a very warm welcome, there were a handful of very confused people around me that hadn't gotten the message about the line up change, but they were still incredibly enthusiastic. Floor is a firecracker her energy just poured out over the audience and she seemed very comfortable on stage with the band and for me so much about a band is how good of a show they can put on, I loved Anette's voice, but I realized after last nights show that I was never really able to really get into the show the 3 times I saw her perform, at least not the way I did last night. Was Floor perfect? Heck no, some of the timing was off, she botch a few lyrics, did I like her rendition as much as Anette or Tarja's on some songs, no, but over all I thought she was fabulous

Now for a break down of the show

Roll Tide
(Hans Zimmer song)

Storytime - Personally I still like Anette more on this song, but my Husband actually liked Floor's rendition better.

Wish I Had an Angel - High energy, loved it.

Dark Chest of Wonders - The energy carried right into this song.

Amaranth - Didn't care for Floor's take on it, but to be honest I didn't care for Anette's either, it is just such a meh song in my book.

Scaretale - Both hubby and I agreed that it was good, but that this was really Anette's song and anyone else doing it was never going to be as good.

Dead to the World - Amazing enough said.

I Want My Tears Back - Really good I very much enjoyed it.
(with Troy Donockley)

The Crow, the Owl and the Dove - I thought Floor's voice fit this perfectly
(with Troy Donockley)

The Islander - I can't lie I missed Anette on this song, wich surprised me because I thought I was going to love Floor on this one.
(with Troy Donockley)

Nemo - To me it was the perfect compromise between Tarja and Anette. I always loved the song, but I liked the way Anette performed better than Tarja and I liked Floor even more.
(with Troy Donockley) (Acoustic)

Last of the Wilds - What's not to love? The boys just doing their thing.
(with Troy Donockley)

Planet Hell - Awesome!

Ghost River - Very good

Song of Myself - To me this is one of the most forgettable songs NW has ever had, I don't care who is singing it, I struggled to even to remember what the lyrics were.

Last Ride of the Day - I thought Floor really brought this song to life to me, I had never felt one way or another about this song, but the way she performed it was pure magic and I finally felt a true connection to the song.

I was bummed that Over the Hills and Far Away was cut from the set, but I can get over it hahaha.

So there you have it, it was the most fun I have had at a Nightwish show since seeing them with Tarja in 2004, which by the way I don't blame on Anette one bit, I blame it entirely on the lack of enthusiasm from the crowd, it is hard to get into a show when no one around you is.

Also thought I should post the video of clips from the Portland show here just incase people missed it in the other thread.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for the review, Mel! That's right, you saw them with Tarja too! So after this weekend, you and I will belong to the elite group of American Nightwish fans who have seen them with all 3 singers!!!

Of course, we are not about elitism here at the OSA. ;)

Honestly, I totally agree about Floor's take on "Amaranth" from the video you linked. I liked the way Anette was doing it on this tour and didn't really care for Floor's rendition. Then again, filling in for 2 distinctively different voices is a challenge for anyone and I don't expect anybody to squarely hit the mark every time. However, I was really impressed by her take on "Storytime", although I am a little wary about hearing "Scaretale" because I definitely agree that Anette left her mark on that song and any singer to come after will have as much difficulty singing it as Anette did with songs like "Wishmaster".

All in all, it sounds like you had an amazing time! Did you take any pictures to share with the OSA? ;)
 
Thanks for the review, Mel! That's right, you saw them with Tarja too! So after this weekend, you and I will belong to the elite group of American Nightwish fans who have seen them with all 3 singers!!!

Of course, we are not about elitism here at the OSA. ;)

Lucky bastards :p

They just need to give us some surprise add on dates here on the east coast with Floor. Ayup. That's what they need. New York City with Floor. (Hey, not possible, but I can dream, right?)
 
Lucky bastards :p

They just need to give us some surprise add on dates here on the east coast with Floor. Ayup. That's what they need. New York City with Floor. (Hey, not possible, but I can dream, right?)

I feel insanely lucky to have been able to see all 3 of them, the metal gods have been good to me.
 
Thanks for the review, Mel! I viewed all clips I was able to find from the first shows with Floor and regarding the circumstances, it's quite incredible to hear how well she adapted herself to the current backing tracks and arrangements made for Anette in such a short time of preparing and almost no practice. A true professional she is.

Also, it takes a huge amout of guts (or balls or whatever you have in the English vocabulary to describe the rare feature), but there is no better word than Finnish "sisu" to describe it, and Floor definitely has got it. Stepping in to replace an established vocalist in front of a couple of thousand fans with a few days' notice isn't just a walk in a park for anyone.


Btw. Floor just wrote about her incredible recent few days in her blog ---> *click*
 
Enigma just used a word I heard legendary F1 driver Mika Hakkinen describe in a segment on BBC's Top Gear motoring show. Anyone willing to step into the fire like Floor did definitely has some "sisu" or courage. I don't know what the Dutch word for courage is LOL. Good word, Enigma!

I'll tell ya, when I heard Floor do the old songs, I thought I was hearing a ghost! It was like Tarja had stepped into Floor's body. She is something! I loved her look on stage too...it fit the band more than Anette's Hot Topic discount rack look. As much as I liked Anette, I never got into her stage image.
 
Thanks for the review, Mel! I viewed all clips I was able to find from the first shows with Floor and regarding the circumstances, it's quite incredible to hear how well she adapted herself to the current backing tracks and arrangements made for Anette in such a short time of preparing and almost no practice. A true professional she is.

Also, it takes a huge amout of guts (or balls or whatever you have in the English vocabulary to describe the rare feature), but there is no better word than Finnish "sisu" to describe it, and Floor definitely has got it. Stepping in to replace an established vocalist in front of a couple of thousand fans with a few days' notice isn't just a walk in a park for anyone.


Btw. Floor just wrote about her incredible recent few days in her blog ---> *click*

She really is something else! Her blog post was pretty adorable as well you really can feel her excitement about the whole thing and everything coming from her just seems so honest and heartfelt. When she performs it comes across as well, it is like she is on stage doing what she is ment to do and loving every second of it.
 
Please, Tuomas...choose Floor to be permanent. Listen to the fans.

Mel, we should start a "draft Floor" or "pick Floor" campaign LOL!

I am in, we should make shirts and carry around official looking clipboards :D

I think it is funny I keep seeing comments from obviously uninformed fans about how they won't pick Floor because of her other projects and how the band has issues with anyone that isn't focused only on Nightwish. It makes me want to scream "You all do know that Marco participates in not one, but two side projects?" Seriously you know nothing about the band if you don't know that Marco has Tarot. Northern Kings I know isn't really that big of a thing and is clearly more just for the fun of it so I don't expect people to know that he participates in that as well.
 
I am absoloutely spellbound and captivated by Floor. I think they would be shooting themselves in the goddamn feet if they don't hire her permanantly.

LOL about Anettes stage persona. I completely agree. I don't think she EVER really had a metal look, it was very generic and looked... um... like a record label creation, if I am not being too forwards.
 
Does anyone know if this is Floor's first tour of America?

I think so! I can't see any tour information on After Forevers wiki, but seeing as how none of the albums were ever released here, I don't think she has. Oh, god, I now treasure my Prison Of Desire even more.
 
I'm holding off on voting for Floor until I can see more.

LOL @ Annette's hot topic look.

I'm jealous of everyone who gets to see ANY full show set list! *still bitter in denver*


X
 
I prefered Tarja's classy gothic image to Anette's almost comic stage image wardrobe-wise. I'm not knocking Anette as I was a fan (and a Tarja fan too...of her talent, not her as a person)...I just never liked her stage clothes. It was quite funny seeing teenage fans dressed like her at the show in Philly! I do hope that Nightwish can keep the fanbase they have earned in the States because with Anette as the frontwoman they were more popular than ever here. It makes me happy to see the little fan community that OSA is helped pave the way for a band that truly deserves the success they are having in the USA right now.
 
Does anyone know if this is Floor's first tour of America?

America? You mean USA? :saint:

She has toured with After Forever in Mexico and in South America but not in Canada or in the USA.

In the USA AF co-headlined on the the second festival day Sat Oct 6. 2007 at ProgPowerUSA in Atlanta. Three weeks ago she was again at ProgpowerUSA as a guest vocalist of MaYan.

Before this week there were maybe a few thousand people in the North America who had seen her perform live in Atlanta.
 
Man I have tried so hard to not bring up Anette's fashion sense, because I really try not to judge people on how they dress, especially since I am the poster child in our group of "hey look normal people can like metal too" The part that I can't get past is that I think Anette actually thought herself a fashionista. I had never read her blog up until now so I decided to take a peek back at some of the older posts and there were several about the clothes she had purchased and throwing around of designer names. Also I just never felt like she wore her clothes with confidence, like she was trying to be something she was not and her constant need to talk about it reinforced that for me.

I mean let's face it Tarja had some pretty damn ridiculous stage outfits too, the queen to of the pants suit is how I sometimes think of her because you know that is sooo metal, but her clothes never bothered me because Tarja oozed confidence.

Personally I think that Floor could come out wearing a burlap sack on stage and as long as she kept on headbanging I wouldn't even notice what she was wearing. The fact that we all noticed what Anette was wearing is more of a problem to me than the outfits themselves.