The Panther's Lair: 5/10/09

My fall will be for you
My love will be in you
If you be the one to
Cut me I'll bleed forever
— Ghost Love Score

Nightwish is my favorite band in the world, and though they've toured the US before (they're originally from Finland), this is the first time they've played in Oklahoma. I rode down to the concert with three friends. We left late and hit huge traffic jams on the way, then got lost for about fifteen minutes, but made it there just in time for the opening band, Volbeat (which I think is also from Finland). I was still sore from wildly dancing and headbanging to Birthday Massacre two days before, so I didn't dance to Volbeat's music (though my feet really wanted to), but I DID buy a Monster energy drink in anticipation of what was to come. After Volbeat finished, I pushed through the crowd, trailing my three friends, until we met solid opposition and were standing about ten feet from the stage, pretty far to the left side but still with a good view. At 10:00 I guzzled the Monster (sharing a little with a friend who is already so ADHD that decaf coffee is as good as espresso ... in all seriousness). At 10:10 people were coming and going through the stage doors, and we saw glimpses of Marco, Empuu, and Tuomas. At 10:20 Jukka appeared onstage, soon followed by Marco, Empuu, Tuomas, and Anette in no particular order and with little ceremony other than Tuomas's signature Hans Zimmer opening theme and a vivid display of lights. They immediately dove into their opening song, 7 Days to the Wolves, followed without pause by Nemo. Though most of the songs in this concert came from their latest two albums (Once and Dark Passion Play), they did go back to their third latest release and sing Bless the Child. Dark Chest of Wonders came next, followed by Amaranth (to the extreme joy of one of my friends — it's her favorite of all their songs). They took a short break and set a couple stools on the stage, preparing for the wistful The Islander, lit by a cool spectrum of marine colors. Next they sang While You Lips are Still Red, which was a nice surprise — it's one of my absolute favorites, and since it was only released on an EP of demos for their latest album, I had not expected them to play it. Finally they went back to the harder stuff, belting out Romanticide with even more feeling than in the studio version, and finishing with the song everyone had been waiting for — the quarter-hour Poet and the Pendulum. As soon as they left the stage, the crowd began roaring, and a tall man with a huge voice standing front and center led them all to chant "ONE MORE! ONE MORE!" — and then "GHOST LOVE SCORE! GHOST LOVE SCORE!" My heart raced with anticipation; that's another of my absolute favorites. Nightwish returned for their encore ... and to everyone's excitement, they played Ghost Love Score. That was followed by Wish I Had An Angel, after which Tuomas's signature Hans Zimmer exit music played and they all took a bow or three before leaving for the last time.

During the entire show, I had been screaming my excitement at each song, screaming out the lyrics to the songs as well as I could, not caring whether I was on key, jumping six inches off the ground in my 5-pound combat boots, shaking a "rock fist" to the beat, headbanging, waving, whatever I felt like doing and was able to do without injuring any innocent bystanders. My friends were bystanders, but apparently not innocent; I jumped on the toes of the one behind me three times. Even with the help of the energy drink, by the time they got to The Poet and the Pendulum, I was exhausted — though with the encore I suddenly realized I had more energy than I thought. Pretty much the entire last half of the concert I did on nothing but adrenaline... but I had a lot of that. My favorite band in the world, all the way from Finland, standing directly, almost tangibly, in front of me ... Tuomas, one of the most amazing people on earth, playing his triple keyboard directly across from where I was standing, and making eye contact with me multiple times ... I didn't care that my legs screamed in protest every time I jumped, or that every time I threw the rock fist my arm wanted to go with it; I didn't care that every time I banged my head sweat flew everywhere ... this was literally a dream come true.