the Lacuna Coil show

[Lina]

Hey, some of you asked me to tell you how the show went, and I posted this on the "Dictionary in our language" thread, but that's getting buried. So I'll delete that one if it will let me. So here it is, with some changes:


OK, time for the show report!

what a dream! i've been listening to them for years, and i got my hopes up when they played in mexico, but FINALLY they came.

but they only played for about 45 minutes.

here are the songs i can remember (in no particular order), but i'm missing some:
- opened with "to live is to hide"
- honeymoon suite
- senzafine
- hyperfast
- halflife
- ended with "my wings"

they didn't play any from the first EP. there might have been one more each from "in a reverie" and "unleashed memories." but i was very surprised they didn't play more from unleashed memories.

the show itself was great. all the guys were wearing these robe/dress things, which at first i thought was weird, but after a while i thought it fit the band (no pun intended). but i think that would've been more appropriate at some huge festival with more stage production -- looked odd in this small hair-rock club. and the lovely cristina was wearing a red outfit that looked sort of asian. and god damn, she's hot.

and they all really got into it -- cristina did a lot of headbanging which was good to see. they did a lot of headbanging in sync, almost choreographed, but it looked awesome. the crowd loved it, and the band was very thankful. and i always wondered what andrea, the male singer, did on stage since he doesn't have that many parts, but he was great at getting the crowd pumped up.

i was rather surprised when cristina opened the show by saying they support the U.S. 100 percent in the "war".

but i had some personal disappointments. i really wanted to talk to them, but i missed my chance! there's this side-room that i went to to escape hearing Dawn from Rain Fell Within screetch (they opened, along with Brave). And two of the LC guys came in with three of the Moonspell guys, and we were sitting RIGHT NEXT TO THEM, just us in the room, and I couldn't force myself to say anything. I don't care for Moonspell, so I didn't know how to interrupt their conversation and address ONLY the LC guys. So I figured I'd talk to them after the show and try to get pictures. So afterwards we went to their bus and stood waiting with a few people who said that they were changing and they'd be out in 10 minutes. so we stood there waiting. and then cristina and one of the guys hopped out of the bus and RAN past us back to the club. then the whole band did the same thing. apparently they REALLY wanted to hear moonspell. i was really disappointed and surprised because everyone who's ever seen them has gotten a picture with them. i thought they'd be real accessible. and once you leave the club you can't go back in, so we just left.

but i'm just a weenie. the actual show was awesome. sorry i have nothing to report about moonspell. when i get my pics developed, i'll post some here. aahhhh, very nice to finally see them.

 

[Sadistik]

Yeah I'm gonna go If I don't have finals (playing in LA on the 20th)...I love Moonspell (Under the Moonspell was the first extreme metal CD I bought, back in '94)

 

[BillowOfZeal]

DAMN....I could not imagine have the chance to see Moonspell and just passing it up ...well i guess because i like them a lot....anyway i am thinking about going to Clevland from Nashville to see them but i have no money (maybe i will pawn some things )

 

[Brutalizer]

Thanks Lina!
Cool show review!

I regret it so much that i didn't went to see them when they played here in Sweden earlier this year!

 

[Mikael is God]

OH YES! They are playing at lamours TONIGHT TONIGHT TONIGHT I CANT FUCKING WAIT IYES YES YES YES! hah

and i hope they play senzafine that is my favorite fucking song! and they played it when you saw them, so that means maybe they play that alot, so fuck yea! and yea!

 

[tintin]

Hi,

I'm a giant The Gathering fan along with other female-led bands, like After Forever, Cocteau Twins, DCD, Nightwish, Within Temptation, etc. However, I always heard that Lacuna's music was more mediocre, especially compared to the Gathering, so I'm surprised at the reaction to this tour. Could anyone give a recommendation of their music?

 

[tintin]

Just a little backup to my idea that Lacuna's music might not interest me. This review is stolen from J. Chedsey SSMT review site, www.chedsey.com, which I respect.

Bland can be defined as not irritating or stimulating, or, in a more cruel way, dull and insipid. That is what the dictionary will tell you if you look up that particular word. Chances are after 2001, future editions will include a small footnote about Italy's Lacuna Coil, as they are now positively defining the musical vision of bland.

Unleashed Memories is an ironic title as many listeners might have fond memories of how this band originally issued a great debut EP and have only languished away in half-hearted, uninteresting music ever since over the course of a full-length album (In a Reverie) and another EP (the so-so Halflife). Now on their second full-length, Lacuna Coil has completely dived into a style that lacks the energy or excitement associated with any metal but fails to work its way into becoming interesting vocal oriented heavy rock, gothic tinged music or anything else. Instead, Unleashed Memories is the equivalent of elevator music or stuff piped into dentist offices to soothe their patients with music designed to lull the listener into placid stupor. Nothing about Lacuna Coil will appeal to fans who are into what the Gathering used to do or the Theatre of Tragedy institution of mixed male/female vocals. While The Gathering proved they at least had the courage to dive into a new style, Lacuna Coil dwells in purgatory between all points interesting and worth hearing. The band has committed the ultimate sin of being too sterile and bland to appeal to more mainstream audiences but lacks the fire to catch on with the metal world as well.

This is just dreadfully dull. Whatever initial chemistry Lacuna Coil had on their first EP has long been lost to lineup changes and the inability to forge a musical identity that sets them apart from anything but the used bin (where you are certain to find copies of this album being ditched in mass quantities by a hopefully more discerning music fan). I certainly will never choose to listen to this again.

Review by John Chedsey

12/01

 

[_Transparent_]

DAMN YOU! i want to see Lacuna Coil, please come over to England, i dream that their plane may land in England on their way back from America and they will tour here for the first time ever. and then the gathering will also come over. oh well i still dream. soon maybe (fingers crossed)

 

[Lina]

tintin, their music definitely isn't topnotch, i admit. the guitar work is simple, the drumming is relatively simple. it's just one of those bands that grabs me! i prefer cristina's voice over all other female metal singers, even anneke. and i love the interplay, back and forth, between the male and female singer. i love the lyrics too. i think a lot of the female-led bands have sort of a cheesy style, with lots of synths, etc, and LC isn't like that. but it's all personal opinion. i wouldn't look down on someone who doesn't like LC (but i would look down on someone who doesn't like Opeth ).

their first EP has some great songs, but it's not as full a sound as the later ones. In a Reverie has the most male singing. Like I said, I love that interplay. Halflife, the next EP, has my favorite songs on it, but both that one and the latest full-length, Unleashed Memories, aren't quite as "metal." They've still got heavy parts to rock out to, but if you're a die-hard evil metal fan \m/, you probably won't like it.



OK, wow, I just read the review you posted. Well, I simply don't agree. I love old Gathering, and I love LC EVEN MORE. While the Gathering "had the courage to dive into a new style" (i.e. lost their balls. i mean, TALK about ELEVATOR MUSIC!), LC has continued to rock. You should've seen them headbanging like shit up there. The Gathering just stands there, looking bored, hating their own fans. I don't like goth cheese, so I'm glad they haven't gone that route. And I think they have the best vocal lines of any band I've ever heard. They're definitely "vocal oriented heavy rock."

Give them a listen and make up your own mind. You obviously don't have an aversion to female vocals, so you might like them. They're much better than all those ridiculous opera-wannabes and off-key squeekers that are in some of those bands you mentioned.



edit: i've seen moonspell two other times, and they've acted like complete assholes (they were making fun of one of the LC guys' hair to his face) every time i've seen them. consequently i've never really listened to their music, because i've just been so turned off. but apparently i didn't like it the times i DID hear them, otherwise i would've paid more attention to them. anyway, sorry!

 

[tintin]

Hi Lina,

Thanks for the reply. I'll give them a try, and will probably like them. I recommend to you "Heaven and Las Vegas" by Cocteau Twins, or "Treasure" or "Victorialand". Liz Fraser is the best singer I've ever heard, the music is dreamy/trippy. Really amazing stuff from the 80s.

But you're not off the hook! If_then_else by TG isn't elevator music . It's more along the lines of Radiohead's Kid A sound, which is one of TG fave bands. Plus Anneke definitely expands her range on that album. As a matter of fact, it's so good that the rest of their catalogue kind of pales in comparison (although songs like "Travel", "Leaves", "In Motion #1" among others will always be classics).

As for their stage presence, I found Anneke to be very warm to the crowd the two times I've seen them. I hung out with them backstage once in Holland for about an hour and they were super nice. Just stood around talking with the guys, hanging out. Talking about movies and whatever else popped into mind. Anneke however was busy being interviewed but we still managed to talk to her a bit. She said she was going to spend New Year's Eve in a forest near her house with her boyfriend. I was struck by the strong presence she had face to face. She's one of the few people I've met who've reminded me of a comet zipping through space, meaning that she was totally independent, on her own journey, no one would get in her way, and she was either strong enough to get there or she would crash and burn. This sounds like goofy fan worship but I really did find her remarkable.

Rambling, rambling....

 

[Lina]

tintin,

i like amity, but i couldn't get into the rest of if_then_else. and i didn't like htmap one bit. BUT i also don't like radiohead, so it's not surprising that i don't like the gathering's turn. i know you will find this shocking. most people love radiohead. i've noticed i need either (a) fast-paced energy or (b) beautiful vocal lines when it comes to non-metal bands, and radiohead has neither for me. but i like amity enough that i bought the single which has 5 or 6 versions, including an all-out techno one that i have to admit i love. but nighttime birds and mandylion are in my all-time top 10 (ok, maybe 15) albums.

i think the gathering didn't enjoy their u.s. tour very much at all -- which they made clear. i'm sure you know all about them cancelling that one show in colorado because they had the sniffles or something, which i thought was really childish. and when i saw them in dc they wouldn't speak to any of the fans, played a short set, no encore, etc. they just seemed like spoiled rockstars. but they probably felt more at ease in their home country where you saw them. oh well.

i'll check out those songs, but i tend not to like "dreamy/trippy" music. but i'll give it a shot if you listen to some LC.

 

[Lina]

ok, i've got some pics. yes, i know this isn't the lacuna coil board. i apologize, but i said i would post some.

 

[Lina]

...

 

[Lina]

headbanging goodness!

 

[Brutalizer]

Cool pics!!
Thanx!!

 

[Lina]

you're welcome, but i'm not done yet!

 

[Lina]

...

 

[Lina]

ok, last one.