Show was short but swinging
Amy Lee and Evanescence certainly delivered on their promise of a hard-hitting show when they played at AsiaWorld Expo on Tuesday night. After a lively nine-song set from British band Bush warmed up the crowd, Lee came out swinging with the energetic new single What You Want off the band's latest, self-titled album.
Clad in black with a neon pink and green skirt which glowed in the dark, she whipped the crowd into a frenzy as she followed with the equally loud Going Under.
It was a diverse crowd with an equal mix of teens and adults, suits and rockers. They fed off the energy of the band as drummer Will Hunt twirled and tossed his drumsticks in the air in between vicious slams of the drums while the rest of the band swung their hair back and forth in every tune - all except bassist Tim McCord (I guess he missed the memo banning trips to the barber).
The grand piano made its way onto the stage midway through the show. I finally understood what Lee meant when she told me during our interview that the show would have 'moments of intimacy'. As she belted out the emotional Lost in Paradise, My Heart Is Broken and Swimming Home, couples in the crowd came closer together, holding each other tighter. A hush descended and the entire audience seemed to fall into a trance.
Although Evanescence have released three albums since their debut in 2003, their oldies are still the goodies. Tracks from their debut album Fallen got the loudest cheers of the night, including their first-ever single, Bring Me to Life, on which they ended the concert. After a brief wait, the band came back out for the two-song encore along with the grand piano. Lee slightly changed the lyrics of Your Star to mention Hong Kong, rather than Lisbon, and ended the night with fan favourite, My Immortal.
Lee's performance certainly did not disappoint. It was amazing to see how well her vocals held up throughout the entire show which clocked in at a little over an hour. Despite singing almost non-stop, she had very few missed notes.
My only complaint of the night was that the show was a bit short and there wasn't much fan involvement. Then again, Evanescence's songs are not the easiest to sing, but that didn't stop some from trying, however poor they sounded.
