by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
I didn’t know what kind of crowd to expect at the Evanescence concert. According to all the really gothed out folks I know, Evanescence is “goth-lite,” scorned by the Truly Goth. They are, after all, the bastard child of a one-night stand between pop and goth. Maybe Evanescence never got the love it needed in the early years (mom and dad just weren’t there for them) but now they have hordes of tween, teen and aged fans to make up for it. Concertgoers ranged from preppie girls to guys who would never make it through a metal detector without stripping clothing and removing some major hardware from their faces.
Upon arrival, we found that some Jacksonvillians had made the concert into some sort of tailgating event. Only in Florida! Or at least that’s what I thought until I saw that beers were pretty steep inside the arena. I guess any event where they rape you for alcohol and food should begin with some serious tailgating.
After a pat down by security, we made our way to the overpriced merch table, dodging moms who’d brought their tweenage daughters, young men in skirts and already drunk forty-something yuppies. Instead of the traditional T-shirt ‘o tour-dates, I bought a T-shirt so subtly marked with the band’s logo that only somebody who was paying attention would know what it was.
About six helpful people checked our tickets and told us where our seats were. We were early. This time around, Evanescence is traveling with an Aussie band called Sick Puppies. Opening for them both is a band called Julien-K. They were the surprise of the night, because they were actually very, very good. They bill themselves as dark alternative music or dark techno. I detected scraps of New Wave, the best of the 80s and some old school ballad metal in the music. Currently on their MySpace page, their song, ‘Technical Difficulties,’ fits into the Dark Techno category and has recently caught national attention.
After their performance, I immediately ran back to the merch area and demanded a Julien-K CD, but there were none to be had. Post-concert I checked the Internet. They’ve got a devoted fanbase and full-fledged songs that they haven’t released. Fans on the boards are pretty angry about the lack of a CD release date. I’m sort of annoyed myself, but I haven’t been waiting for the CD since early this year/late last year like they have. When their CD finally does come out, you can bet I’ll be reviewing it.
Sick Puppies did a decent job onstage. The bass player really knows how to rock it. Her hair was blowing everywhere, the result of a strategically placed wind machine. Meanwhile, the engaging lead singer pumped up the crowd with an adorable Aussie accent. They had a few fans in the audience, plus they had T-shirts and CDs available at the merch counters. Once Sick Puppies ended their set, the crew went to work setting the stage for Evanescence. Before they started, the people behind us (hardcore fans) started lamenting about the lack of warm bodies filling the stadium seats. They resolved to yell very loud to make up for it, in the hopes that Amy Lee would like Jacksonville despite the low turnout. The stadium, when it’s blocked off for stage shows like this, can hold a little under 5,000 people. That means that even a crowd of 2,000 people is going to look unimpressive.
Evanescence, once they took the stage, was incredible. Amy Lee hit most of her difficult notes, and they seem to have the theatrics down. The piano would be raised onto the stage for certain numbers, to sink down for others. The other band members don’t get near as much fuzzy fan love as Amy, which is a little sad because they do an excellent job. Really though, let’s face it, the entire band (except for Amy) could quit tomorrow and there would still be an Evanescence.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
