Evanescence @ L'Olympia (16/11/11)

Last night I was at the Olympia to see Evanescence that I had not seen since 2007! They were stoping by Paris in their European tour for their latest self-titled album.

I arrived at 17:30 and I joined the queue that was already very long to my amazement! We finally got in and we sat in the mosh pit.

The opening act was Me, a band from Australia. It was nice though largely inspired by Muse and My Chemical Romance. Their energy and catchy rhythms failed to win the hearts of the crowd that remained rather passive.

Shortly after 9pm the lights went out, Amy, Will, Troy, Terry and Tim came on stage to play the first notes of What You Want to an audience much more reactive than for Me! They quickly continued with Going Under, second single from their debut album, and everyone seemed to be enjoying! It was my personal pleasure because this song is probably my favorite from Evanescence! Amy greeted the Parisian audience saying "It's good to be back" and thanked French fans that are particulars for the band.

The band went on mixing songs from their latest album and The Open Door as The Other Side, Made of Stone, Lithium, Call Me When You're Sober. Amy was making round trips to the synthesizer when necessary and a piano arrived on stage in the middle of the set. The concert was marked by some "Thank you" in French from Amy and a pleasant ambience although sometimes a little too shy to my opinion. I was very surprised to see Imaginary included on the setlist as it is a song dear to my heart and not a single, so I was thrilled! Bring Me To Life just before the encore was a pleasure for older fans who could not help singing "Wake me up, can not wake up, save me", the words of McCoy in the original version of the song.

The band made itself desired for 5 long minutes under screamings and applause from the audience before coming back on stage for two songs performed by Amy at the piano and another one: the sublime Your Star and the classical My Immortal.

The concert went quickly, barely 1h20. Although I found it a bit short I was not shocked because I'm used to it. However, Amy's voice has improved dramatically! You can find videos of Going Under, Imaginary, Bring Me To Life and Your Star on Youtube (in the sidebar) and here is the setlist that was played:

What You Want 

Going under 

The Other Side 

Weight of the World 

The Change 

Made Of Stone 

Lost In Paradise 

My Heart Is Broken 

Lithium 

Sick 

Oceans 

Call Me When You're Sober 

Imaginary 

Bring Me To Life 

Encore:

Never Go Back 

Your Star 

My Immortal 

Despite the cold of November I waited for the eventual leaving of the band at the end of the concert and I was right because after an hour Amy came to see us. It was more to see her face to face and be able to say a few words than to get an autograph. She was as nice as when I met her several times between 2004 and 2007, she even remembered me and hugged me !