On Tuesday, May 14, 2019, alternative band Veridia, opened for Evanescence at the Bethlehem Sands Event Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Veridia uses a blend of electronic and alternative rock sound and not only entertained but electrified the audience who were eagerly anticipating the arrival of Amy Lee and Evanescence later in the evening. Both bands shared clear musical chemistry together as evident after previous successful stints on the road together not long ago. It was clear that Veridia came to rock the night by bringing a force of energy to the stage as lead singer Deena Jakoub danced across it during nearly every song. Just prior to the closing song of the set, a clearly emotional Jakoub shared a quiet and personal moment with the crowd. She discussed the painful loss of her father due to illness and the gutwrenching reality of not having the opportunity to play the intimate pianobased ballad called “I’ll Never Be Ready” to him before his passing. The song features the lyrics: “Gotta keep my head up / Gotta fight until it hurts / Part of the process / Hope is in the progress / I’m rising up / Been down and out, but I won’t stay down,”. Lee accompanied the friend and fellow alternative rock diva by playing a majestic grand piano and shared the vocals as they both beautifully sang, commanding the crowd as one. After the closing notes, as the pair hugged, and the crowd showed its appreciation of both with applause and definitely some tears.
Awardwinning and Grammynominated artist Evanescence hit the stage shortly after the scheduled start time to a devout and eager fan base, standing shoulder to shoulder on the Bethlehem Sands Event Center general admission floor, packed the side wings and filled the VIP area balconies. As the band took the smoky, lightdrenched stage and began to play, fans erupted in a chorus of cheers as the event they came to see was underway. Evanescence is one of those bands that continues to show promising push in their lengthy career. They have sold over 10 million copies of the first two albums alone. produced three gold and platinum hits and earned a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The band’s current lineup features original member Amy Lee on lead vocals, keyboards, harp and piano, and partnered with Jen Majura on rhythm guitar, lead guitarist Troy McLawhorn, bassist Tim McCord and drummer/percussionist Will Hunt.
Evanescence is touring both in the United States and in Europe in support of the band’s fourth album “Synthesis”, released in 2017, an album that features reworked versions of the band’s prior material complete with an orchestral arrangement and additional electronic elements. The band powered through each song of their set gracefully, bringing early work from their careerspanning discography front and center to a crowd that was feeding off Amy’s energy. Dressed in her trademark gothicstyle, Lee seemed to glide around the stage, commanding the center area with epic bravado as fellow musicians were equally energetic. Quite honestly, Evanescence seemed to be having as great of a time as the fans were and it showed in their phenomenal performance that evening.
Although more mainstream tracks such as “Bring Me To Life” and “My Immortal” were played near the very end of the set, fans seemed to enjoy each song performed just as much as the ones that bring the house down. Amy Lee’s voice was strong and onpoint all night, hitting soaring, highrange notes consistently as the band provided solid backing.
There is no sign of slowing down for Amy Lee and Evanescence as fans can look forward to hearing new music as noted via Blabber Mouth Media and Louder Mouth “that a more imminent Evanescence could arrive sooner than anticipated in early 2020 and is ready to return to its roots.”
Review by Nick Scalera & Brendan Maurice | All photos by Nick Scalera
EVANESCENCE
