Sore feet, ringing ears, and 4 1/2 hours later. It was March 5, 2011 when I left the House of Blues at Downtown Disney in Orlando, Florida feeling as if I had just experienced the best night of my life. Looking back now it's entirely possible I did.
I'm talking of course about the concert I went to. Last year when they put their concert dates up it didn't take long for me to grab myself some tickets to their show locally. It was scheduled for November and would be my first concert ever.
Unfortunately it and many other tour dates here in the United States had to be rescheduled due to Perttu falling ill.
Thankfully I opted not to go for the refund, since there was no telling when they would be able to get back and tour again in the United States and it was a decision I'll never regret.
We got there to the venue with plenty of time to spare and I made sure to buy a hat and t-shirt at the gift shop in order to qualify for the Pass the Line option offered at some House of Blues concerts.
It still meant more standing around as the doors opened at 8pm instead of 7:30pm as stated on the tickets and website. It wasn't bad though. All one had to think about was the awesome show that was to come.
Rather then stand on the floor and risk not seeing a thing due to some tall patron who would assuredly stand in front of me, I opted for a place at the top of the stairs. Doing so ensured me one of the best views in the house and put me a foot or two about everybody else. Of course unless your a shorter person there is really no "bad" spot to stand at the House of Blues Orlando. Wherever you go or stand it's practically impossible to miss the stage and the railing is a great place to lean up against if you aren't fast enough to grab one of the few (very few) seats dotting the area.
Opening up for Apocalyptica was a band by the name of Stained Angel who had great music and great energy to get the crowd going. I even heard a couple people singing along. The real show, however, was reserved for the four guys we had been waiting months to see.
Apocalyptica.
They opened with a bang and the roar of the crowd nearly drowned out music coming from the massive speakers and amps. Eicca greeted the crowd and asked who had bought their latest album 7th Symphony. A good number of people screamed loudly to show that they had indeed purchased it.
Eicca then proceeded to chastise everyone who hadn't which made everyone laugh. By the way I'm pleased to say I bought mine the day it came out.
Turns out Paavo was the one sick this time around with a cold, but that certainly didn't stop him from rocking harder than anyone else. Aside from Eicca and his epic cello headbanging that is.
They played pretty much all of their songs from the current 7th Symphony album with a few surprises thrown in such as a Master of Puppets a Metallica cover, I'm Not Jesus, and Hall of the Mountain King as their closing song. Tipe Johnson did all the singing and can honestly say that his voice was even better than I had initially expected. His voice was the perfect accompaniment to the amazing cello playing and hard drum beats.
My favorite moment of the entire night came when Mikko disappeared off stage and then came back holding a cello of his own. Rather than sitting off to the side he joined in and played the song Beautiful with the rest of the band and the crowd stayed quiet until they finished, after which they roared with pleasure and me right along with them.
The cello playing was perfect. The singing by Tipe Johnson was wonderful. We had the privilege of seeing Mikko play the drums and the cello. Eicca started headbanging like it was his last day on earth.
You could even get drinks from the bar and food from the counter if you started getting hungry during the performance. Thankfully despite the copious amounts of beer floating by me in plastic cups and as people walked from the floor to the bar, I never had my toes stepped on or my shirt ruined by a cup tipped to far my way.
Really what more do you need from a concert?
Hall of the Mountain King was the closing song and after a long roar of approval from the crowd Mikko threw his drumsticks to the crowd and all the guys bowed before exiting stage left.
Unfortunately I couldn't stick around to wait for the guys to come back out and maybe take a few pictures with their fans, but that can always happen the next time their in town right?
So if Apocalyptica comes to your city, town, village, or hovel then you must see them live. Failing to do so is practically a criminal offense.
 |
| Apocalyptica is here to rock and roll! |
Unfortunately it and many other tour dates here in the United States had to be rescheduled due to Perttu falling ill.
 |
| Perttu is back! |
We got there to the venue with plenty of time to spare and I made sure to buy a hat and t-shirt at the gift shop in order to qualify for the Pass the Line option offered at some House of Blues concerts.
It still meant more standing around as the doors opened at 8pm instead of 7:30pm as stated on the tickets and website. It wasn't bad though. All one had to think about was the awesome show that was to come.
Rather then stand on the floor and risk not seeing a thing due to some tall patron who would assuredly stand in front of me, I opted for a place at the top of the stairs. Doing so ensured me one of the best views in the house and put me a foot or two about everybody else. Of course unless your a shorter person there is really no "bad" spot to stand at the House of Blues Orlando. Wherever you go or stand it's practically impossible to miss the stage and the railing is a great place to lean up against if you aren't fast enough to grab one of the few (very few) seats dotting the area.
 |
| A perfect sheen to accompany a perfect sound |
Apocalyptica.
They opened with a bang and the roar of the crowd nearly drowned out music coming from the massive speakers and amps. Eicca greeted the crowd and asked who had bought their latest album 7th Symphony. A good number of people screamed loudly to show that they had indeed purchased it.
Eicca then proceeded to chastise everyone who hadn't which made everyone laugh. By the way I'm pleased to say I bought mine the day it came out.
Turns out Paavo was the one sick this time around with a cold, but that certainly didn't stop him from rocking harder than anyone else. Aside from Eicca and his epic cello headbanging that is.
They played pretty much all of their songs from the current 7th Symphony album with a few surprises thrown in such as a Master of Puppets a Metallica cover, I'm Not Jesus, and Hall of the Mountain King as their closing song. Tipe Johnson did all the singing and can honestly say that his voice was even better than I had initially expected. His voice was the perfect accompaniment to the amazing cello playing and hard drum beats.
 |
| Mikko can drum but he can also... strum the cello? |
The cello playing was perfect. The singing by Tipe Johnson was wonderful. We had the privilege of seeing Mikko play the drums and the cello. Eicca started headbanging like it was his last day on earth.
You could even get drinks from the bar and food from the counter if you started getting hungry during the performance. Thankfully despite the copious amounts of beer floating by me in plastic cups and as people walked from the floor to the bar, I never had my toes stepped on or my shirt ruined by a cup tipped to far my way.
Really what more do you need from a concert?
Hall of the Mountain King was the closing song and after a long roar of approval from the crowd Mikko threw his drumsticks to the crowd and all the guys bowed before exiting stage left.
Unfortunately I couldn't stick around to wait for the guys to come back out and maybe take a few pictures with their fans, but that can always happen the next time their in town right?
So if Apocalyptica comes to your city, town, village, or hovel then you must see them live. Failing to do so is practically a criminal offense.
