Nightwish – Amphitheater, Gelsenkirchen; June 12th, 2023
The only reason I bought a ticket to see Nightwish was that I had seen Floor Jansen’s solo concert and really enjoyed it. When she spoke about this being the last show in Germany before the band would take a break, it felt like a “now or never” situation, so I decided to go. I have no regrets, the show was brilliant.
I arrived at the Amphitheater around 5 and decided to stay in the shade instead of joining the queue. Shortly before they opened, a second queue opened at a side door so I took my chances and joined that one. Inside, I picked a seat halfway down the stairs with a great view of the stage next to a small group of people. Later, a guy joined us to my right and we chatted before the show started.
They made us wait rather long, starting almost an hour later than indicated on the ticket, but then support Bloodred Hourglass rocked the house. Their music was really nice and melodic, but the singing was mostly growls, so not my cup of tea. They were fun to watch though and really got the audience going.
As expected, Nightwish started at 9 pm. It wasn’t dark yet, but the sun was not interfering with the screens and the lightshow any more. The music started and the symbols form their latest album ‘Human Nature’ appeared on the screen. Drummer Kai walked out and started beating his kit, while fireworks went off at the front of the stage and the rest of the band joined him. People were already clapping along and cheers grew louder when Floor started singing ‘Noise’. I loved it already and enjoyed how they used the screens to display images along with the music. For this song, it was a big heart during the chorus. During an instrumental part, Floor stood at the front in a half crouch, swinging her hair. It looked fabulous and I was surprised at how well she could move while being very pregnant. What really amazed me though is, how well she could still sing.
‘Storytime’ was next and I the guy to my right looked over at me expectantly. I nodded and smiled. Hell yeah, this was awesome! The band rocked our socks off. “how about we go a little Tribal here” Floor asked while the middle screen showed a skull for a moment. Tuomas was going wild behind the keyboards, Emppu and Jukka were on the move across stage and the music was underlined with bursts of flames that were so hot I could feel them in my seat.
For ‘Élan’ Troy was playing some type of flute. This was the song I liked best so far – what a beautiful melody that was. I was so happy I’d decided to go to the show. 🙂 The beautiful ‘Sleeping Sun’ had some of the audience waving their hands along with the music. It looked great from where I was. Also, there were Northern lights displayed on the screens. <3 During the heavier songs, people often stood up in the stands and some remained standing through the entire show. I didn’t mind either way and did whatever the people around me did, not wanting to block anyone’s view unnecessarily. It all worked out perfectly and everyone was having a good time.
‘Dark Chest of wonders’ started with bursts of fine again. I alternated between the band rocking the stage, the projections on the screens and the audience having a blast. This was exactly how a rock show should be and I had a great spot to see it all. When Floor said she wanted to hear us we all raised our fists chanting “Hey! Hey! Hey!” and many were singing along the whole time. 🙂
What I remember most about ‘How’s the heart’ are the keyboards and the wonderful harmony singing towards the end, while ‘I want my Tears back’ had much of the audience jumping and a great sing-along. 😀 “We have a little pregnancy break,” Floor announced during the instrumental part and in the end she was impressed with our “serious moves”. Bright sun, sand, cracked and all sorts of bugs were on the screen for ‘Sahara’. I loved the guitar riffs and driving drums of the song.
Next, Floor stepped up to the barstool next to Troy and asked if that as her throne before sitting down. She told us that it’s usually dark when they play and asked us to still bring out our lights and shine them on anyone close to our hearts. Everyone else had left the stage and burning candles were displayed on the screens as they started the song. The band was back towards the end of the song, joining in for the finale. It was gorgeous.
Afterwards, Troy greeted us and noted that this was not a concert, but more like a party at a friend’s house. He asked us what the Latin word for “nobody” is. “Nemo!” came the reply. Tuomas keys set in and started the song of the same name. Floor’s singing during ‘Shoemaker’ was fantastic and needless to say the band played perfectly.
“How about a ride, Gelsenkirchen?” Floor asked and when we didn’t cheer loud enough she was like “What?You don’t like rides?” We cheered louder and ‘Last Ride of the Day’ was awesome. We go killer guitar solos and more fire bursts. Meanwhile it had gotten darker and the light show looked even better then before. They had really picked the perfect images to display for every song. So far it had been one hell of a ride indeed and this they ended the main set with the epic ‘Ghost Love Score’. <3 Everyone around me looked so happy and I felt the same smile reflected on my face.
They were back for the encore almost right away, with Tuomas and Troy playing together starting the grand finale of ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ – the guy to my right told me as soon as they started that this was 23 minutes long. Yep, the intro alone took several minutes and the song has four parts, telling the history of the world. I have no words for how brilliant that was. They pulled out all stops. The words “We were here” appeared on the screen in the end and we cheered one last time until they said goodbye, took a final bow and left. I had absolutely loved every minute of the show. Surely a night to remember.
Setlist
Noise
Storytime
Tribal
Élan
Sleeping Sun
Dark Chest of Wonders
How’s the Heart?
I Want My Tears Back
Sahara
Our Decades in the Sun (started as acoustic with Floor and Troy only)
Nemo
Shoemaker
Last Ride of the Day
Ghost Love Score
The Greatest Show on Earth