DVD Review: Act I by Tarja

Act I the first live rock DVD of Tarja's solo career was released on 24th August. Tarja chose Teatro El Circulo in Rosario, Argentina as place where 2 concerts were filmed.

When Tarja announced that she is going to release live DVD and CD I had mixed feelings. On the one hand I was looking forward to it, since Tarja's concerts are always full of energy and her band members are great performers, on the other hand I was afraid  a bit how it will turn out. Lately I realised I'm no more a big fan of Tarja's live vocals. I really enjoy her vocals on CD but when it comes to her live performance I struggle to be able to enjoy it. And it's not only her weird pronunciation that bugs me. So when I received my copy of DVD I didn't have very high expectations.

My first thought when I looked at the cover art work was: "What the hell are these strings doing there? They're just ruining it!" Also shall I mention Tarja's boring facial expressions and never ending pouting? Come on Tarja, you are so beautiful and yet you manage to look so bad sometimes. Like on most of your promo photos. But apart from that the booklet is nice and simple.

But back on topic now. I paid £11 for my DVD and I think it is a really good bargain. Basically we get 2 concerts, photo gallery from fans and band members, some interviews with Tarja and band member and also the video "Into the Sun".

The choice of songs on DVD 1 is quite obvious. Songs, such as "Anteroom of Death", "I Walk Alone", "Nemo" and "Die Alive" just to name few, are the most popular ones and can't be missing on the setlist.
Also the iconic "The Phantom of the Opera" is present here with Diego Valdez's vocals. I must admit I didn't like him as Phantom. But to be really honest, I am tired of this song. Another song I was a little bit disappointed with is "Nemo". This song sounds bad live. It doesn't matter, whether she sang it in 2004 or 2012. I wish Tarja would choose other song from her Nightwish's days. Be it "Stargazer" or "Bless the Child" since she performed both during her final tour shows. But I understand that "Nemo" is a must. You will see how the audience goes wild when they hear the first tones of this song.
The rest of the songs sound good. Tarja sang her standard and 2 new songs from the forthcoming album "Never Enough" and "Into the Sun" are received by the audience very well. Especially "Never Enough" is very good, energic live song.

DVD 2 includes Whitesnake's cover "Still of the Night", 80's medley, Tarja's heaviest live song "Cirana's Well"  and my favourite songs "Crimson Deep" and "Tired of being Alone".

All in all this DVD was worth my £11.(Although while watching the DVD on my TV I got headache because of the horrible audio. I still don't think that mess was caused by my TV or DVD player and I know I said I want my money back, but hey, I changed my mind.). Teatro El Circulo is very beautiful. The light and laser show helps to underline the emotions of each song and together with amazing audience create a great experience that makes you to want to go to one of Tarja's concerts.
Also I can't forget to mention Tarja's band. Their performance was great. Energic running from side to side, interacting with the audience. It was a real joy watching these guys - Alex Schlopp, Kevin Chown, Christian Kretschmar, Mike Terrana, Max Lilja, Doug Wimbish and Julian Barrett - play.

DVD Review: Nightwish's From Wishes to Eternity

In the dawn of the new Nightwish album Imaginareum, I have finally decided to review From Wishes to Eternity. I know I have waited a little long to review this DVD since I said I was going to review it back on my Dark Passion Play review, but here it is!

In 2001 during Nightwish's Wishmaster tour, the band released their first live DVD recorded in Tampere, Finland which was on December 29th, 2000. And boy what a treat it is to watch anytime I get around to it! I could honestly say that this DVD really gives me chills every time watching it as well as reminding me how great Nightwish was during the peak of their career with Tarja Turunen as lead vocalist. It is also the only live DVD of the band to feature Sami Vänskä as their bassist. I actually prefer Marco at bass since he brings a bigger dimension to the band with his powerful voice, but Sami did a great job in Nightwish nonetheless.

What is great about this DVD is that everyone in the band is performing at a very high level. For example, Tarja's vocals on this release shattered all of the studio versions of the songs performed at this concert. Her voice is very angelic and powerful, as it usually is, but her performance at this particular show is beyond amazing and nothing I have heard before from her! She really knows how to bring the emotions out in Tuomas' songs. And speaking of Tuomas', he showcases his best keyboard work on this DVD, most notably in "Wanderlust" and "The Pharaoh Sails To Orion" where is completely shreds with confidence and style.

The other members were also on top of their skill level too. Emppu's guitar work is creative and stellar, especially when he adds his own guitar fills where it actually enhances the songs more. I especially dig him in the "Crimson Tide" "Deep Blue Sea" covers, but unfortunately that track was not on the DVD I got, which is quite a shame because that performance was outstanding! Jukka's drumming is just fun to watch. I love how he always shows so much passion when playing drums, like how he still does to this day! Sami also seems to be pulling out some good bass licks in the songs too! It's great seeing the band have so much fun on stage together! During the song "Fantasmic part 3", Tuomas jumps out from his keyboard and headbangs with the rest of the band! That is something you don't see everyday! Another funny moment is when there was a break in "Wanderlust", Emppu gave a friendly pat on Tarja's head! How cool is that! :D

Another cool aspect of this DVD are the guest vocalists. My personal favorite performance of the concert is "Beauty & the Beast", where Sonata Arctica's vocalist Tony Kakko provides the male voice. He was a great choice to sing this as opposed to Tuomas, who is a great songwriter and keyboardist, but not a great vocalist. I love how both Tarja and Tony showcase great stage presence together with so much passion and emotion. It looks so theatrical and bad ass at the same time! The other guest vocalist, Tapio Wilska, provides live vocals on "The Pharaoh Sails To Orion". Being the former vocalist of Finntroll, his on stage theatrics are a sight to see. It is really cool to see a guy have so much fun on stage with a band like Nightwish. It is very rare that you will hear his vocal style in a Nightwish song. It is probably the closest Nightwish will ever sound to being death metal!

Other cool additions to the DVD are the bonus features on it. There are interviews with Tuomas and Tarja, two music videos, two live videos, a cool photo gallery, and their discography as of 2001. There is also some off-stage footage where you can see Nightwish backstage! If you happen to get this DVD, you need to watch that because you will get a good laugh at some of the stuff they did during their tour!

So that is my review of From Wishes to Eternity. Here are my overall thoughts:

Pros:

• An excellent performance by an excellent band!
• Great camera work and sound quality.
• Enough bonus material to keep you wanting more!

Cons:

• Wish there were a few more Oceanborn songs on the setlist, but this is a minor complaint.
• Some DVD's do not have the "Crimson Tide" and "Deep Blue Sea" covers.

You can tell by watching this that Nightwish was at the height of their career as a band during this show. The energy that radiated from this show is something that was special here and I don't think it could ever be repeated again! I actually think this performance overall tops End of an Era, though both concerts were very good in their own respect. This is probably my favorite live DVD despite the fact that the "Crimson Tide" and "Deep Blue Sea" covers were not on my copy. At least there is a video of it on YouTube! This DVD is a must have for any fan of Nightwish or symphonic power metal in general. It doesn't get much better than this! Horns up for me! \m/

Overall rating: 5/5