Tarja in Oslo
As it turned out, I was qute right to be excited about Tarja's show; we had a great time and I was very happy we went.
In general, Tarja seemed to be enjoying herself a lot. She was chatty and cheerful and even joked around at the point when she was alone on stage with her keyboard for Oasis and the keyboard didn't work. Her voice was excellent, and made a lot even out of the less interesting songs on the setlist. However, I thought I could hear that the concert was taking its toll on her voice; she certainly sounded brilliant throughout the whole show, and hit the high notes (of which there were many), but towards the end there were a tiny moment before each high point when it sounded like she strained her voice a little.
Sadly, there were not a lot of people present. Rockefeller is the second-largest of the club scenes in Oslo, and Nightwish with Tarja have played two more or less sold-out gigs in a row there. Now, they kept the gallery/upstairs floor closed, and the pit was hardly full even after Tarja had come on. In spite of this, the atmosphere was good, since I guess the people who troubled to come were genuine fans. Tarja seemed genuinely grateful to the audience, and thanked people several times for coming.
I was glad to see that the show was far from a break with her previous career in Nightwish; it felt right in some sense. The show was perhaps somewhat heavier on the ballads than a Nightwish gig usually is, but other than that, she had the same familiar style of clothing (down to microphones that matched her outfits in colour) and the same style of music, including three Nightwish songs.
In spite of the similarities with Nightwish, she made it pretty clear at one point that she is on her own. Nighwish are sending similar messages of their own when they open their gigs nowadays with the song Bye Bye Beautiful, the song that was written to Tarja after her departure, and I was wondering if Tarja would do something similar and open with her first solo single I Walk Alone. That would probably have been to obvious however. Instead, it came unexpectedly later.
Sometime during the first half of the show, we got the NW signature song Nemo, the hit single from Once, the last NW album with Tarja, and the album that truly gave them their breakthrough. She was even wearing the red 'Nemo' coat, or one very like it. Then, then, she goes to change again, comes out in the white, hooded cloak from the music video and sings I Walk Alone.
That sent some shivers up my spine for sure.
In addition to Nemo, she did Wishmaster and Passion and the Opera from Nightwish' material. All the other songs were from her solo album My Winter Storm. My main objection to that album is that most of the songs are too polished and emotionless. I was pleased to see that this was not the case at all in a live setting. The songs I like best from the album, like Lost Northern Star and My Little Phoenix, I liked even better live, since they were harder and more raw. The quiet songs touched me a lot more.
In sum, I danced and cheered and wept and applauded and was sad to see her leave after the last song. It was a grand concert experience, and I'll certainly go see her next time she comes to Oslo.
The setlist:
Lost Northern Star
My Little Phoenix
Passion and the Opera
Minor Heaven
Nemo
I Walk Alone
[Instrumental pause]
Ciarán's Well
Our Great Divide
Phantom of the Opera
The Reign
Sing for Me
Oasis
Poison
---
Wishmaster
Die Alive
Calling Grace
In general, Tarja seemed to be enjoying herself a lot. She was chatty and cheerful and even joked around at the point when she was alone on stage with her keyboard for Oasis and the keyboard didn't work. Her voice was excellent, and made a lot even out of the less interesting songs on the setlist. However, I thought I could hear that the concert was taking its toll on her voice; she certainly sounded brilliant throughout the whole show, and hit the high notes (of which there were many), but towards the end there were a tiny moment before each high point when it sounded like she strained her voice a little.
Sadly, there were not a lot of people present. Rockefeller is the second-largest of the club scenes in Oslo, and Nightwish with Tarja have played two more or less sold-out gigs in a row there. Now, they kept the gallery/upstairs floor closed, and the pit was hardly full even after Tarja had come on. In spite of this, the atmosphere was good, since I guess the people who troubled to come were genuine fans. Tarja seemed genuinely grateful to the audience, and thanked people several times for coming.
I was glad to see that the show was far from a break with her previous career in Nightwish; it felt right in some sense. The show was perhaps somewhat heavier on the ballads than a Nightwish gig usually is, but other than that, she had the same familiar style of clothing (down to microphones that matched her outfits in colour) and the same style of music, including three Nightwish songs.
In spite of the similarities with Nightwish, she made it pretty clear at one point that she is on her own. Nighwish are sending similar messages of their own when they open their gigs nowadays with the song Bye Bye Beautiful, the song that was written to Tarja after her departure, and I was wondering if Tarja would do something similar and open with her first solo single I Walk Alone. That would probably have been to obvious however. Instead, it came unexpectedly later.
Sometime during the first half of the show, we got the NW signature song Nemo, the hit single from Once, the last NW album with Tarja, and the album that truly gave them their breakthrough. She was even wearing the red 'Nemo' coat, or one very like it. Then, then, she goes to change again, comes out in the white, hooded cloak from the music video and sings I Walk Alone.
That sent some shivers up my spine for sure.
In addition to Nemo, she did Wishmaster and Passion and the Opera from Nightwish' material. All the other songs were from her solo album My Winter Storm. My main objection to that album is that most of the songs are too polished and emotionless. I was pleased to see that this was not the case at all in a live setting. The songs I like best from the album, like Lost Northern Star and My Little Phoenix, I liked even better live, since they were harder and more raw. The quiet songs touched me a lot more.
In sum, I danced and cheered and wept and applauded and was sad to see her leave after the last song. It was a grand concert experience, and I'll certainly go see her next time she comes to Oslo.
The setlist:
Lost Northern Star
My Little Phoenix
Passion and the Opera
Minor Heaven
Nemo
I Walk Alone
[Instrumental pause]
Ciarán's Well
Our Great Divide
Phantom of the Opera
The Reign
Sing for Me
Oasis
Poison
---
Wishmaster
Die Alive
Calling Grace