APOCALYPTICAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!
I found out just in time that Apocalyptica were going to be coming to town and bought a pair of tickets. Jeffrey had a gig, so I invited my sister Julianne (she is more of a fan of theirs than Jeffrey is, anyway), who was really excited about it. I thought the doors opened at 7, and we wanted to get something to eat first, so she was at my place by 5 and then we went from there.
For those of you who don't know already, Apocalyptica is my favorite band. I saw them in 2005 when they were here, and got all gussied up for this one. Julianne got dressed up, too. Jeffrey snapped a pic of us before we left.
Sexeh ladies, no?
So we grabbed dinner, then headed to the Fine Line Music cafe where the concert was going to be. When we got there, we discovered that the doors didn't actually open until 8, but that ended up being okay - we were nearly at the head of the line, which meant when they did let everyone in, we got spots that were really close to the stage. I mean, REALLY close. Like within 10 feet of it. There was still a lot of time before the band would take the stage, though, so we killed time taking pictures and chatting with the people around us.
I really love how this pic turned out, and I am very amused by the couple behind us who were also posing for the picture. They were really nice, and the guy flirted with me a bit. He had been to the 2005 concert as well, and when I mentioned that I was there, he teased me about stalking him and made out like we had dated before. It was fun. I also took pictures of the empty stage, because the set was actually really cool.
See, I wasn't kidding about being close! We were actually too close to the stage for me to get a picture of the entire thing. We had to wait awhile, because they had a DJ playing music first (which was kind of a lame opener, if you ask me). But let me tell you, the place was PACKED! The upper level had some tables that were a little more expensive, and those were all sold out (it was a sold-out show) and there was standing room only on the floor. Our feet were starting to hurt from standing so long, first from waiting for the doors to open and then waiting for the show to start. But then they took the stage, and it was totally worth it!
For those of you who aren't all that familiar with the band, allow me to introduce to you the members of Apocalyptica.
This is Eicca Toppinen. He's the one who writes the majority of the music or arrangements. He and Perttu like to headbang while they are playing a lot, and as a result sometimes I found it difficult to get a shot of him looking up. I also blame the time delay on my camera, heh. But he is very, very pretty. *stops and stares*
This is Perttu Kivilaakso. He's the smallest member of the band (I think one of my legs is bigger around than his entire body) but he is by no means the least. He also writes some of their original pieces. He came out wearing the hat and vest in the picture here, but he took those off before the first couple songs were done.
This is Paavo Lotjonen. He likes to play to the crowd and get them to clap or sing along - although honestly, we didn't need that much encouragement.
This is Antero Manninen. He was part of the band when it first started, and then left a few years ago. He does still tour with them occasionally, but isn't officially part of the band. He sits in his chair and plays while the rest of them bounce around the stage and get the crowd going. He's kind of the "straight man" of the group that way, heh.
Mikko Siren is the drummer, who officially joined the band in 2005.
So, now that you've been introduced, let's rock out!
They had a guest vocalist to sing two tracks off of their most recent album. I don't remember his name, but he did a good job. And he was also kind of cute.
I cannot say enough how much I love this band. Their music is amazing, just really gorgeous even when it's heavy. They played "Bittersweet" and the harmonies were so tight you could have bounced a quarter off of them.
They really put a lot of heart and soul into their music, and their shows are so much fun because not only do they put a ton of energy into their performance, but you can really tell that they just enjoy what they're doing. They like playing off of each other and playing to the crowd, and the crowd responds in kind.
They rock so hard.
They had signs posted that you weren't allowed to take videos or make audio recordings of them. I did anyway - just short clips - but really, they don't need to worry about that very much. The sheer volume of the show was too much for my poor little camera, and when I looked to see how they turned out, I couldn't hear much of anything other than distortion. I'm trying to get the clips replaced with the music from the albums instead, because the visual aspect is really cool even if the sound didn't turn out. There's one where Perttu is doing a really fast solo, and I swear it looks like it's on fast forward. It isn't, though - he's just playing THAT FAST.
I noticed that their english has improved since they release their live DVD, and also since they came by in 2005. Perttu has an awesome sense of humor. He would take the mike in between songs and make jokes. He said that it was great that the crowd was so close to the stage, but he hoped we weren't so close we could smell their stink. He also made a comment after Mikko had a long drum solo that "The drummer gets the girls after a solo like that." Then he looked over at Eicca with a grin and said, "At least I still have you, Eicca." Bahahahahaha. I figure either a) They're very secure in their sexuality or b) they are completely unaware of the existence of fanfiction. Possibly both. But the comraderie is awesome.
As you can see, Julianne had a blast. Well, we both did. This was the most fun I've had in a long time - and I just got back from vacationing in Florida! Seriously, though.... if I fangirled them before, I'm fangirling even harder now. But really.... can you blame me?
For those of you who don't know already, Apocalyptica is my favorite band. I saw them in 2005 when they were here, and got all gussied up for this one. Julianne got dressed up, too. Jeffrey snapped a pic of us before we left.
Sexeh ladies, no?
So we grabbed dinner, then headed to the Fine Line Music cafe where the concert was going to be. When we got there, we discovered that the doors didn't actually open until 8, but that ended up being okay - we were nearly at the head of the line, which meant when they did let everyone in, we got spots that were really close to the stage. I mean, REALLY close. Like within 10 feet of it. There was still a lot of time before the band would take the stage, though, so we killed time taking pictures and chatting with the people around us.
I really love how this pic turned out, and I am very amused by the couple behind us who were also posing for the picture. They were really nice, and the guy flirted with me a bit. He had been to the 2005 concert as well, and when I mentioned that I was there, he teased me about stalking him and made out like we had dated before. It was fun. I also took pictures of the empty stage, because the set was actually really cool.
See, I wasn't kidding about being close! We were actually too close to the stage for me to get a picture of the entire thing. We had to wait awhile, because they had a DJ playing music first (which was kind of a lame opener, if you ask me). But let me tell you, the place was PACKED! The upper level had some tables that were a little more expensive, and those were all sold out (it was a sold-out show) and there was standing room only on the floor. Our feet were starting to hurt from standing so long, first from waiting for the doors to open and then waiting for the show to start. But then they took the stage, and it was totally worth it!
For those of you who aren't all that familiar with the band, allow me to introduce to you the members of Apocalyptica.
This is Eicca Toppinen. He's the one who writes the majority of the music or arrangements. He and Perttu like to headbang while they are playing a lot, and as a result sometimes I found it difficult to get a shot of him looking up. I also blame the time delay on my camera, heh. But he is very, very pretty. *stops and stares*
This is Perttu Kivilaakso. He's the smallest member of the band (I think one of my legs is bigger around than his entire body) but he is by no means the least. He also writes some of their original pieces. He came out wearing the hat and vest in the picture here, but he took those off before the first couple songs were done.
This is Paavo Lotjonen. He likes to play to the crowd and get them to clap or sing along - although honestly, we didn't need that much encouragement.
This is Antero Manninen. He was part of the band when it first started, and then left a few years ago. He does still tour with them occasionally, but isn't officially part of the band. He sits in his chair and plays while the rest of them bounce around the stage and get the crowd going. He's kind of the "straight man" of the group that way, heh.
Mikko Siren is the drummer, who officially joined the band in 2005.
So, now that you've been introduced, let's rock out!
They had a guest vocalist to sing two tracks off of their most recent album. I don't remember his name, but he did a good job. And he was also kind of cute.
I cannot say enough how much I love this band. Their music is amazing, just really gorgeous even when it's heavy. They played "Bittersweet" and the harmonies were so tight you could have bounced a quarter off of them.
They really put a lot of heart and soul into their music, and their shows are so much fun because not only do they put a ton of energy into their performance, but you can really tell that they just enjoy what they're doing. They like playing off of each other and playing to the crowd, and the crowd responds in kind.
They rock so hard.
They had signs posted that you weren't allowed to take videos or make audio recordings of them. I did anyway - just short clips - but really, they don't need to worry about that very much. The sheer volume of the show was too much for my poor little camera, and when I looked to see how they turned out, I couldn't hear much of anything other than distortion. I'm trying to get the clips replaced with the music from the albums instead, because the visual aspect is really cool even if the sound didn't turn out. There's one where Perttu is doing a really fast solo, and I swear it looks like it's on fast forward. It isn't, though - he's just playing THAT FAST.
I noticed that their english has improved since they release their live DVD, and also since they came by in 2005. Perttu has an awesome sense of humor. He would take the mike in between songs and make jokes. He said that it was great that the crowd was so close to the stage, but he hoped we weren't so close we could smell their stink. He also made a comment after Mikko had a long drum solo that "The drummer gets the girls after a solo like that." Then he looked over at Eicca with a grin and said, "At least I still have you, Eicca." Bahahahahaha. I figure either a) They're very secure in their sexuality or b) they are completely unaware of the existence of fanfiction. Possibly both. But the comraderie is awesome.
As you can see, Julianne had a blast. Well, we both did. This was the most fun I've had in a long time - and I just got back from vacationing in Florida! Seriously, though.... if I fangirled them before, I'm fangirling even harder now. But really.... can you blame me?
