Text by Patricia C. Figueiredo
The title of this review may seem very cliché, but it's actually closer to the literal meaning than you can imagine. Last Tuesday, the 16th, the Finnish band Apocalyptica gave what will surely be remembered as a unique performance in Porto Alegre, not only for the warm reception from the local audience and the excellent performance of the musicians, but also for the disruptions caused by a major storm that hit the city during the show.
The Bourbon Country Theater was a very fitting choice of venue given its excellent acoustics and the comfort of the space, which includes seats in the auditorium. It was truly a place that enhanced the audience experience, which, surprisingly, was quite diverse. You didn't see many people dressed all in black or wearing belts with eyelets, for example, just a few discreetly displayed t-shirts from various bands.
The opening act of the night was the trio from Rio Grande do Sul, Atomic Elephant . The venue was still quite empty, but with assigned seating, people ended up arriving at the last minute anyway. The trio plays instrumental music and displays great technique and virtuosity characteristic of progressive metal, playing with notes of blues, jazz, and a lot of bass groove, all underpinned by an extremely rhythmic and dynamic drum beat. With the venue fuller at the end of their set, Atomic Elephant received a standing ovation from everyone.
About thirty minutes after the opening act, the theater was almost full, and cellists Eicca Toppinen , Pertu Kivilaakso , and Paavo Lötjönen took the stage in a somewhat introspective manner. With the support of a substitute drummer, the band opened their setlist with “Ashes of the Modern World,” from their latest album, Cell-0 , which they are promoting on this tour.
Next up was the classic cover of “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” one of the songs responsible for the band's large fanbase since the 90s. The audience reacted as expected, with great enthusiasm and energy, and the band was already interacting more with the fans, including those on the far sides of the stage.
After a trio of instrumental songs at the beginning of the set, Erick Canales appeared to sing “I'm Not Jesus” and “Not Strong Enough,” elevating the show to a more traditional format. The Mexican vocalist was brought in to accompany the band on this Latin American tour, and his role is very well executed with his powerful voice that easily adapts to songs originally recorded by different vocalists.
Throughout the show, the musicians displayed considerable charisma, interacting with those closest to the stage and briefly chatting with the audience between songs. Paavo even managed to get everyone in the audience to stand up from their seats to enjoy "Refuse Resist," a Sepultura .
Erick Canales then returned to the stage to sing “Shadowmaker,” which ended with a snippet of Rage Against The Machine and also delighted fans with a great performance of “I Don’t Care.” Returning to the instrumental format, there was no shortage of beautiful versions of “Nothing Else Matters,” which was even the only phrase sung in unison by the audience throughout the entire song.
Around the middle of the show, many people in the audience had already received messages from friends and family about the storm hitting the city, with very strong winds and hail. It wasn't long before the theater lights went out and the emergency lights automatically came on. Eicca even joked that the audience had sung and cheered too loudly and that this was the cause of the blackout.
The fall lasted about ten minutes, and the three cellists improvised as best they could. The acoustics and small size of the theater came in handy, as Eicca and Perttu were able to talk to the audience even without microphones and even joked around while playing excerpts from "Happy Birthday" and the "Wedding March." One fan even mocked the circumstances and shouted "Welcome to Brazil!", and the drummer instantly reacted with a "ba dum tss."
Towards the end of the show, the band struggled to complete their set due to power outages, even having songs interrupted halfway through. However, at no point did the members seem overly concerned and maintained their good humor. With persistence and a bit of luck, they managed to finish the performance with "Seek and Destroy" and the masterpiece that is their cover of "In The Hall of the Mountain King".
Again without electricity, Eicca gave the final thanks of the night without a microphone, illuminated only by the venue's emergency lights. He still managed to announce that the band is working on a new album that should be released later this year, and they left the stage amidst much applause and excited shouts from the fans.
It's truly impressive how magnificent an Apocalyptica show is. Even fans who have seen the band before should still be amazed by the cellos playing the guitar and bass parts, and the musicians headbanging and running around with their enormous instruments across the stage, breathing new life into the heavy metal that many of us have known and come to love for so long as a form of nonconformist expression, a challenge to normative society. Here, the instruments tonight bring a new perspective where the most orthodox classical and beautiful are the protagonists of this same insurgent expression.
In this unique performance, fans should feel the privilege of the surreal experience that is a show by these Finnish bands; the band left nothing to be desired. Ironically, the climatic apocalypse happening outside the theater was no stronger than Apocalyptica themselves on stage.
