Spring Break
Last Week Live: Sonata Arctica
Issue date: 10/2/08
Last Friday, music fans gathered at Rams Head Live with the intention of watching the performance of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, featuring Sonata Arctica as the opening band. Unfortunately, the leading vocalist of Nightwish had been sick and was unable to perform, but the rest of the band was at Power Plant Live to meet the audience and give out autographs. Instead of Nightwish, Sonata Arctica performed a full show for free.
Before the show, the members of Nightwish got on the stage to apologize for the inconvenience. In an attempt to cheer up the audience, the bassist Marco Hietala jokingly commented that the rest of the band members were out looking for cute guys. When they were about to leave the stage to Sonata Arctica, they made a point to praise their fellow Finnish musicians.
The Sonata Arctica poster that was used as a backdrop for the stage depicted five wolves on a snowy hill with a full moon in the sky, which looked ominous and grand due to the high ceiling of the concert hall. The band made a plain entrance, but was greeted with a thunderous applause by the audience. There was no security fence separating the audience and the stage, and this created a stronger connection between the audience and the band.
Sonata Arctica started off with hits from their latest album, Unia - "In Black and White" and "Paid in Full." The audience was very enthusiastic about the band's music, and there were hardcore Sonata Arctica fans even though this was initially supposed to be a Nightwish concert.
Sonata Arctica is a power metal band, but their show was rather unusual for a metal concert: As the leading vocalist Tony Kakko puts it, "Every show is an embarrassment in a way, but I'm a clown…" He put a show on stage, literally, by acting as the emo guy with a sullen face while performing the emotional song "Draw Me," with his hands wrapped around himself. The story behind this song is actually a dramatic one.
A talented artist draws the portrait of his father, and soon after, the father dies. The same incidence occurs with his brother after the artist sketches him. Shaken to the ground by this coincidence, the talented artist swears never to draw a living person again. The song portrays the internal conflict of the artist and he asks himself, "I've lived a long life, should I draw me?" We leave it to you to decide whether this is a true story as claimed by the leading vocalist.
Before the show, the members of Nightwish got on the stage to apologize for the inconvenience. In an attempt to cheer up the audience, the bassist Marco Hietala jokingly commented that the rest of the band members were out looking for cute guys. When they were about to leave the stage to Sonata Arctica, they made a point to praise their fellow Finnish musicians.
The Sonata Arctica poster that was used as a backdrop for the stage depicted five wolves on a snowy hill with a full moon in the sky, which looked ominous and grand due to the high ceiling of the concert hall. The band made a plain entrance, but was greeted with a thunderous applause by the audience. There was no security fence separating the audience and the stage, and this created a stronger connection between the audience and the band.
Sonata Arctica started off with hits from their latest album, Unia - "In Black and White" and "Paid in Full." The audience was very enthusiastic about the band's music, and there were hardcore Sonata Arctica fans even though this was initially supposed to be a Nightwish concert.
Sonata Arctica is a power metal band, but their show was rather unusual for a metal concert: As the leading vocalist Tony Kakko puts it, "Every show is an embarrassment in a way, but I'm a clown…" He put a show on stage, literally, by acting as the emo guy with a sullen face while performing the emotional song "Draw Me," with his hands wrapped around himself. The story behind this song is actually a dramatic one.
A talented artist draws the portrait of his father, and soon after, the father dies. The same incidence occurs with his brother after the artist sketches him. Shaken to the ground by this coincidence, the talented artist swears never to draw a living person again. The song portrays the internal conflict of the artist and he asks himself, "I've lived a long life, should I draw me?" We leave it to you to decide whether this is a true story as claimed by the leading vocalist.
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