The legendary Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish made their way to the Madison Theater Monday evening. The Covington stop is part of their “Decades” tour as the group plays many songs from their 20+ year spanning history.
The Madison was nearly sold out. I was surprised to see this many Nightwish fans show up for this show on a Monday evening. Perhaps even more surprising were the types of people this show brought in. Fans came out in droves from the young and the old, the dedicated metal-heads and more casual fan.
The line waiting to get in stretched far around the building and far down the street. Upon entering fans were surprised and treated to a free CD copy of their brand new release “Decades.”
Shortly after 8pm, the house lights went dim as the crowd waited for the band to make their appearance. After patiently waiting a few minutes, the backdrop screen came to life. A narrator encouraged the crowd to enjoy a journey back in time with Nightwish. And on this trip through time they asked the crowd to enjoy the show as they would have several years ago: without their cell phones. The crowd was asked to put their phones away and enjoy being in the moment. I think a lot of bands should follow Nightwish’s lead here.
Relatively-new singer Floor Jansen sounded great on some of the group’s earlier catalog, such as fan favorite, Wish I had an Angel. It isn’t too often a band can change their lead singer without alienating their core audience, but if this show’s crowd was any indication, Jansen is a much welcomed addition to the band. Whipping her hair in windmills to the music, Jansen commanded the stage, telling the crowd to “buckle-up” and “put the horns up”, further exciting the crowd before launching into,I Want my Tears Back.
Nightwish had the crowd singing and fist pumping along the entire night. Their two hour set was over much too quickly leaving myself and the band still wanting more. It’s unlikely that many bands today will reach the longevity Nightwish has or will play this type of career-spanning show. So do yourself a favor and make sure to check Nightwish out while you can.
