Nightwish/Pain - Newcastle Carling Academy Gig Review

For rock fans Newcastle's Carling Academy has been a very busy place these past few months and many maybe feeling the pinch on their bank accounts as they try to keep up with the demands of not missing out on their heroes shows. One gig that joined a growing list of sold out performances was so far this year was the appearance from one of Finland’s finest exports, Nightwish. Recent years has seen Nightwish becoming a household name and, after the release of the stunning “Once”, world domination was in their grasp. However, as is often the case when greatness is on the horizon, potential disaster struck when lead singer Tarja Turunen and the band had a very public falling out and went their separate ways. For many the thought that the Nightwish story was over was a hard pill to swallow. Fortunately the band decided there would be life after Tarja and brought in new vocalist Anette Olzon, recorded another killer album in the shape of “Dark Passion Play” and jumped straight back into the live circuit.

For the UK leg of the “Dark Passion Play” support was provided by Sweden's Pain. From the off their techno-metal struck a chord with the audience and songs like “Same Old Song” and “Just Hate Me” got everybody nodding along. A nice surprise was their performance of The Beatles' “Eleanor Rigby” which they rocked up thanks to some nice menacing touches.” End Of The Line” and “Nailed To The Ground” rounded out their set that had featured tracks from every point of their ever-growing back catalogue. Special mention has to go to the bass player who gave one of the finest displays of head banging I have seen in ages.

Recently there have been some major gigs at The Academy where the front of house sound mix has left a lot to be desired (namely Korn and Velvet Revolver). So, when Nightwish hit the stage, the first thing that was obvious was how good their sound was, crisp, clear, powerful and damn near perfect. From the off the audience was “into” this gig big time, with the vibe obviously getting back to the band who instantly started to feed off it which all added up to a magical feeling. You just knew that tonight’s show was going to be special. Opening number “Bye Bye Beautiful” was delivered with real gusto, which to be fair, the band maintained right to the end of the show. “Whoever Brings The Night” sounded awesome but “Home” and “Dark Passion Play” left this reviewer totally in awe. These songs call for the utmost concentration as a dropped beat or missed chord could send everything into the abyss but Nightwish made everything look easy. There was great interaction with the audience and it was refreshing to see a big band that really looked like they were having as much fun as the fans. At the halfway point of the show Nightwish had the Academy in the palm of their hand and their confidence led to a stunning rendition of “The Siren” from their smash hit album Once.

The bands set had a fantastic flow to it and, even when the band took things down a notch with the instrumental “Last Of The Wilds” featuring Troy Donockley on Uilleann pipes, the intensity still lingered.” Slaying The Dreamer” was given an airing and before you knew it the set was at the encore stage. The crowd were treated to a devastating performance of “7 Days To The Wolves” before the penultimate crowd pleaser “Wish I Had An Angel” saw the band taking the roof off. Having never seen Nightwish before I was curious to know just how different an animal the band was without Tarja. A member of the audience who had seen the band with Tarja five times told me that this show was a revelation as, finally, Nightwish looked like a band instead of musicians fronting a hard rock diva. I have to admit from my viewpoint there was plenty of smiling and laughing onstage and I couldn’t help feeling that even the band themselves are pleased with how things are turning out.

The band certainly worked their magic on this reviewer and judging by the audience reaction also secured the loyalty of the Geordie rock masses for a long time to come. Without a doubt Nightwish gave us one of the best performances so far played at The Academy. Lets hope Newcastle becomes a regular stop on future tours.