EVANESCENCE – Brisbane, Australia 24th August 2023
Evanescence at Riverstage in Brisbane, completely sold out, and was jam packed with eager peeps, all keen to rock out alongside the gothic princess of alternative metal.
For anyone wondering, AMY LEE DID NOT DISAPPOINT!!!
After a long 5 year absence, the Brisbane crowd were very vocal in welcoming back Evanescence to the stage, who seemed to thrive off the energy!
Amy Lee seemingly couldn’t stand still, as she worked her way all over the stage, reconnecting with her adoring fans.
For those of you expecting a ‘Fallen’ only set list, in honour of it’s 20th anniversary, hopefully you will not be too disgruntled to learn this tour includes many favourite tracks from across their discography.
Starting earlier than what was anticipated, their dark set lit up with the start of an impressive light show, the atmosphere built up with heavy beats, leading into their introductory song, ‘Broken Pieces Shine’ from their 2021 album ‘The Bitter Truth’, then following into ‘What you Want’, before the crowd going wild for the first ‘Fallen’ song of the night, ‘Going Under’.
It was wonderful to hear the mashups of melodies, that were thrown into the mix, resulting in a fun new way to enjoy some of their older treasures!
With vocal back up from their Australian bassist, Emma Anzai (fun fact: previously from the Aussie band ‘Sick Puppies’) the layers of depth and visceral reach of Amy’s mezzo-soprano voice brought comments of “I can’t believe how amazing her voice is live!” from where I was in the crowd.
The piano was brought on stage to a mass of cheers and applause, for the hauntingly beautiful ‘Lithium’ and it was visited time and time again for different songs for the remainder of their set.
Disappointingly, the stage was lower than what I was accustomed to at Riverstage, and was a visual let down, only being able to see the very tops of Tim McCord and Troy McLawhorn’s heads. It made it hard to see anyone apart from Will Hunt, who was elevated on his drum rise kit. Thankfully his long hair and high energy, more than made up for the lack of view of the other band members!
Engaging with the crowd often, Amy Lee shared many encouraging words of kindness and affirmation, you could hear the depth of appreciation towards their fan base.
Don’t leave the gig early! Finishing strong, the last song of the night was the track that bought world wide attention to Evanescence, ‘Bring me to life’.
The quality of Amy’s voice throughout the course of the 90 minute set seemed to almost improve, if that is even possible!
Thank you for coming back to Australia Evanescence! Hopefully it won’t be that long between visits, and we look forward to welcoming you back to our shores once again!
Reviewer: Lavina Graham
Photographer: Davey Rintala @fastlanephoto
