Live Review – Sanctuary Tour – Full Show
K. Flay
K. Flay was the first support act, but, funny story – I didn’t know they were playing until I saw ‘K. Flay’ on the screen behind them. I misread the tour dates and which ones each support was going to, so K. Flay’s set was an amazing surprise in more ways than one!
The only song of K. Flay’s I knew in advance (I didn’t look into them like I usually would ’cause I didn’t think I’d be seeing them) was their hit ‘High Enough’. Something I found hearing all the songs for the first time, live, was their unpredictability – sometimes after hearing the first verse and chorus you can predict the rest of the song, but as soon as you think you’ve got one of K. Flay’s tracks figured out it does something completely different!
The lead singer brought an amazing energy to the set – she threw her all into her performance, and the technical issues with her mic at the start of the set didn’t seem to throw her off at all.
My standout songs were definitely ‘Blood In The Cut’ and their new track ‘Ants’ – as well as ‘High Enough’! On the way back up the road from Leeds I was pretty much playing ‘Blood In The Cut’ on loop, its so addictive!
Poppy
Poppy was next on the list for tonight, and her set got a few of the first moshpits in the standing area! I did know quite a few Poppy songs going in, and I really liked how her setlist was structured. Something I found a little odd, however, was that she left the stage and took her mic with her at the end of every song… if anyone knows the reasoning behind this, please enlighten me!
Something that really stuck out for me is Poppy’s extreme technical skill – she ploughed through her set pitch-perfect and with a good deal of energy too, also prompting a Wall of Death towards the end, so everyone was definitely well warmed up for Evanescence’s set!
My favourite tracks in her set were probably ‘new way out’, ‘Guardian’ and the amazing ‘V.A.N.’, which my sister and I weren’t sure she would play, but fervently hoped she would – and it was incredible!!!
Evanescence
Where do I start with this? Everything was so brilliant! Their set was an even mix of older hits and songs from Sanctuary, and I think they play most of, if not all, the songs off that album throughout the set.
Something they did, that I absolutely loved, was they played ‘End Of You’, getting Poppy on stage, and ‘Fight Like A Girl’ with K. Flay – getting them onstage and doing stuff together, as well as taking them, two lesser known female artists, on tour, felt super empowering.
I would now like to rant about the stage. There were three sections at the back of the stage, at the top of a ramp, that moved up into the air on pistons – one for the drummer, and one for each guitarist, so they raised and lowered throughout some songs. There was also a section on the outcropping part of the stage that was able to lower under the stage and make it seem as though Amy’s piano disappears and reappears while the audience is focused on something else. There were also wires looped down from a rig near the roof, which were lit and moved up and down through some songs which looked epic, and some stunning pyro that was crazy cool to see. The staging was amazing all round and added a huge sense of scale and awe to the show.
Finally, Amy’s voice was absolutely incredible – all that of the studio recordings and more! She has so much depth and a massive sound that filled the space both during the more metal, louder moments, but also when it was just her and the piano, on songs like ‘My Immortal’ and the ridiculously extraordinary ‘Forever Without You’. ‘Forever Without You’ was introduced with Amy speaking about how, in a toxic or unbalanced relationship, there is a way out and you will be better for it, even if it feels like you won’t be, and its also not your job to save others. That song is just so great, along with the rest of Sanctuary – I wish this had been up and running when it came out so I could’ve reviewed it!
In summary, all of the amazing musicians that night were just that – amazing! I think I’ll remember it for a long time, and I’m so glad we were able to go!
