Nightwish, Volbeat, Pain, Indica
Live @ Palabam, Mantova, 30.03.09

There’s no point in taking another round through the stalls, I still can’t find the Volbeat t-shirt. They only sell Nightwish t-shirts. All the same. The feeling that I'm the only fool who came to the Nightwish concert to see the opening act turns into certainty when Volbeat starts playing: no one jumps, hums, or moshes, except for me and two other people more drunk than I am. Five thousand figurines. Average age: 15. And yet, even if you don't know them, they make quite compelling music, don’t you think you’d feel like moving a little? No. They were all just waiting for these Volbeat to get out of the way so they could see their idols.

Well then, the only song that got the crowd moshing is the worst Nightwish song ever: "Amaranth."

What about the new singer? She moved on stage like a teenager in a club. But enough with the criticism! For what she can do, Anette didn’t sing too badly; however, the song that came out best was the instrumental one.

The best dishes were the starters. The Indica, four Scandinavian beauties, were nice to listen to as well. None of the four was playing drums, but the drums were heard: I couldn’t figure out if it was recorded or if there was a fifth member, perhaps hidden for aesthetic reasons (who knows, maybe an overweight drummer would lower the average).

Pain played with more heavy and less electronic attitude; Tagtgren, not very in tune, sang more raw compared to the studio recordings. The result was decent.

Twenty minutes for Indica, half an hour each for Pain and Volbeat. Too little for my taste: Volbeat didn’t even have time to play all their few best songs. Yet, their songs barely last an average of 3 minutes. But they played them well: Poulsen sang flawlessly. The guitarist was jumping around, the drums were a quake. Who could remain unmoved by such a bounty? Only an audience of preteens.

I felt sorry for the parents of some spectators. They waited, yawning at the back of the audience. They kept looking at their watches. Nonetheless, some weren’t even bored, but watched the show intrigued. A lady was seen dancing. Many waited just outside, to avoid the loud volume. For their children, whatever is needed, they said.