NIGHTWISH / KAMELOT –

NIGHTWISH / KAMELOT – SRO Or You're SOL...Welcome To ProgPower USA




by Mark Gromen


The ProgPower audience is more of a collective, a family if you
will, forking out large quantities of cash (tickets, hotel, CDs and/or
drink) to meet up annually and enjoy music. While neither band were
official PP USA guests (both have previously played the two-day event),
the majority of the crowd was comprised of early arrivals (a pre-party,
if you will), but there was a contingent of NIGHTWISH and KAMELOT fans
who had no interest in the main festival itself. Just goes to show the
mainstream inroads both have made! In the case of Nightwish, they're now
selling out Stateside venues with a capacity of a 1,500, if not three
thousand. Still a drop in the bucket, compared to the European stadium
shows (we miss out on the fiery pyrotechnics as well), but it makes them
a big player on the domestic scene.





Overseas, Kamelot also utilizes a lot of fire. In Atlanta, the band
was incendiary, in human form. Force to seat drummer Casey Grillo on the
floor (performers') stage left, hair whipping keyboardist Oliver
Palotai bookends the opposite side and female back-up singer Elize Ryd
perched on an elevated platform in front of guitarist/founder Thom
Youngblood, who when not roaming the stage, played hunched over, feet
splayed. Much was made of the fact that the Center Stage, in downtown
Atlanta, was the first place Tommy Kareik sang with the band, initially
as just a guest slot. Now full ingrained and a vibrant part of the band
(this guy spends more time in a bent knee crouch than hall of fame
catchers), the connection to the audience (here and abroad) is evident.
'Center Of The Universe', 'Eden Echo' and the synthesized orchestral
strings, to start 'Sacrimony' (off the forthcoming Silverthorn album).
This newbie pummels at the start, before settling into a mid-tempo,
apart from the pounding chorus. It led into a short instrumental
spotlight for Palotai and Grillo, then on to 'Forever', the mix of blue
and white lights creating a steel hue. From the mini-riser at the front
of the stage, Karevik directed the crowd in a “whoa whoa” sing-along.





Anette Olzon nearly missed Wednesday night's debut! While the rest
of the band flew in a day ahead, stomach problems prevented the
Nightwish singer from getting on a plane until Wednesday. Luckily, the
airline industry and US immigration gave her no problems, arriving in
the venue just a couple of hours before showtime. Bet the guys were
sitting on pins and needles until she showed up! Perhaps that's why the
setlists remained the same, night-to-night, kicking off with
'Storytime', piper Troy Donockley (who plays an increasing role onstage)
seat stage left. Red, sleeveless t-shirt wearing founder, Tuomas
Holopainen is at the opposite end, bunkered behind his modest keyboard
array.'Wish I Had An Angel' and 'Amaranth', get the crowd singing along,
if not thrusting a couple of fists skyward. 'The Siren' leads into the
jazz portion of the show, 'Slow, Love, Slow', a showcase for Olzon (in
plumed New Orleans haberdashery’s finest) and bassist Marco Hietala, he
of the forked beard and wild sense of humor. They are seated on bar
stools during the song.





'I Want My Tears Back' enlivens things once more, Donockley
rejoining the troupe for the middle portion of the show. Keeping the
chapeau, Olzon grabs and tambourine and cheerleads throughout. The
back-to-back pairing of 'The Islander' and new/acoustic rendition of one
of their biggest hits ('Nemo') sees Olzon seated on the riser, drummer
Julius aka Jukka Nevalainen in front of his kit, hand slapping a
washboard/rhythm box and the keyboardist sporting an oversized Mad
Hatter/Willy Wonka top hat. The bombastic, instrumental 'Last Of The
Wilds' was the piper's finale. 'Higher Than Hope' was a tribute to Marc
Brueland, the late wheelchair-bound fan who greeted the Finns on the
ProgPower stage , back in '03. His mother and sister have remained
Nightwish fans and were in the wings during this performance. Olzon
claimed 'Over The Hills (And Far Away)', which received one of the
largest ovations, was another “tribute, to one of my favorite guitar
players”: Gary Moore. Fellow Irishman Donockley joined in. Returning for
the encore, it was 'Song Of Myself' and 'Last Ride OF the Day'. During
the final song, you could see the camaraderie between Marco, Tuomas and
guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, as the keyboardist played his second set of
synths (the “Finnish” model faces his bandmates, keys placed
vertically), windmilling his hair, almost teasing the smiling, crouching
six-stringer. Each laughing at the others. To close, Anette thanked the
crowd, especially those that attended both gigs.





A short hang and the band are backing on the tour bus, towards NYC
and the historic Beacon Theater (with a rest-stop in Baltimore), before
heading to Philadelphia, where BraveWords.com will reconvene with the
band.





More photos from Atlanta can be seen here.