GalleryDitch This MagazineSeptember 01, 2023gallery, live, melbourne, Rebecca Houlden, Evanescence, Destroy All Lines

Evanescence @ Rod Laver Arena 30-08-23

GalleryDitch This MagazineSeptember 01, 2023gallery, live, melbourne, Rebecca Houlden, Evanescence, Destroy All Lines

Images & Words: Rebecca Houlden @rebecca_houlden

A cold Wednesday night didn’t stop nearly 15,000 former goths from heading to see Evanescence, one of the biggest nu-bands of the mid 2000s.

The tour was promoted as celebrating 20 years since their break out album Fallen, and there’s always the question of whether they will play the album start to finish or mix it up. In the case of Fallen, the first four songs were all singles, so this seemed unlikely. To the audience’s surprise the band played a set spanning the band’s full career instead of focusing on their smash hit album, and by the 10th song of the setlist only three songs of Fallen had been played.

“We’ve got a lot of catching up to do” says Amy Lee. It’s been five years since Evanescence toured Australia last, and they’ve since added an Australian touring band member - Emma Anzai of Sydney’s Sick Puppies on bass and backing vocals.

Lee’s haunting vocals echoed through the arena and sounded almost identical to the recordings. From her slow solo intro to End Of The Dream from their 2011 Self-Titled album to their second album The Open Door hits Lithium and Call Me When You’re Sober, she’s an absolute powerhouse.

There’s not a lot of banter with the crowd, but the band keeps the energy high at all times with crunchy guitars and head banging between verses. They plough through their vast back catalogue including a six-song medley of older tracks including Haunted, My Last Breath, Cloud Nine, Everybody’s Fool (it’s a crime this wasn’t played in full), Weight Of The World and Whisper.

Lee alternates between playing introductions to songs on keyboard, singing vocals only, and performing full songs on a grand piano that comes in and out during the show.

The band refrain doing an encore, and instead finish the show with two of their biggest hits from Fallen - My Immortal and Bring Me To Life.

Before launching into the emotional Immortal on piano, Lee thanks the crowd - “Thank you so much for opening your heart and sharing with us and letting this music be a part of your life as much as it is a part of ours. We love you, this is for you.”

The band delivered a powerful and unforgettable live show, and Lee’s voice was as mesmerising as it was when I first heard it 20 years ago.