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Epica - Live in Thessaloniki Greece

Epica - Live in Concert

The Rain I Bleed - Opening Act

May 30th, 2010 - Principal Club Theater

Thessaloniki, Greece

Photos by: Adelais Tzinikou

Epica

To begin with, I have to say that I am not a huge Epica fan. I love some Epica songs but Epica is not (yet) a band that I will do crazy things for them as a fan! I was thankful that I had bought my ticket a few days before because ended up being SOLD OUT. I was at the Principal 60 minutes before the doors would open to assure a good spot for the entire show. On the ticket was written that the doors open at 8 o’clock. Also posters all over the town informed that the doors would open at 8 o’clock. BUT a few days before the show appeared some other posters that were informing the fans that the doors would open at 9 o’clock. I didn’t pay attention and so I was there, outside the club, waiting about an hour for the doors to open. I am not the kind of fan that he/she is waiting patiently hours and hours for the opening of the doors. But the time passed by quickly. As I was waiting outside I was talking with fans. All the fans were thrilled. A lot of them they would finally see Epica live for the first time.

It was 9 o’clock when I got inside the club. Principal is a huge club with great acoustics and a very comfortable stage. I was lucky enough to be one of the first people who entered and I was in the front of the stage! I was sure that the view would be very good! It was a very promising night!

Mina - The Rain I Bleed

The show started at 9:25. The support act, The Rain I Bleed, was onstage opening. Mina’s band (Mina is the front woman) had not played any other support acts in the past and I was very curious to see them. The first song of the track list was “The Utter Me”. In their upcoming album in that song there is a guitar guest by the famous and amazing guitarist of Nevermore, Jeff Loomis. The song itself is a kickass in my opinion. Mina said “Hi” to us in the best way I think. The next song was named “Nightmares” and after that one of the first TRIB’s songs I have ever listened, “Nocturne”. Both of them were well performed. Next, was TRIB’s most well known song. And I say “well-known” because it’s an old song, one of the first songs that Mina put uploaded in the band’s myspace. Many fans knew that song and its name was “Eternally”. I think that song was the highlight of the whole set. That song prepared us for the cover song that The Rain I Bleed would play. That cover song was “Dark Chest Of Wonders” from Nightwish. I was a little disappointed by the choice of the song they had decided to cover. I was waiting for something a little different but Mina covered that Nightwish song very well. Overall, The Rain I Bleed (http://www.myspace.com/therainibleed) did the entire song very well. They played only for 25 minutes (only five songs) but they cheered us up and prepared us for Epica. Their upcoming album “Narcissist” would be great and they promised us more shows to come.

Epica

After 30 minutes, the band that we were waiting for so long appeared onstage. When the audience saw them coming out they went crazy!!!! Everyone were so happy seeing Epica in Greece again! It’s true that our country support a lot Epica and having a sold out show proved that. “Samandi” until the boys took their place onstage. And then “Resign to surrender”. I was smiling as I was looking to them. Mark was happy seeing the fans in attendance and that was obvious. The Greek audience was also happy being able to see Epica perform. “Sensorium” and “Quietus” then followed. Then Mark told everyone “that the next one would be a heavy one guys”. And so it was. “Seif al Din”. The Greek fans were crazy! Next came “Façade of Reality" and then "Cry for the Moon". I was singing along with Simone for some of the lyrics from "Cry for the Moon". After all during the show she was telling us again and again that she wanted to hear us singing our lungs out. And the crowd obliged. After the crowd was hoarse came the song "Tides of Time" and this was Simone and Coen’s time to shine on stage together. I was very touched by the song as their performance was special and Simone portrayed the feeling needed for that moment and overall composition.

Epica

Then, something unexpected happened. Isaac’s guitar had some kind of problem. Mark asked, "Isaac is everything ok? Ha-ha he is not even on stage to answer me". Because of that problem they were forced to play some songs without both guitars. So they skipped the actual set list and played "The Phantom Agony" and "Solitary Ground", two songs that Epica had not played live in any recent tour. After those two amazing songs (I just loved them live) came the track - "Unleashed". This song was the also the bands most recent video. The song’s intro was different and we did not really understand which song it was initially. I think that song was the most powerful piece performed on the track list that evening. Then came "Martyr of a Free World", "Kingdom of Heaven" and "The Obsessive Devotion". After these tracks it did not seem like the band were ready to leave. The band left the stage for a few minutes and then Coen came out and asked us how loud we could get. The crowd erupted very loudly with a chant of "EPICA" and then the band returned to the stage with their encore starting with "Sancta terra" and for the last piece "Consign to Oblivion".

Epica

Epica played in total for almost two hours! In my opinion the overall show was stellar. Epica came onstage full of energy and they gave to their Greek audience what they were asking for. Arien also did some brutal vocals during the set and he is one of the reasons I went to see Epica perform. He is a very good drummer in my opinion and was a very good choice for the band. Also, Mark seemed to be a very cool guy and appeared to be very happy with the crowd. He spoke with all the fans all the while he was smiling and was clearly having fun. I think Mark enjoys the touring because he just loves the fans and seeing their reactions. Isaac, Coen and Yves were also very good live and Simone was much better with her live vocals than I ever had expected. Overall, It was a great show and they gave us the promise that they will come back soon…and we believe them. 

Set lists for the Evening:

The Rain I Bleed:

The Utter Me
Nightmares
Nocturne
Eternally
Dark Chest of Wonders

Epica:

Samandhi
Resign to Surrender
Sensorium
Quietus
Seif al Din
Façade of Reality
Cry for the Moon
Tides of Time
The Phantom Agony
Solitary Ground
Unleashed
Martyr of a Free World
Kingdom of Heaven
The Obsessive Devotion
Sancta Terra
Consign to Oblivion

Photos by: Adelais Tzinikou - Sonic Cathedral thanks the photographer for their use.