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 Amy Lee of the band Evanescence screams out during a show at the Air Canada Centre last night. (Alex Urosevic, Sun) |
TORONTO - Evanescence made their second appearance in just four months in Toronto last night.
And judging from the thousands of screaming fans at the Air Canada Centre, the moody metal outfit with the cute, goth- chick lead singer in the formidable form of sexy-looking and awesome-sounding frontwoman Amy Lee, didn't return too soon.
The show at the Hangar followed Evanescence's much smaller gig at Kool Haus last October, which effectively kicked off the Little Rock, Ark., group's latest world tour in support of their sophomore effort, The Open Door, which debuted at No. 1 on the charts.
And, as always, the focal point was the soaring songbird that is Lee, whose pale skin was offset by a head-to-toe black ensemble, including an eye-catching crinoline skirt, and her long black hair, which she whipped around to the group's heavy, melodramatic sound.
"We played for a sixth of this many people (last time)" remarked Lee in amazement after opening the hour-and-20-minute show with Sweet Sacrifice and Weight Of The World, both from The Open Door. "Thanks so much for coming."
But it was the third song, Going Under, from Evanescence's 2003 debut, Fallen, which has sold a whopping 14 million copies, that prompted the first real singalong of the night.
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Still, given the venue's cavernous surroundings, a couple of video screens, along with better lighting and sound to see and hear Lee in all her glory, would have been welcome.
While in good voice, she mostly maintained her spot on a tiny catwalk at the front of the stage, backed by guitarists Terry Balsamo (who suffered a stroke last year) and John LeCompt, bassist Tim McCord, and drummer Rocky Gray.
Thankfully, Lee changed things up a bit when she sat down to play a black baby grand piano at the front of the stage while snowflakes fell around her for two songs, including the set stand out Good Enough, from The Open Door.
It was hard, however, to get past the overall muted quality to the proceedings when Lee's soaring vocals should have produced a genuinely exciting night of music.
Whenever she performed the slightest twirl or punched the air with one fist, the audience roared its approval
Lee just needs to come into her own as a performer. The built-in fan base is already there, eagerly waiting for her to arrive.
Stage posturing aside, it was Evanescence's radio and video mainstays that produced the most reaction -- Call Me When You're Sober from The Open Door and Fallen's uber-hits Bring Me To Life and My Immortal -- this third one featuring Lee initially alone at the piano during the encore and joined by the crowd on the chorus.
- EVANESCENCE AT MUCH TONIGHT: Evanescence is sticking around Toronto for an hour-long Live@Much tonight at 7. Singer Amy Lee and her band mates will perform and take questions at MuchMusic's Queen and John Sts. headquarters.