CONCERT REVIEW: Nightwish Showcase Musical Prowess During Phenomonal Amsterdam Show

Nightwish are back in Amsterdam, in the Ziggo Dome, just like on their last tour. The only difference? This time they sold-out the massive 17k venue twice, months in advance! The reason behind this? Vocalist Floor Jansen got massively famous in The Netherlands due to a Dutch TV-program, which also means good business for Nightwish as a whole, as the symphonic metal act has broken through to the mainstream media and fans.

After selling out the AFAS LIVE as a solo act, it was now time for the Finnish metal band to entertain a solid 34k fans over the course of two evenings with their 2-hour-long set. We witnessed proceedings on the first night and were utterly impressed.

We saw Nightwish on their previous tour back in 2019, which was an incredible show, but tonight trumps it. Nightwish pulled out all the stops, pyro and fireworks included. Truthfully though, an act with such talented musicians, who play the most melodic of symphonic metal, really do not need that many gimmicks to impress. Nevertheless, it did make for pleasing visuals to go along with the goth-influenced symphonic metal.

The theme of the tour is the most recently released album Human. :ll: Nature., with some focus as well on the 2021 released Remastered version of Once. Both these albums made up more than half of the setlist, which made for a nice combination of new and old, albeit the old songs recently being refreshed in the fans’ minds. Besides from the new and remastered material, of course the fan favourites including Élan. It goes without saying that The Phantom Of The Opera was played this fine evening, in fact, the rendition that made Floor Jansen over-night famous in homecountry The Netherlands together with opera vocalist Henk Poort. This live collaboration was welcomed by a loud, enthuastic the crowd.

Now don’t get me wrong, the entirety of Nightwish is incredibly talented and it truly showed throughout the show, but as a fellow Dutch person, I’d be doing Floor Jansen a disservice by not zooming in on her (in my humble opinion) unmatched vocal talent within this scene. She’s gotten famous over-night in our small country with her rendition of The Phantom Of The Opera really to no surprise, as it sounded beyond incredible. Imagine a 2-hour set of this angelic voice throughout songs with for the ordinary hard-to-reach high notes, epic riffs and catchy keys. While the band focused mainly on the music, it was up to Jansen to maintain communication with the audience through chat and dance, which she seamlessly weaved in.

I was quick to dismiss the visuals, as it pales in comparison to the music, but besides the tons and tons of pyro and steam, the massive screens behind the band complimented the show extraordinarily well. Taking the fans on a journey through exquisite landscape as the melodies inscribed the senses is a combination Nightwish have mastered through and through.

Even if symphonic metal is not among your ‘main genres’, you’d be foolish to skip a Nightwish show if you have the opportunity to go, even if it’s just once just to see what the buzz is about. We for one are grateful to have been there and would love to give you an idea of what the show looked like via the gallery below!

CONCERT REVIEW: Set It Off Amaze During Colourful ‘Welcome To Elsewhere’ Show In The Netherlands

Finally, after waiting for 2,5 years, the Set It Off show that was announced in 2019 could finally take place. Armed with a brand new album Elsewhere, Set It Off had no issues selling-out the Pandora room in Utrecht’s beautiful TivoliVredenburg. Last time we saw Set It Off, the band played a significantly smaller show in Amsterdam, which also sold-out months in advance by the way, but it is nice to see the band taking on new heights as their music grows in popularity and uniqueness.

Just like last time in Amsterdam, the show matches the era in which the band is currently in, which means they’ve swapped out the blue aesthetic for the bright and colourful neon kinda theme they have going on now, which made for a better night for the photographers atleast. It seems that in very dedicated fans, Set It Off have also made some strides, with some fans queueing early in the day and the VIP-packages as popular as the tickets to the show itself. Before the show started, several announcements were made from the ‘Midnight Society‘, counting down to the methaphorical curtain drow and the kick-off of the show, which happened with the Elsewhere track Skeleton, quickly followed by Projector, another single from the current era.

The setlist featured a lot from the new album, but equally as much from the band’s popular 2014 release Duality. Picking a setlist must be hard with 5 full-length albums under your belt, but besides from playing 17 songs, Set It Off also played a medley consisting of an additional 9 tracks from their discography, giving the hardcore fans that know every song inside-out an extra treat.

As far as gimmicks go, Set It Off brought along an extensive light set-up to go with the colourful theme surrounding Elsewhere and its European tour and generally kept the energy very high. One after the other fast-paced song was played and sung back loudly, even the faster rap-like lyrics that Set It Off often features in their songs. I was impressed that vocalist Cody Carson could remember all the lyrics, let alone the legion of fans. Impressive.

Halfway through the set, things took a turn, as Cody Carson took his place behind the keyboard to perform the emotional Unopened Windows, which was led-in by a story by Carson, sharing how he unfortunately lost his father years ago and wrote this song as a result. It is beautiful how an entire room can be so loud and outgoing one second, for it to be quiet enough to hear a pin drop the next.

Later in the set, Set It Off‘s line-up also briefly changed around, with vocalist Cody Carson taking place behind the drum, while drummer Maxx Danziger took on vocal duties for the song Bad Guy while playing the ukelele, showcasing the diversity in musical talent that Set It Off have on stage.

From production to showmanship on stage, Set It Off have turned it up a nodge on the current Elsewhere tour and we feel fortunate to have witnessed the show. We also chatted with the band before they took the stage to discuss their new album & more. This interview will be with you shortly. For now, check out Eva van den Bosch her photos and make sure to catch Set It Off on tour next time they announce, cause their current trek is sold-out!

CONCERT REVIEW: The Chainsmokers Use Every Trick In The Book During Epic Amsterdam Show

Last night we did something a bit out of the ordinary: we attended a show that’s a little bit different than the shows we usually go to. We went to see The Chainsmokers live in the Ziggo Dome. Of course, one can argue they’re semi-relevant, as they’ve done songs with 5 Seconds of Summer and Blink-182, but truthfully, the show and the whole concert experience from The Chainsmokers felt very different to us than our ‘regular’ concerts within the alternative spheres.

For one, The Chainsmokers didn’t really have a setlist. Instead, they played a whole lot of songs from their own discography, with bits and pieces from several remixes of those songs in between. At times during the show, The Chainsmokers didn’t even focus on their own music, but rather played a dubstep-like set with remixes from a whole array of songs, including Everytime We Touch by Cascade, the hit song from 12 years ago.

The Chainsmokers did kick-off their set with the single from the most recent album So Far So Good: High. What makes The Chainsmokers special, at least to us, is their live line-up. While the group is EDM, Drew Taggart sings a lot live, and they even have a phenomenal drummer Matt McGuire who himself had a few tricks up his sleeve during the intense live show.

Speaking of tricks up their sleeves, witnessing The Chainsmokers live is a sensation for multiple senses. The music is catered towards a dancing crowd, with lots of drops and catchy melodies if they were not playing music of their own, making sure the crowd was excited throughout and uninterruptedly during the 100-minute lasting set. But that’s only half of what made this performance stand out. The Chainsmokers truly pulled out all the stops production-wise. A choreographed sequence of effects that included lasers, pyro, fireworks, confetti and drummer Matt McGuire drumming with drumsticks that were on fire made for this performance to be one of the most captivating ones we have witnessed ever. While DJ Alex Pall was making sure the music was on point, DJ and vocalist Drew Taggart often jumped down their platform to give the front-row fans some facetime

Music-wise I can almost guarantee you have at least heard one song from The Chainsmokers, whether that be Something Just Like This (with Coldplay) or Closer (with Halsey), there is something familiar in the setlist for all. Luckily for us, the new album So Far So Good also got some live coverage, with extended versions and remixes of High, Riptide and iPad. You did notice the audience reacting in an even bigger way when the bigger hits were performed, rather than the newer or lesser-known tunes. I guess the crowd at an EDM show also differentiates from those at shows within our alternative scene, where often every song, not just the popular ones, is being sung as loud and as enthusiastically as the next one.

In conclusion, while it was a whole different ballgame, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time with The Chainsmokers. It was a nice, welcome change of pace for one night and you can get a glimpse of the epicness we witnessed through the photos by Eva van den Bosch in the gallery below.

CONCERT REVIEW: The Pretty Reckless Play First European Show In 5 Years

It has been a long while since The Pretty Reckless played shows in Europe, but we are so grateful to have seen them live on their first European show in 5 years! With the release of their 2021 album Death By Rock and Roll, which we interviewed Taylor Momsen about, and their brand new album filled with remixes, acoustic renditions and covers Other Worlds, there are plenty of reasons for the band to do a trek through Europe. The first stop on this tour? A sold-out Poppodium 013 eager for their return!

We saw The Pretty Reckless for the first time many years ago, as they opened for Fall Out Boy in Amsterdam. Back then, they were busy doing promo for their second album and their setlist consisted mostly of their first album with some new singles. Fast forward 8 years and The Pretty Reckless are now touring their fourth album, playing sold-out shows left and right on their own. Since the release of the band’s third album Who You Selling For, the band have taken on a more mature sound, and this is reflected very well in their live show.

Back in 2014, Taylor Momsen did not seem overly comfortable up on that stage (if memory serves me), but on this tour, she is as comfortable as an artist can be. Relaxing chitchat with the audience, making jokes, it was an absolute treat to see Momsen woe the audience the way she did. Musically, The Pretty Reckless have been with the same line-up since the very beginning, so needless to say that the musicians work very well together. They play these songs like second nature.

Naturally, the band’s latest album Death By Rock and Roll was heavily featured on the setlist, just like the first and second album. Unfortunately, the third album Who You Selling For was only showcased in one song, the main single of the album: Take Me Down. The Pretty Reckless first did an extensive trek through the United Kingdom before coming down to mainland Europe, during which they repeatedly got the question why Just Tonight was surprisingly absent on the setlist, after which the decision was made to play Just Tonight on the remainder of this tour after all. This decision was met with great jubilance from the Dutch audience.

After playing a total of 13 songs, the band briefly submerged from the podium to then come back for the encore. It’s a well-known phenomena by now and in a recent internet post hilariously referred to as peekaboo for adults. The Pretty Reckless’ version of peekaboo for adults was an extended version of their hit single Fucked Up World, with a lengthy drum solo in the middle.

Curious to see what the show looked like? Check out the gallery below and let us know if you are going to any of the upcoming The Pretty Reckless shows!