Photos / Review: Nightwish at the Worcester Palladium

Who: Decades North America Tour 2018: Nightwish

Where: The Palladium, Worcester, Massachusetts

When: March 17, 2018

There are many traditional ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in the state of Massachusetts. Going to see Nightwish is not one of them, but it was how I chose to spend my holiday. Nightwish stopped by The Worcester Palladium as part of their tour commemorating their 20th anniversary as a band. Although, as with most bands, the lineup has changed a bit since the original, I love the current line up and was really excited to see Nightwish live for the first time.

Doors to the venue opened at 7. At this venue, the first opening band usually goes on an hour after doors open when the show is in the main room downstairs. Nightwish, however, did not have any opening bands, so they went on at 8:30. I have been to several shows that did not have an opening act, but never one at a GA venue, so that intrigued me from the beginning. Sneaking a peek at the setlist before the band came on showed that they were going to play a variety of my favorites, including “End Of All Hope” and “I Want My Tears Back,” so I was pretty satisfied with the setlist.

Troy Donockley opened the show with “Swanheart,” which was incredible to hear live with just him. Once the rest of the band made their appearance on stage, they went right into “End Of All Hope,” raising the energy level and keeping it there for the rest of the show. The technical prowess of each band member was evident because I did not hear a note put wrong. Floor Jansen really is one of my favorite vocalists because of her diversity. She switches between registers effortlessly. Her low notes are powerful and her high notes are never pitchy or squeaky. She is an amazing soprano and sounded flawless live. Every single song sounded amazing and it was truly a feast for the ears.

While the rest of Massachusetts was in Boston drinking green beer, I had the best Saturday night getting to see Nightwish live. Nightwish is a band that I will absolutely see live again every chance that I get.

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Post and photos by Karen Shalev

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