Epica in Salt Lake City Utah

Epica

This past Thursday was the first Epica concert in the Beehive State . I wasn't too sure to go because I had no one to go with but on Thursday morning I woke up and decided to go no matter what.

While in the trax ( I didn't want to drive up there so I took the trax to go and I asked my bf to pick me up after the concert) I was thinking in all the things I wanted to accomplisehd there in the concert:

- Be front row
- Talked with Mark (the guitar player and vocalist)
- Get Mark's pick

I was being quite ambitious while wishing those things but I believe that everything you want you get it as long as you feel you have it already, so I kept those thoughts in my head. The one that really would be impossible would be talking with Mark, VIP session is not what you would say "talking" so yeah I was quite ambitious on my wish.

When I got to the venue around 11 no one was in the line so I was the first one yay! Front row spot accomplished!!! It was such a windy day and I'm sure a lot of people didn't want to stay in a dusty windy day. While I was there waiting I notice Mark hanging out in the parking lot, I thought I better hide I really don't want him to think I'm a psycho fan lol so when I thought I was in a place where he can't see me he appears in front of me! He was taking pics of the venue and said hi to me! I didn't feel nervous, he's so down to earth! we talked about the weather, why i'm there so early, about my hair!! lol I can't believe I got to talk to him more than a simple hi! I got to talk for a good while!! Not even when you get VIP you talk this much so I felt quite blessed! :) Talk with Mark accomplished!!



Mark and I :D
My hair was in a braid becuase the wind was killer!!
 

I saw the other members but it was only a hi, I felt uncofortable with Coen because I was walking towards the Gateway Mall to get something to eat and he was going back to the venue and I said hi  to him and he just looked at me, What a difference! Mark was so amazing!! but Coen was so weird, definitely not friendly at all.

Diring the VIP session I was the first one of course and when all the members came to ther places Mark saw me and waved at me :) then I went to have my poster signed and I think all of them were more curious of my iphone case which is Rilakkuma one :) lol



VIP Session at the Complex

 

After that we all had a chance to take a photo with the members, it was nice! Mark definitely is a people's person! I can't stop saying what a great celebrity he is! all of the other members where so serious and even Simone seemed a little annoyed, so I guess they are tired of doing this which is understandable but I was amazed how Mark is! Great Musician and person! my highest respect for him!

After the VIP session we went inside the venue and of course I got my front row! :) and great spot! The waiting was terrible!! I think almost two hours with a horrible techno background music lol

First band that played was Insomnium which wasnt too bad but I think would be your generic metal band.



Insomnium

 

Then Alestorm, what a weird band!! lol So weird!! all pirate-ish lol  It was entertaining though :)



Alestorm

 

Finally it was Epica's turn! It was great! They are prefect live!!
The setlist was great!

1. Karma
2. Monopoly on Truth
3. Sensorium
4. Unleashed
5. Martyr of the Free World
6. Serenade of Self-destruction
7. Black Infinity
8. Cry for the Moon
9. The Obsessive Devotion
10. Quietus
11. Sancta Terra
12. The Phantom Agony

Encore
1. Chasing the Dragon
2. Storm the Sorrow
3. Consign to Oblivion



Mark like a boss!!



During Quietus



Isaac without shirt

The crowd was good as well, I was a little worried because for the previews bands it was almost dead! with sooo many akward silent moments but with Epica was better! I'm happy for that! The venue was so full of smoke that all the pics I took don't look that good :/ but oh well

And now my last wish was realized! at the end of the concert The band threw some bottles to the audience and then Mark gave me his guitar pick!! yeah!! Getting Mark's pick accomplished!! Wow I got all the things I wanted! I'm so glad I went to the concert!!

I love Epica so much!! I can't wait for future concerts! Now I'm still healing from all the headbanging lol my neck hurts and I walk like a grandma because my legs hurt so bad! and it's Sunday already! that means I really went for it at the concert! lol :)

Well have a great day!!

T.

Song of the week: Epica - Avalanche

I noticed that I love soft/sweet voice female singers haha ...  And Simone Simons fits that :) but I should add that she has a really strong voice as well :)



Simone Simons

 

 

Give it a try! And please don't mind some male grunts here and there, I guess that would be expected in this particular genre :)

I love Epica and they will finally come to Utah this Nov 8th so I'm quite excited :D I can't wait!!

T.

Song of the week: Nightwish - Turn Loose The Mermaids

As many of you may know I'm a big fan of Nightwish and the fact that they parted ways with Anette Olsson (She doesn't want Olzon anymore) made me really sad. ( read here about it )

Sweet Anette

She's such a nice person, I've bee reading her blog for quite a while and you can tell that she's a really nice caring person! And the fact I saw her in her last concert ever with Nightwish made me feel more closer to her as a fan. ( read here about the concert )

Please listen to this song and you will notice the sweetness of her voice.





I'll miss Anette a lot and I honestly don't think I can listen to Nightwish for a while because of all that happened ... :(

Enjoy the beautiful song :)
Don't forget to check the past songs of the week :)

T.

Nightwish and Anette Olzon part ways

I woke up this morning wanting to check's Anette's blog to see if she was feeling better but instead of that I read this!!! I can't believe this happen right after our Salt Lake City show!



Dang I remember I was so excited for the show and that Anette was going to sing for us!! ( read my concert experience here )

I feel honored to had been part of her last show ever with Nightwish but I can't help to feel really really sad! I had liked her (still like her of course) from the begining I think I was part of the small minority that was happy for the change and enjoyed her voice!

She was really sick these days she couldn't sing in the Denver CO show because of her health and dehydration, If you read her blog (read here ) you can see they found a big cyst on her liver, I really hope this is a benign one and no more than that!

I just don't understand what happened, She was excited that her sons were going to join her today! ( read here ) and now this sudden news! It just makes me think about what happened before with Tarja ... It was sudden as well, I just hope it was mutual and will help both parts. I won't judge anything I only think that many fans will not forgive this easily. I love Nightwish since the beggining and I'll keep suporting them but I feel that there's not so much stability right now and the future is unknown ...

I hope that with all these things that are happening she can get to rest a little and check that cyst back in her country. Her health is the most important thing this moment! I'll miss her a lot! I really like her! I think highly about her! such a sweet strong woman!

Nightwish last show with Anette Olzon Salt Lake City

I wish Anette nothing but the BEST in the world! and that she takes care of her health and her little boys now that her journey is going to be a little slower.

I miss you Anette!!

T.

Nightwish and Kamelot in Salt Lake City Utah 2012

Yesterday I went to Nightwish concert! (Imaginaerum tour) It was one of the best experiences in my life! Of course I wanted to enjoy it the best way possible and in order to do that I had to be in front row!! So that meant to wait for it outside for a crazy amount of hours lol



Waiting to see Kamelot and Nightwish

I know it sounds crazy but what can I say? If I like something I'll get it even if I have to sacrifice a little of my sleep haha

The wait wasn't that bad until it started to get hotter and hotter! we were barely in the 80's but it felt like 100!! we were in such a good spirits but the dang it was hot!



It's so hot! and there's not a single cloud around! :(

The venue (The Complex) wasn't well organizes at all! If i should rate it I would give it a 3/10 and those 3 are just for some nice security guys. everything else was so messy in the sense that it appeared that they didn't know what they were doing!

Some fans were to obessessed in my opinion. I like Nightwish a lot!! but some fans were crazy to the point they look a little stalkerish hmm not good, you know? I like to enjoy the music and appreiate their talent but I really don't see myself going crazy about their personal life and such. They are people just like me and they deserve their privacy and personal space. No stalking please!

Going inside the venue was like hell to be honest .... I really think the people working there were clueless about everything! We were practically the first people waiting in line (I went with my bf and our other friend :D ) and because the staff in the venue were so clueless and not organized we almost lost our spot that cost us so much to get! Fortunately we were able to get our front row just like we wanted!

The wait inside was another story! My bf is quite tall he's 6'2 and the girls behind him were complaining that he was too tall and they couldn't see anything ... like really? if you wanted a good spot why did you choose to stand right behind him? or why didn't you come earlier?? we sacrificed quite a lot to get our front row!! that's what you do to get what you wanted! Jezz these people ...

Finally Kamelot started to play around 8:30 It was so good!! I really like the new singer! he has such a nice voice and presence! and it helps he's quite good looking ;)

I really enjoyed they performance and they are just great! Kamelot is so classic! I wanted more becuase I was having so much fun! But they were the supporting band this time. I'm going to another Kamelot concert whenever they decide to come back here in Salt Lake they really know how to give a show!!

Around 9:30 Nightwish started to play! I'm glad Anette was able to come and sing for us! I read on FB she was sick and went to the hospital and wasn't able to sing for the Denver CO show. When I read the news I was sad but her health is first no matter what so I was ok in the case she wasn't able to sing but she did it! she recoverd a little and was able to be in the show like the great front-woman she is!!

They pretty much played the whole setlist they arranged for the tour (this is the setlist) except for Dead to the World and Song of Myself. Anette was still recovering so it's understandable they cut those songs.

I got pretty impressed by Emppu he's such a character! what a happy man he is! He's always smiling! He really caught my attention and I wanted to see more of his nice smile hehe

Marco is just how you see him in all the videos, that impressive tall guy with the viking beard.that looks from a fairytale or video game  :) He seems such a nice person

Jukka is quite nice and wild playing the drums which is just great! He's so fit! Man those arms! XP

Troy reminds me to the Lord of the Rings in a way hmm lol

Anette was just great! She wore the Bebe dress she blogged about a few days ago and she looked amazing! even my bf and friend were saying how hot she looked! Man Anette is such a role model! what a strong woman! I think really highly about her!!

Tuomas was in his own world playing and that's what got my bf's atention the most why? because he liked to see a musician enjoying his music and having fun without trying so hard. :)

It was a great concert! It was worth all the waiting and bad experience with the venue and people behind us in order to see this epic concert!. I got a bottle of water from the guys of Kamelot, a pick from Emppu, and a pick from Marco. I love Nightwish and Kamelot!!

Thanks for reading today's version of "the song of the week" check my past songs if you want!
Have a great day!!

T.

Song of the week: Nightwish-Storytime and Kamelot-Karma

It's funny how people think that it's weird that I like Symphonic Metal (I actually love it!!), they say I don't "look" like I would like that kind of music (or any rock genre)  and that I instead seem the kind of person that would rather listen soft mainstream music. They are so wrong lol ...

For this week I chose two songs to featured in my song of the week :D

Nightwish - Storytime




Tuomas Holopainen said that Storytime "is a single that pretty well represents the whole album (Imaginaerum) "

He also said about the song "How would it feel to take a midnight flight with a snowman through the most wondrous landscapes, like in the classic animated Yuletide film? The meaning of our very existence is created though stories, tales and imagination. They are at the very core of humanity."

I honestly can say that "Imaginaerum"  is my favorite album from them! It really is all I want in an album! I can't listen to it without skipping a song! Storytime is such an amazing song! Give it a try!


Kamelot - Karma




Karma is my favorite song of Kamelot and the new singer is great live!! :D

This song is mystic and it makes me go to another world! and as I said before that's what I look in music! *sighs*

I can't wait to see Nightwish and Kamelot  this Saturday Sept. 29th @ The Complex Salt Lake City!!! I'm so excited!! It'll be epic!!

See you next week with another song of the week! Oh and check last week's song here!! :D

T.

Song of the week: Nightwish - The Crow, the Owl and the Dove

So I decided to post about my favorite song of the week :)

For this week the song that I listened the most is Nightwish - The Crow, the Owl and the Dove from the "Imaginaerum" album




It's such a beautiful song!! This song is slow and relaxing compared to the other songs in the album  and it makes me imagine being in a fairytale, I love music that can makes me feel that way.



Marco (left) & Tuomas (right)

Tuomas Holopainen (Leader of the band) said: “It’s the only song on the album which is written by Marco [Hietala] and it’s a funny thing that the most metal head in the band has the most poppy song on the album.”

He also added  “It’s a fantastic song and it has quite a deep meaning behind it. I love Henry David Thoreau, the author and I read his book ‘Walden’ and that’s where I got the idea for the lyrics for the song.”

I highly recommend to listen to it and then listen to the other songs in the "Imaginaerum" album which are just wonderful!!

A.

Nightwish US tour 2012 setlist

Finally the setlist is revealed!! So excited for it :)

I can't wait for Nightwish to get here in Salt Lake City!! After so many years I'll be able to see them live!!

Anyways here's the setlist:

(Intro) Crimson Tide (Hans Zimmer song)

01. Storytime
02. Wish I Had An Angel
03. Amaranth
04. Scaretale
05. Dead To The World
06. Slow, Love, Slow
07. I Want My Tears Back (with Troy Donockley)
08. The Crow, The Owl And The Dove (with Troy Donockley)
09. The Islander (with Troy Donockley)
10. Nemo (with Troy Donockley) (Acoustic)
11. Last Of The Wilds (with Troy Donockley)
12. Planet Hell
13. Dark Chest Of Wonders
14. Over The Hills And Far Away (GARY MOORE cover) (with Troy Donockley)

Encore:

15. Song Of Myself
16. Last Ride Of The Day

(Outro) Imaginaerum

Getting ready for Nightwish in Salt Lake City!!

EDIT:

Here is my experience in the last concert of Nightwish and Anette Olzon.

Here about my feelings about Nightwish and Anette Olzon parting ways.

Please check them out!

A.