City of Düsseldorf, seriously? Really? You wanna be a state capital? You build multi event temple, you increase and add them on but forget the parking?
What was already extremely bad last week at the Mitsubishi Electric Hall in Düsseldorf, got now even amplified to the max at :: PSD Bank Dome :: (formerly ISS Dome). Extended from 8500 to 15100 capacity, the Dome only has 400 own parking lots in the basement garage, plus 2300 lots in the parking deck next door that has to be shared with the cars of air passengers. No other possibility to park your car and the DUS airport is around the corner. Think of a nearly sold out show (or event) unique in the bigger area with people traveling from an approx. 300km radius. To expect those people arriving via public transportation is out of touch with reality, especially since German public transportation is known to be as unreliable as fuck.
And now imagine the traffic chaos such event would cause… And here we are at the nearly sold out NIGHTWISH show at PSD Bank Dome.
By the way, both venues are operated by the municipal company D.Live, which actually rakes 7 Euro for the handful of parking lots and the chaos around – the most expensive parking in North Rhine-Westphalia (if you read our live reports, you will know).
Oh, catering and merch were likewise expensive: water 5 Euro, beer 6 Euro, pretzel 5 Euro, shirts 45 Euro.
Okay, let's talk about nicer things ;) Symphonic Metal the second. After Within Temptation last week, we double down and end up with NIGHTWISH. Also the Finns catch up on their 2, 3 times postponed touring schedule. It's the second time that NIGHTWISH make a stop at the Dome. Back then, in 2012 it had a different name and Anette Olzon was the band's singer (awesome show as I remember - live report here). Last time seen live I have NIGHTWISH in 2018, with BEAST IN BLACK supporting. Seems, the package has proved its worth. It's just less appealing to see the same package again. At least the opener, TURMION KÄTILÖT, was refreshingly different yet Finnish too ;)
:: pics :: TURMION KÄTILÖT ::
Unfortunately, I didn't see much of the band. When I arrived after the chaos outside :: TURMION KÄTILÖT :: was already playing. I jumped into the photo pit, did my job and was kicked out again. We had to bring our cams to the production office afterwards, so, when I entered the Dome again, "The Midwives Of Doom" were already done. At 7.20 pm.
So, I'm sorry, there's not that much to tell you about the show. The guys seemed to have a lot of fun on stage, played a mix of Humppa metal and Techno and were nice to photograph. Lights and sound was bad and the band had to face some technical problems, while the hall was half-filled, at best. Ok, let's take a deep breath to gather myself and have a look around.
Band: Petja „MC Raaka Pee“ Turunen (vox), Saku „Shaq-U“ Solin (vox), Hannu „Master Bates“ Voutilainen (bass), Janne „Run-Q“ Tolsa (keys), DQ (drums), Miikka „Bobby Undertaker“ Närhi (git)
Setlist: Grand Ball, Verta ja lihaa, Sormenjälki, Isä meidän, Sano kun riittää, Sikiö
:: pics :: BEAST IN BLACK ::
:: BEAST IN BLACK :: had to face the same sound problems but it got better with every song. And the Finns are pro's. If they were bothered, you didn't see that. They rocked the stage like no others, posed perfectly for everybody's cam and always had a smile on their faces.
I expected to see BEAST IN BLACK promoting their new effort, Dark Connection, perhaps they do so on their headliner tour kicking off in January 2023. Here and now they played 3 songs from every of their 3 albums, a best-of- set so to say ;) They offered Power Metal as its best: short and crispy songs, heavy riffwork, catchy melodies, varied singing and sing along refrains.
Apropos singing… there have been two songs where I thought there must be a female singer on stage. A duet with Floor Jansen maybe? I much tried to stretch myself to see anything from where I stood, but no, there was no woman on stage. It was all singer Yannis Papadopoulos. Then I remembered the video for Blind And Frozen (which was one of the mentioned songs), where I was misled too. On the other hand, why not doing a duet with Floor Jansen? They could so for sure ;)
As for the fact that I find BEAST IN BLACK a bit too cheesy for my taste I was swinging my hips quite often. Yes, I admit, a BEAST IN BLACK show is fun and very uplifting ;)
Band: Anton Kabanen (git, vox), Mate Molnar (bass), Kasperi Heikkinen (git), Yannis Papadopoulos (vox), Atte Palokangas (drums)
Setlist: Blade Runner, From Hell With Love, Beast In Black, Sweet True Lies, Die By The Blade, Moonlight Rendezvous, One Night In Tokyo, Blind And Frozen, End Of The World
:: pics :: NIGHTWISH ::
To be honest, I was wondering, why :: NIGHTWISH :: did not postpone the tour again, as singer Floor Jansen revealed in October that she has breast cancer with a surgery to follow right after. But no, she stood on stage right here, right now, strong and beautiful. As she told too, she has still to do a radiation therapy after this tour.
NIGHTWISH kicked of fiercely with the track Noise, pyros, flashes and firework. I was happy to hear Storytime as the second song as I still think that Imaginaerum is one of the best NIGHTWISH albums ever (next to the old Tarja records).
On this tour, the band focused on their latest record, their 2020 released Human. :II: Nature., with songs from the most recent releases around, plus a little side trip to Once, and the old classic Sleeping Sun.
Sound, lights and visuals were, of course, spectacular and the pyros made the Dome cuddly warm.
I guess most fans down there have seen the new band line-up for the first time playing live together. Remember, bassist Marco Hietala left the band last year and was replaced by Jukka Koskinen, usually playing the bass guitar in Wintersun. He is for sure an experienced musician but looked a bit nondescript and/or shy, staying most time in the darkest corner of the stage.
In consideration of the fact that the departure from the PSD Bank Dome might be even worse than the arrival, I left early and didn't see the show till the end. But, what I have seen on fan vids, NIGHTWISH finished the way they started: with much power, fires, and bangs. How to deliver a breathtaking show NIGHTWISH surely know :) It was once again just awesome!
Band: Floor Jansen (vox), Emppu Vuorinen (git), Tuomas Holopainen (keys), Troy Donockley (pipes, tin whistle), Kai Hahto (drums), Jukka Koskinen (bass)
Setlist: Noise, Storytime, Tribal, Élan, Sleeping Sun, 7 Days To The Wolves, Dark Chest Of Wonders, Harvest, I Want My Tears Back, Nemo, How's The Heart? (Acoustic), Shoemaker, Last Ride Of The Day, Ghost Love Score, The Greatest Show On Earth
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