I’d been looking forward to this show for almost 2 months, since I found out about it and got my ticket (that is, way before even moving xD). So as usual I just had to go there very early! I was at Shepherd’s Bush Empire at about 4, after having some trouble finding my way from the tube station.

There were more people there than I had expected, seems like a lot of fans travelled from other countries to see this gig! Not being quite at the front of the queue turned out to be a Very Good Thing! I was close to the backstage door…where soon I started hearing guitars! Stepping out of the queue and glueing myself to the door seemed like a very good idea at this point!! I got to hear End Of All Hope and Dark Star from what I suppose was the soundcheck <3

When it was over, time passed much slower and I was FREEZING, although meeting some nice people did help. But somehow it finally was 7pm and we finally got to go inside! We ended up in the 3rd row. Not bad, and it could’ve been even better if we hadn’t stopped to look at merch. But I can’t complain, I had a pretty good view, and I could even take some good pics.

Random: while Shepherd’s Bush Empire is a nice venue, I’m glad the Within Temptation gig sold it out quickly and it got moved to Brixton Academy…that one is much prettier!

We had barely got in and found good spots when the first support act came on stage: British band Solsikk who apparently have less than 100 listeners on last.fm xD Some people liked them, but idk, all their songs sounded the same to me. And I would’ve enjoyed the female screaming/growling if I would’ve been able to actually hear her!

Second act was French band Markize. MUCH more my type of thing. The singer’s outfit was so cool, Gaga-inspired obviously. They even played a metal cover of Bad Romance! (many bands do that, I noticed xD). Will definitely listen to more of their stuff.

After another really short break (yay for these) it was finally Tarja’s turn! The band started coming on stage while we could hear an instrumental version of If You Believe as an intro. I am really sad that this song didn’t make it on the album, not even as a bonus track. I’m really into it as I was part of the very first audience to ever hear it! /bragging

Then this changed to the intro of Dark Star and soon after, the band started playing, Tarja herself came on stage, looking as happy and radiant as always. Since on the CD this is a duet with Phil Labonte, her super hot bassist Kevin had to fill in some vocals :->

The cheering seemed to be twice as loud at My Little Pheonix, an old song. During a few quiet seconds before the last chorus, where we were supposed to sing, she called out at us: “LONDON??”. I decided I quite like being addressed as “London” at gigs XD

I was surprised to really enjoy I Feel Immortal and Naiad live, they’re quiet songs that didn’t impress me much on the album, but I think so many people singing along all around me helped with that. By the way, the crowd was great, especially at the front where there were many people from the official forum (= diehard fans xD). On the other hand, the hall wasn’t sold out, so it didn’t feel…crowded enough to me xD

Falling Awake nearly made me cry XD It’s my favourite song on the new album, it really rocks (it sort of reminds me of Enough, which btw wasn’t played and that made me sad), and it also reminds me of…the time when I first heard it, which is something I really miss. I Walk Alone was another crowd favourite (again, an old one…and it’s probably the loudest we were all night xD). Sadly, she didn’t change in her usual dress for it, but it was still great!

After this, she did go change her dress, while Mike Terrana did his AMAZING drum solo. I love it more and more each time I hear it. Then the guitars joined in, and it all sounded perfect, just like at the Bucharest gig (which I loved far more than the MFVF gig xD). They soon transitioned to Little Lies, it was fun. Underneath was next, she gave such a good performance of it! It starts out all soft, but then it gets epic and quite haunting. So beautiful! At the end we could barely clap, everyone was so into it…but that was fine cause End Of All Hope started immediately and we were all jumping in no time xD This was one of my favourite parts: Nightwish song from Century Child (my favourite NW album) <3

The acoustic moment followed. It was a medley of Lappi (NW song, in Finnish, I never got into it really), Damned and Divine (one of my faves from MWS), unexpectedly Our Great Divide (I did cry at this one, but it was beautiful) and Archive of Lost Dreams (one of my least favourites from WLB, but again, it was far better live).

When the next song started (Ciaran’s Well), I was surprised again cause I’d forgotten about it. But it was the most headbanging I managed to do all night \m/ xD The ‘final’ song was In For A Kill! (I was relieved to get this and not Crimson Deep xD) I’d say it’s my favourite from WLB…but idk really, I love most of them!

She came back for the encore in a lovely white dress/coat thing. First song here was a mashup of some 80s songs: Where Were You Last Night (NW did a cover of this, so it half-counted as a NW thing as well xD), Heaven Is A Place On Earth and Living On A Prayer! Does it sound ridiculous? Well…it is! But it’s really a lot of fun, and it’s good to know she doesn’t take it seriously either XD

Until My Last Breath isn’t terribly catchy for me…but it really rocked, I love it now. Last song was Die Alive, as usual.

There were the usual hugs at the end, and they all shook some hands in the crowd but I didn’t get to do that. Soon we were hurrying to catch the last train, so there was no waiting for pics either. But I kind of got used to the idea that I’ll never meet Tarja, so it’s all good XD

Waiting alone was rather boring, but some guys were going around selling (fake, I assume, since they were very cheap) tour T-shirts and hoodies, while O2 people were giving us free Oyster card holders, and even invitations to the afterparty (but you had to be an O2 customer for that, blah…not that I’d have gone to the party, but it’s still unfair, people got to meet band members over there!). Oh, other O2 guys were going around with this, but taking a pic like that would’ve meant losing my place in line, so nothx xD

It was before 7 that they actually opened the doors. They made guys and girls go in different queues, so somehow I sneaked more in front when the division happened. I was a bit disappointed that I hadn’t brought my camera, since they allowed them after all. I knew from personal experience and other people’s horror stories that it’s hard to get a camera in at a Placebo gig, and Brian might kick you out personally if you do bring one in…but this wasn’t the case here. Oh well.

I finally got into the actual hall (which is very pretty, suddenly it’s one of my favourite venues!) and ended up in the 5th row from the stage. I even had a decent view at this point. Was temporarily happy.

The opening band, Little Fish, came on stage soon enough. I have no idea why the very first support act always has the microphone practically turned off! I couldn’t hear much of what this girl was singing…but sometimes she did some high pitched screams, at least those were memorable xD I liked her because she looked at me and smiled a few times during their gig

Second band was Evaline (“rhymes with wine”, they’re the former band of Placebo’s not so new anymore drummer). First thing I noticed: singer was a drama queen king, and possibly gay (he was waving too much at the guys in front of me xD). He jumped into the crowd on most songs xD

Once again I was amazed at what a pretty girl Brian Molko is! Just like at the concert in Bucharest, he was at the side of the stage watching the other bands. I saw him, and wondered “who’s the girl?” before realising it’s him. Then more people saw him and no one was paying attention at Evaline’s members sweating in front of us XD

A big plus for this evening: everything went perfectly according to schedule! After the final 40 minute break, Placebo finally started! I got the familiar feeling of anxiousness when the lights dimmed and cool stuff appeared on the screens on stage…then they showed up! As much of a drama queen Brian can be, I am glad to see that he is never the last one to get on stage, to make a grand appearance or anything: him and Stef enter at the same time

So they opened with Nancy Boy (really old and gay song that they very recently started playing again) so everyone went nuts and was singing really loud! Next came Ashtray Heart and Battle for the Sun, also very bouncy songs! Breathing was becoming difficult due to all the pushing/shoving/jumping everyone (and inevitably me) was doing. Soulmates was supposed to be a bit calmer, but no jumping didn’t mean anyone backed off. Kitty Litter used to be their opener and it’s like everyone had renewed strength to dance on it. So at Every You Every Me (when the moshing started!) I decided I had finally had enough…and moved a bit back! This is unheard of, for me! But alas, I may be getting old. Or something. IDK, I tend to like breathing.

Obviously I wasn’t regretting having left my camera behind anymore, there’s no way I could’ve taken pics! And I was grateful for wearing my new Doc Martens, otherwise my toes would’ve been fucked xD

Not sure what’s the order for the next songs, and I don’t have net access as I’m writing this. There was Special Needs, Bright Lights and Breathe Underwater (from the most recent album, songs that they hadn’t played last time I saw them…it was particularly lovely to hear Brian screaming “I’M COMING, I’M COMING up for air” on Breathe Underwater XD), The Never Ending Why, Teenage Angst (another classic), a cover of Nirvana’s All Apologies, Meds (can’t get enough of this live version they’ve been doing this tour), For What It’s Worth…and all too soon it was time for Song to Say Goodbye, the last one before the encore. Or did we also get The Bitter End now? Not sure, but it was played.

On the bright side, the encore was pretty long, 4 songs with long intros and stuff (and I heard some Romanians in the tube complaining about this taking too long XD). There was Trigger Happy Hands, their newest song. Then, probably the song I was most looking forward to, Post Blue! Hasn’t been played since the Meds tour so MAJOR LOVE There was tons of confetti at all the encore songs (the other two were Infra Red and Taste in Men)…and also A LOT of balloons were released from the ceiling (white, and they had DEATH AND FEAR written on them…I brought one home <3).

What else? The crowd was amazing! I’d heard the concert from the previous night was amazing, but apparently we were even better, probably because we knew we were being filmed for the DVD. Loved how sometimes I could hear the people around me sing louder than Brian

Since this was my first concert in London and I was going all alone, I didn’t know what to expect, but I loved every minute of it! Amazing end to the Battle For The Sun Tour (since the following few shows were cancelled due to Brian being sick) <3 All that’s left now is to wait for the DVD and hope I can recognise my arms/hands on it XD

The only photos I have to remind me of this:

Best.Balloon.Ever.

I’d been waiting for it for 4 weeks, so I grabbed some friends Friday night and went there a tad early (7pm). We caught the whole soundcheck (the longest I’ve ever seen! And when it seemed like it was over, they played two songs so we thought the concert was starting. But no, they were still checking).

In the mean time, the singer and the bassist came to sign stuff and take pics. I got autographs from both, and a pic with the singer. It was still very early, so there weren’t many people at the club, meaning there was no pushing and shoving at this stage.

(This was great, since last time we had to wait till after the gig to get our pics, and it was painful. So crowded! On the other hand, I can’t complain, we also went to their van last time and took another round of pics. And the singer offered me some peanuts =)) Yeah, I’m getting random)

Anyway, after their soundcheck the crowd started calling them. But surprise! there was an opening band (whose name I didn’t catch)! They plugged in, tuned their stuff, blah blah. At 9pm they started playing. Emo kids, nerdy-looking, younger than me, couldn’t take them seriously… but the singer had a cool alomst-growl. Played three original songs, and covers of Another Brick In The Wall (with the current state of things, it was cool to sing along with) and Enter Sandman (which was really great!). Some people in the crowd were really rude though and I kinda felt bad.

So it was finally 10pm, and a freshly showered Vita de Vie came on stage! (yeah, we could tell)

I’ll include the setlist, for future reference:
Vina
Zale de matase
Azi
Ca un clovn
Fetish
Mori
Esti mai frumoasa cand plangi
Vinolamine
Ozosep
Imi pasa
Totata
Praf de stele
Beat mort/Sunetul mai tare
Basul
Liber
Coltul meu
Tine minte

Attempt at translating song titles failed. There’s too much to explain.

Other than this…it gets blurry. Bulletpoints would be the best way to go:
-best VDV concert ever, but then again, I always say that after one of theirs
-took NO pics during the set – that’s a first, but since I assume it’s the last time I’m seeing them, I wanted to enjoy
-it lasted a bit over 2 hours, amaaaaazing setlist, unexpected encore
-way too much headbanging -> my neck is still stiff, I just hope it goes away till Friday
-way too much singing/screaming -> no voice, not that i need it
-was right near the stage, of course -> everybody was pushing against me -> back and legs and everything hurts like hell, I even spotted a bruise on my knee, dunno when I got that
-pretty much took a bath in beer at the second song or so (eww)
-I sang sth at the wrong time, so the singer looked straight at me and said ‘shush’ <333 XD
-he kept going on and on about how totally amazing we are each time they come here, one of these days I’ll believe him
-won’t squee about how much I love each song, and how good it was to hear them live (some for the 1st time, some for the 4th time) because I really am the only one who knows them xD
-*insert story about inner joke which can’t be translated*
And that’s kind of it.

Going to this festival had been a long time dream of mine, this particular year more than any other, since the line-up was made up of so many bands I loved! So good thing I asked for it as a 18th birthday gift

Friday
Flight was early in the morning so we left here in the middle of the night. Boring drive to the airport, not so boring wait at the airport, slept during the flight, then… oh look, we’re in Brussels! We left the luggage at the hotel and we went shopping!!! I got CDs (so many cool stuff I’ve wanted for a while), some very nice clothes (gotta love the fake leather pants xD), the perfect boots and SO MUCH chocolate!

Then it got late, and I was tired cause I hadn’t slept much in the last 48 hours. And that caused me to go all emo, being all paranoid and thinking of stuff that shouldn’t matter when I’m so far away from home and about to have the best weekend ever. But anyway… we went to sleep and it was all good xD

Saturday
The day started off great, with me wearing goth clothes to breakfast =)) We took the shuttle bus from Brussels to Wieze (where the festival took place), and we got there at about 10.30 am. Queued for the bracelets, queued for entering the hall…and when we finally did, it was heaven All around the hall there were merch stands and other shops. So we went to look at corsets <3 The only ones I liked were leather corsets, but Mom was all… “yeah, you only need a whip to go with this and you’re good to go!” So no corset for me *sigh*

So we moved on to real merch! Looked around once… something was missing but I thought I was just overlooking something. So there was one corner only with Epica stuff (sure, they were headliners – got a sweatshirt and a keyring). And there was another corner only with MFVF stuff (got a hoodie, it’s got all the names of the bands who played, on the back <3 ). And that was all – the other bands had no merch there. More importantly, Delain had no merch there!! This whole thing made me angry so I just went to see the stupid band that was playing.

Pinky Doodle Poodle are some sort of punk/J-rock. Noisy. Weird. Dunno what they were doing at a metal festival, but whatever xD

Whyzdom were next. Entertaining, especially the way the choir looked when all 6 girls banged their heads in slow motion XD The singer had a cold, but I thought her voice was still good. Also, Mom said (and I agreed) that she was dancing as if on ’manele’ =))

By the time Unsun came on stage, I was front row (sort of to my right) Which was good, cause they were the first band on the bill that I had actually listened to before. I was happy to hear my favourite song of theirs, Face the Truth, along with others like Blinded by Hatred or The Other Side. However, the singer’s voice was still annoying and she wasn’t entertaining at all.

Manic Movement followed. I know I made a mental note to say here that they reminded me of a more melodic Lacuna Coil, but I don’t actually remember any of their songs.

Kivimetsan Druidi were cool, Finnish folk metal with some female growling Not my usual thing at all, but very nice live.

This is where I asked Mom to keep my spot for a minute so I could go to the bathroom XD It was hard being in the front row all day long!

Finally a band from my must-see-in-this-life list: Amberian Dawn!!! I don’t remember everything they played… there was Evil Inside Me, Kokko – Eagle of Fire, Valkyries and of course River of Tuoni <3 Heidi’s corset was very very nice! I had so much fun at this gig, with jumping and singing! Now I started getting annoyed with the guy next to me, who only stood there looking bored (I thought maybe he only came for Epica, but he didn’t even seem to enjoy them. Blah.)

Next were Autumn. I feel like I should have known them, but didn’t. Not quite my kind of thing, they were too prog, which in my book means boring.

I didn’t expect to love Flowing Tears (setlist here) as much as I did. I listen to them a lot at home, but I don’t really know their songs that well. Anyway, really cool gig! Thy Kingdom Gone was so good for headbanging <3

After this, the Epica and Delain signing sessions were announced. Took a loo break again and I also went to take a peek at Simone. The queue was way too long, though, and I didn’t wanna sacrifice my first row place for this.

So I went back to watch Krypteria and be upset over not meeting Delain. The only reason that band (Krypteria) is any good is because their singer is hot. She came on stage in a wedding dress and at the second song she took it off, revealing leather pants. That’s pretty much all I remember, along with some catchy songs sung in a not-so-good voice xD

I really tried to like Midnattsol, but their gig didn’t help much. I only liked the first song, might have been En Natt I Nord. Carmen was funny though, in the way she thanked us all the time xD

It was almost 9pm by now, and this last break before Delain was very hard to bear. My feet hurt, I had bruises on my arms and most likely also on my ribcage because of the fence, and I was a bit bored due to Midnattsol. It was all made worse by being alone (Mom didn’t stay with me, she was only sending me water and taking what pics she could of the signing sessions, without actually queuing there *sigh*). But the break finally passed.

And the lights went out. And Delain’s intro started. And as I was filming it, my eyes suddenly got all teary and I finally got that feeling… “SHIT I AM ACTUALLY HERE AND I’M GONNA SEE DELAIN!!!!!!” I won’t do this song by song, because it’d be like “and the next song started and it was awesome and I sang along with everything and Ronald kept looking at me and he was cool” for each song. Have the setlist, it was perfect. I loved jumping on The Gathering, Cordell was very touching, Sleepwalker’s Dream has one of my favourite lyrics ever and it was cool to hear that live. Charlotte’s leather outfit was awesome! Everything else was amazing, even though I didn’t catch that guitar pick (I hope my French boyfriend the French guy in whose backpack it landed found it and enjoys it xD ) Sadly, they had no guests, and no encore. But they had cool pyro effects! The first set of flames scared the shit out of me, it was so hot there in front XD Gotta say, best show in the festival for me!

Longer break followed, which was good cause I needed to clear my head. During this, Floor Jansen came on stage to tell us about her new band, ReVamp! I don’t think I would have minded to end the evening right then, I had had an amazing time with Delain.

And it was good, cause I had no expectations of any kind anymore from Epica. Their setlist had a lot of new songs which I didn’t know, and many of my favourites from Consign to Oblivion weren’t there. On the bright side, they did play Fools of Damnation, Sensorium, The Phantom Agony, Sancta Terra, Cry for the Moon and Consign to Oblivion, all of which are SO AMAZING Best part however, was Floor joining them on stage to play an After Forever song, Follow in the Cry!!! They were so great together! Epica had cool pyro effects too, and they filmed the show for a DVD, woo Also, one of their guitarists threw me a water bottle (yes, I brought it home with me, empty though).

When it was done, we kinda had to run in order to catch the bus back to Brussels and my feel were killing me, but nvm that, I was walking on air XD

Sunday
Again, goth clothes to breakfast. I also had the MFVF hoodie this time around XD Shuttle left earlier so we were at the hall before the doors were even opened, which meant I got a front-row-center place. WIN!

Oh, on the road they were playing WT’s Black Symphony in the bus. We got to Swan Song on the way there, and when we came back, we listened to it from Our Solemn Hour on XD This really got me in the mood for seeing WT live. But no. I could only see the following:

To-Mera were only cool cause they were British XD

I liked the two vocalists Coronatus had. One had a low voice and the other one did operatic vocals. They also had nice songs, I really should listen to them more now.

Lahannya was only cool cause she was British and because she had nice boots XD The lyrics were so predictable that I sang along to most of the songs, although I had never heard them before. She liked that xD

Deadlock gave me a headache. Too fast, too weird male growling, girl’s voice was like Avril Lavigne’s.

Finally something I was interested in: Stream of Passion! I can only describe their music as pretty and I’m very happy I got to see them. Good setlist: Haunted, When You Hurt Me The Most, Out In The Real World, Passion <3 Marcela’s corset was lovely, too.

Darzamat followed. Black metal is clearly not my thing.

Next were van Canto and suddenly A LOT of people were in front of the stage! I was looking forward to this cause they’re an a capella band. Can’t be too easy to make one’s voice sound like a guitar, but they were so awesome! I only knew Wishmaster from their setlist, as it’s a Nightwish cover (btw, it’s probably the best live version I could have heard, as Tarja doesn’t play that anymore and I don’t wanna hear Anette ruin it xD ) I loved how their singer was such a feminist XD

Last boring band of the day: Trail of Tears. I didn’t really pay much attention.

And finally it was time for something cool to start, with Leaves’ Eyes‘ 20 minute acoustic performance. They took a long time to prepare everything so the shows were delayed afterwards, but nvm. They played four lovely songs: Irish Rain, Scarborough Fair, Leaves’ Eyes, Legend Land. Oh and I got their handwritten setlist (huge thanks to Liv’s sister for that xD )

Doro was such a surprise for me – so warm, so communicative! I didn’t know any of her songs, but she made it easy for us to sing along. She had Tarja as a guest on one song (though she sounded so weird, for some reason) and Floor and Liv on another one (new one!). What I liked best was the way we rocked for one hour but the last songs were so heart wrenching!

And then it was Tarja’s turn. Cool, unexpected thing: having The Reign as an intro. The setlist was similar to what we had in Bucharest, but shorter, so it seemed kind of rushed to me. Of course, I can die happy because I heard She Is My Sin again, and Deep Silent Complete, and The Seer as a duet with Doro, and Damned and Divine, and Nemo, and that drum solo <333 And Tarja was so happy for the enthusiastic crowd! But there was no Kinslayer and no Sleeping Sun. And when the guitar and bass joined in the solo, it wasn’t as cool as in June. Band was also different, I really missed Maria And I was being squished all the time (well, maybe that’s a sign of the crowd being really cool). Anyway, to my mind, the Bucharest gig was better in spite of the security guards xD

(BTW! I loved the security guys at MFVF – their shirts said ‘crew’, not ‘security’, they were giving us setlists and stuff from stage after bands left, and if they needed to cross the photo pit during a gig, they would keep their heads down so they didn’t ruin our pics! The thought of Romanian security guards doing that makes me LOL)

I also got a Tarja shirt at some point, but she didn’t come out for a signing session or anything…unlike Delain, so mom got me and V signed shirts <3

Also, thanks to mom, I saw Leaves’ Eyes at the Brussels airport, Monday morning. I wasn’t quick enough to catch them before they went to check in, but it was still cool.

Setlist: here

Pics: here. I know they’re kind of crappy, but really, you try taking better ones from the moshpit, while trying hard not to be pushed around

So on Saturday I finally saw Guano Apes!!! I’ve been waiting for this for… one whole week! =)) No, really, I wanted to go ever since I heard that they’re coming to Tuborg Green Fest (about a month ago). Last week I convinced Mom to go and I actually started listening to more of their songs xD I knew only four of them before that, two of which were played. Yeah, so what if I wasn’t a hardcore fan? I still had an amazing time and it was one of the best gigs I’ve ever seen.

But I should start from the beginning. It was just past 4 when I got to Bucharest, in the place where I was supposed to meet Vlad…over two hours later xD I went to eat, like planned, and I wasted a lot of time like that, reading a book from the phone (and later I was wondering why I have a headache…). Then I walked up and down the street a bit, and ended up being late *headdesk*

Of course, it was too early to go straight to the festival venue, as we weren’t interested in the other bands…so we went to a record store (yay for them not actually having any goodies so there was no temptation for me xD ), then we had a drink (Pepsi! I was determined to only have one beer, from the festival). We talked about a lot of random stuff, like we usually do, and I had a great time XD

We got to the venue at about 8 (I think?), then we queued for beer for more than half an hour…at the wrong queue, might I add! Because they only had regular beer there, and we wanted to try some special flavours. Oh well, next time, I guess :-j Afterwards, we finally joined the crowd in front of the stage… and I drank my beer really quickly, which was a bad idea – it led to conversations like:
Me: I want ‘Dick’! There’s nothing quite like yelling ‘diiiick!!!’
Vlad: You should mention you want the song ‘Dick’, so people don’t misunderstand…
*headdesk*

Some band I keep forgetting the name of were playing then. Oh, The Herbaliser! Our drunken logic said that, if we cheer a lot, they’ll go…that didn’t quite work… But anyway, at 9.30, GUANO APES FINALLY STARTED!

*okay, that was a long introduction… concert review starts here*

First song played was You Can’t Stop Me. I barely had time to raise my arms/clap/squee/whatever before the moshing started. All around me. I’m usually very careful to be either very up front, so I can hold on to the fence, or very far back, but there were just SO MANY people here, I guess there were a hundred small moshpits all over the place XD I was being pushed from all sides (I even have some bruises to prove it), but that didn’t stop me from jumping on my own, and from headbanging whenever there was space available xD

Money and Milk followed, and I couldn’t sing along, but then it was Quietly!!! Probably my favourite track by them <3 And that's when I got that awesome feeling… that what is happening is real, I am actually there!! There were Fangirl Screams, and Teary Eyes XD

I didn't quite understand why Vlad liked Open Your Eyes so much, before, but when they got to the chorus and let the crowd sing… yeah, I understood perfectly! No Speech also rocked hard, then Pretty in Scarlet was… really very pretty <3 There might have been tears again. Never Born was next, and while I don’t like the recorded version much, it was very emotional live. They either have loads of good songs, or made some awesome choices for the setlist of this tour!

I didn’t recognise the following songs: Hives Song (because I’d never heard it), Wash It Down (until it got to the ‘wash it down’ part), Allies (didn’t remember it), Scratch the Pitch (again, until it got to the ‘scratch the pitch’ part, when I felt like kicking myself, it is SUCH a great song!). Not recognising them didn’t stop me from bouncing around a lot, of course xD

An instrumental version of Plastic Mouth followed, then it was time for Underwear! That’s such a funny song, I love it! Next was Break the Line, the first song I ever heard by them! It brought back nice memories from 2004 (off topic: weird how most of my favourite songs are from 2003/2004 xD )

Then they played Sorry, from Sandra’s solo album, and again I didn’t know it, but next was the thing I’d been waiting for all evening Dick, followed by Big in Japan, the ‘last’ song of the evening.

We made loads of noise, so they came back for We Use the Pain (I really don’t get that song…) and All I Wanna Do. Then Sandra said there will be one more if all the guys take their shirts off! XD Sure, Vlad had to take all the fun out of life (like he usually does ) by not agreeing to do that no matter how much I cheered/clapped/yay-ed my approval of Sandra’s request. *rolls eyes*

Then came the one and only Lords of the Boards, baby!!! XD Which rocked SO HARD! I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stay till the end and see this song, and I’m so glad I managed! It’s pretty much up there with ‘The Kinslayer’ and ‘The Other Half (Of Me)’ in my list of fave songs to headbang on XD

After this, we were told that we were ‘fucking awesome’ (Brian Molko said the same thing, I must be the reason why these audiences are fucking awesome *feels important*), that they’ll be back next year, that they’ll have a new album (yay!!!)… and that was it.

I’m not really sure what happened next. I remember there was so much dust! XD We wanted to buy water/beer/WHATEVER but no one would sell us any after 11. Then we wanted to take pics together, but we failed, and surely looked lame in the process. Then mom called me and I had to go meet with her so we could get back home *sigh* We were like ‘see ya’/'thanks for meeting me’/*hug*, then I was running around the park cause mom was waiting at the wrong exit :-j

Don’t feel like writing about how we took a wrong turn at some point, which turned a 3 and a half hours trip into a 5 hours one. It didn’t matter much to me, Saturday was too awesome

My pics, on hi5: here

Setlist: here

Two concerts from two of your favourite artists, in consecutive days, is a rare thing even here, in London…and even more so in Romania. And it isn’t every day that the best metal female vocalist announces a show you can easily attend. So it was a no brainer that I absolutely had to attend. It didn’t matter that I had no one to go with, all I cared about was my front row seat in that lovely classy venue, which I knew would get its roof rocked off.

Monday found me with my knees, neck, throat, and back all sore, but without the headache I had the previous morning and completely in awe due to the previous night. At noon excitement started to set in, because I WAS GOING TO SEE THE DIVA!!1one! Due to friends slowing me down and getting lost looking for the venue, I guess it was past 6 that I got there and Vlad was already waiting. I need to take this moment to give him a huuuuge THANK YOU for meeting me, hanging around with me (in the rain, might I add), running with me from one exit to another…and still chatting with me online afterwards! I was in Extremely Shy mode before the concert and in Crazy Bitch Fangirl mode afterwards…surely not very likeable. So THANKS

After I got there, we walked around the hall, until we needed to find shelter from the rain…right in front of the doors which eventually opened to let everyone in. Inspired, much? xD We went directly to the merch stand, which may or may not have been a bad idea – my MWS poster went through a lot during and especially after the concert. We finally made it to our (first row) seats, but the hall was quite empty. We laughed at a Nightwish ad being shown on the screens (I find it inconsiderate…), peeked at the setlist, squeed a bit at Maria coming on stage, signed the awesome banner Fullmoon made, took some pics, then a lady told us to sit and my excitement doubled I loved it when the entire front row stood up at once, when the lights went out, and I felt like laughing that everybody would just cheer a bit when each member came on stage, but then it was so eerily quiet until the song started xD

Enough was the first, and it was a surprise, I expected that such awesomeness was to be left for the ending. By that logic, I suppose everything would have had to be left for the ending xD When Tarja walked on stage, I forgot to cheer, for a second. She was so beautiful <3

My Little Phoenix was next. Great song, but I couldn’t focus properly. There were a lot of people from the press between the stage and the seats and I just wanted them to go away xD

However, at the third song absolutely nothing mattered anymore, because it was She Is My Sin!!! IT’S MY FAVOURITE NIGHTWISH SONG EVER EVER EVER!!! I was pretty much melting when she got to the “fall in love with your deep dark sin” part 8-> Couldn’t escape sod’s law, though. Security came to make the press people go away, and although it was a camera-friendly show they were very angry with all the fans standing there. It wasn’t a problem to turn off my camera for the moment just to make them go away, but they wanted me to sit, too. Thing is, there were a couple of people between me and my seat, who surely didn’t have tickets there. Explaining all this to the security guys took enough time to make sure I miss the best part, the “bless me, undress me” one. Blah.

Next was Damned and Divine, about which Tarja said that it’s her favourite from MWS (and I was all “mine too!”), and that it fits our country, as it’s about vampires. It was divine, indeed, until security was all over me again but I ignored them this time around and they backed off. xD

Just about time, as Minor Heaven started. I’m really glad it was played in full, and not part of the medley of slow songs, as I really love it. It struck me again what an amazing voice she has and how passionate she is particularly on the more quiet songs.

After this, she went to change and I Walk Alone started while she came out in the lovely MWS coat thing. I wanted to sing along and wave my arms or whatever but all I could do was stare, surely with a huge grin on my face. It was obvious she was having a great time as well.

Then she left again, and it was time for Ciaran’s Well Solo i.e. Mike plays his drum solo, then the guitar and bass join in. I don’t think I ever listened to a recording of this (never had the patience), but it was awesome – headbanging time, of course. Doug and Kiko were awesome, they let us touch their guitars \m/ Tarja joined in soon, in a different outfit, to sing Ciaran’s Well, of course. I only recently started to enjoy this song, and live it was really great – more headbanging, yeah xD

A moment of silence followed, then this:
Tarja: Now, for my dreams…
Audience: *gasp*
Tarja: I hold…
Audience: *squeeeeeeee*
Tarja: my life… *grins*
It was Sleeping Sun, another Nightwish classic, and I just couldn’t believe my luck, to be there and experience that, after I had come to terms with the fact that certain NW songs are now ‘dead’.

We couldn’t be left to dwell on how much we miss the old times, so the following songs made us rock: Lost Northern Star and Poison. Then, it was once again time to settle down, as she played a medley of Wisdom of Wind (I’ll just admit now that I’m glad this wasn’t played in full – I don’t really like the song), Boy and the Ghost (would have loved to hear it all), Our Great Divide and Calling Grace (which were perfect just the way they were). The way these were blended together was beautiful, and I’m really glad I got a video of this.

The greatest surprise of the evening was hearing a song that had “never, ever been performed before” – just Tarja and a piano. If You Believe had been on the setlist in Budapest a couple of nights before, but wasn’t actually played. I guess we were more special. Or she didn’t have the sheet with the lyrics in Budapest xD Beautiful song, I also filmed this <3

After such a long break from rocking, the only way to bring the crowd back to life was probably a NW song. Nemo is the first song I ever heard by them, and seeing it performed live reminded me of everything I love about old NW and about Tarja. And it reminded me of many other things, not the least bit related to her, so it was a very special moment.

The “last” song was Sing for Me, again one of my favourites, great for rocking as well as for listening/watching/feeling.

Band left, and we started yelling Tarja’s name, then they came back and Maria started playing Oasis. I was surprised Tarja didn’t play it herself on the keyboard, but it was lovely to see her stand while singing it. It was also lovely to be able to sing along, despite not understanding a word (the song’s in Finnish). That night when I stayed up late repeating the words over and over finally paid off! xD

Next, she said they’d do more songs if everyone stood up. Then came my now-favourite quote: “Let’s keep on rocking the Bucharest, or what? This is for you!” And it was yet more NW awesomeness, The Kinslayer \m/ Again, I’m proud I could sing along. It’s hard to sing that song, I think, due to how the words are separated. Anyway, took me a while to learn it. Aaand…I think headbanging on this song might be one of my favourite things to do in life xD

Last song of the evening was Die Alive – cue more singing along, rocking out, cheering etc. After the song, everybody in the band was hugging everybody, then they were bowing, and then… Tarja went to shake hands with people on one side of the stage, then turned to leave. At that, ignoring security and all, me and a few more girls around me called her name and made one more step towards the stage…AND SHE CAME TO US! She bowed, and shook (yes, shook, not just touched) a few hands, mine included. People were kind of squishing me there, but she left pretty quickly xD

So did a lot of us, actually, as we wanted to catch her at the exit and take pics with her. Turns out, we waited an hour and a half at the wrong exit. The band did go out there, and stayed with the fans for a bit. But then it was just idiot security guys mocking us for waiting. Occasionally, people would come out with signed posters (no idea what they did to get a meet&greet), and finally a couple of guys who seemed to be important came and told us she left at the other exit. I ran with Vlad there, but in vain. She’d just signed a couple of stuff, took a couple of pics and left. Anyway, enough was said on the forum and I don’t want to discuss the whole thing further – I would have liked to meet her, but I know she didn’t have to come out for us. I’m not mad at her at all, there is no reason for that. I do have a problem with the way security treated us, but that’s a different story. And I’m glad for those of you who got to meet her at the press conference or at the right exit

My pics, on hi5: here

Setlist: here

I had never looked forward to a concert as much as I did to this one. Me and one best friend bought tickets months before the concert, as soon as they went on sale, and we also got a ticket for another best friend, on her birthday. It was gonna be our first gig together, made even better by the fact that we were seeing a band that meant so much to us (teenage girls bond very well over emo movies and their soundtracks…)

So there we were in Bucharest, for several days…having a good time for the most part. Fast forward to the concert day, which seemed to never come!

We made it there at about 6 (very late by my standards, but they wouldn’t listen to me). By ‘there’, I mean the place where we had been the day before, when we went to check out the place – Gate A. We had to walk for about 15 more minutes to get to Gate C, by which time a lot of people were flocked there. In true fangirl spirit we made it quite close to the front, and then security started letting people in, but without cameras.

Now, I have been to some concerts before – it’s written on all tickets that you can’t bring your camera, but you only actually have trouble if you bring professional looking ones, but they were being very strict this time. Luckily, I have a really small one, which could be stashed in a small pocket. We felt guilty for about 0.3 seconds, till we realised most people were sneaking cameras in under the fence. It was quite a nerve-wracking experience, as there was no place where we could leave cameras, and pick them up afterwards. It felt like it would be either the camera or the concert.

Oh well, after we finally entered, they gave us bracelets (yay, my collection grew), and we ran to find a good place. There were quite a lot of people at the centre of the stage, but not so many at the right, in front of Stefan, so that’s where we stopped – there were about five ‘rows’ between me and the stage, and I’d call that a win considering how late we were xD

We spent some time there with the sun shining in our eyes and laughing at the security guys, and at 7.30 the support band, Expatriate, started their set. Indie is not my thing – I’d listened to their album at home, didn’t like it, they didn’t do anything for me live either. I read reviews which said people were very excited to see them, but I’m sure they were excited for a different reason.

As the band was boring me, I kept looking at the sides of the stage, see what the crew’s doing. That’s when I noticed a person with long-ish black hair and sunglasses. Here are my thoughts: “Umm, I wonder who that chick is. Fiona Brice is a blonde, so it can’t be her. Do I know of any other girls…OH FUCK!” And then out loud: “AAAAAAHH!! Briaaaaaaaan!” Which caused other people around me to squee. He stayed there for a bit, watching Expatriate, then he left. Just as it was getting boring again, I glanced at that side once more, which caused me to go “AAAAHHH!! BB STEEEEEVE!!” and then I waved. And he looked, and G took a pic of him looking at us. He threw his hair around banged his head a bit, then left us to be bored again.

Finally, Expatriate announced their last song, played three more, then left. Fast forward half an hour more, in which the crew guys were being really funny…and THE INTRO FINALLY STARTED! I got butterflies in my stomach as I always do at these things, everybody was clapping, we started cheering really loudly when “PLACEBO PLACEBO” showed up on the screen, and we were quite deafening when the members of the band came on stage, one by one. Kitty Litter and Ashtray Heart got me dancing and singing and clapping and jumping and (wow) they got rid of my headache xD

After these, Brian talked for the first time. He said “good evening, Bucharest” in Romanian, said they’d play some songs off the new album and that next is the title track ( Battle for the Sun ) which made everyone freak out. The crowd, or at least the people around me, knew the lyrics very well, and the repetitions were very much appreciated, as we could bang our heads very nicely on them. Unforgettable moment – at the end, before the last “I, I, I will battle for the sun”, Brian paused as he always does, and we cheered. And cheered. And cheered. Louder and louder. The expression on Brian’s face FTW

For What It’s Worth followed, again people knew the lyrics, and I enjoyed it although it’s not one of my favourites.

I knew we were in for a classic at the fifth track, but I wasn’t sure what it would be. It was Soulmates and I was mesmerised. I missed a nice moment, as I was passing my camera to M during the “fuck the government, fuck their killing, fuck their lies” part, but it’s filmed and G took a pic

Speak in Tongues is my favourite off BftS, so I just watched and teared up a bit, but G filmed the entire song <3 Follow the Cops Back Home , my favourite Placebo track ever, came next and I was pretty much floating. Every You Every Me brought me back on earth for a good dose of rocking. I still can’t believe I’ve seen these three songs performed live, and I have no words to describe the experience. They sure know how to make a setlist to make me fall in love with them all over again.

Ninth song was Julien , a welcome emotional break for me. I did sing along and also danced a bit, but again, it’s not one of my favourites. Took some more pics, as I was lacking in that department xD

Afterwards, we got Special Needs , which I like a lot, but sometimes get bored of it at home. It worked great live, though. Favourite part – “Remember me through flash photography and SCREAMS!” *crowd cheers*

The Never-Ending Why is another of my favourites off BftS – it’s got that special Placebo flavour, I think, like lyrics I can’t quite understand xD I loved how Brian pointed at us at the “but the kids are doing fine” part <3

Despite having learnt the setlist, memory failed me at that point, so I didn’t know what to expect, so hearing Black-Eyed made me let out a genuine Fangirl Squee (TM) and start jumping. Another crowd favourite Afterwards, Brian asked for a cigarette, and told us he’s happy he can smoke on stage here, as in the UK they’re slowly taking away all small pleasures. I think this is where he referred to us as the children of Romania, brothers and sisters of Romania. It might be all in my head, but I think he said they’re the brothers and sisters of Placebo.

It was followed by Happy You’re Gone , which is competing with Speak in Tongues for being my favourite on the new album. I’m glad Brian said nothing about the person this song is about – the band and the fandom need to get over it.

Next was Meds , and this slower version allowed me a moment to feel sad that the concert is sort of almost over, and that we didn’t get Devil In The Details, like at other concert dates, nor Bionic, like the festival dates. Not that I wanted to give up on anything that was actually played. But then the song got faster and I forgot how to think, I just sang along xD

Come Undone made me sad again for the same reasons and I wanted to go back to Kitty Litter and make the concert last all night. Or more. I think this is where the band was introduced. Brian used pretty much the same speech like in Sheffield: “behind every great man there’s a great woman” for Fiona, “for the first time in Ro., all the way from California” for Steve, “my partner…in crime, for 15 years, the Queen of Sweden, Mr. Stefan Olsdal”, something about “we call him The Glue, his parents called him William Lloyd”…and Stefan said “the King and Queen, my Drama Queen, Mr. Brian Molko”

Special K was absolutely perfect, with absolutely everybody singing along, and then the screams at Song to Say Goodbye were again deafening. And again, I have no proper words to describe the amazing-ness of these two.

Then came the part when they pretended to end the show, and we yelled “PLA-CE-BO! PLA-CE-BO!”, so they came back for Infra-Red and The Bitter End . Time for some good headbanging. Then they left again, and they came back again for Taste in Men , so I started yelling “STE-FAN! STEFAN!”, and people around me joined in. He was right in front of us, so he obviously heard, but just stood there with his arms crossed and shook his head. In the immortal words of R, “did I pay to see him stand there shaking his head??” Never mind she didn’t actually pay, we all really wanted to see the “gay dance”. Oh well, most of us performed our own more or less gay dance, as it’s impossible to stand still on that song. And then it was over, there was cheering, and Brian said we’re “a fucking amazing audience” and he said that “in all sincerity”. Steve was so cute, he looked very excited to be there But then they were gone, and crew guys were taking away instruments.

Then… I’m not sure what happened, I was walking on air, despite being sore all over the place, and my friends were pulling me to catch the last bus when all I wanted to do was run after the band. Turns out they did come out for autographs. Oh well, next time, I guess. I did buy a cheap poster, though xD