We got there around five fifteenish, and waited in line despite not needing to. ^^; Oops. Anyway, we got inside and waited for Alena to show up, she came by a different means of transport, and then we all moseyed on in.


Lesse, it's (from left to right) Tim, Marie, Alena, Erin, and then I'm taking the picture, so obviously I'm out of the shot ^^

The opener, Paradise Lost, was fine. They were too loud even for me, but they had good music. It think. Again, so loud it was hard to know for certain XD. Then anothe half an hour at LEAST before Nightwish came on, but man was it worth the wait! Jukka comes on amidst the slowly building orchestral track. Then Empuu and Marco, sillouhetted and reminding me slightly of wraith ^^. Then Tuomas to his keyboard, and finally Anette comes out on stage and the whole things kicks off with Bye Bye Beautiful from the new album, Dark Passion Play!




A really good group shot, i was so happy a lot of my wider angle pictures came out well!! Unfortunately Tuomas spent a lot of time being pensive and brooding and badass in the dark, so it's hard to see him in this one!




They had some fun antics throughout, like here where Emppu is playing Marco's guitar. Classic. There was another point, after they'd come out for their encore, where Marco pointed at Anette and cried "She is from Sweden! You know what they have in Sweden!" then he pulled a bottled up in one hand and yelled "ABSOLUT!" XD He sings, so I don't know if he REALLY drank Vodka up there, but the whole scene was great. Unfotunately, Laura was not prepared and didn't get a proper picture :(




A great one of Anette singing. Many of the ones I took were blurry, but this turned out really well. I love Jukka going nuts in the background too :D




This turned out blurry, but I HAD to post it! Tuomas, alone in a ray of light, lost in a world of darkness...XD so goofy, and yet it's so...so Nightwish :D




This is my favorite full band shot, mostly because Tuomas looks so animated. That was tough to get from him, not to mention the whole band is busy looking pretty kick ass too! I really like the pose I caught Anette in, very cool.


As if an amazing concert weren't enough, we got something even better. As we waited for our ride to come (We're all 16-17 years old, and yet none of us have bothered to get our license yet!) we were just sitting near the door between the dressing rooms and the stage, drinking water and being generally amazed by the show. I left to walk to the door with Alena, whom I LOVE, i was so glad she came, and as we were standing there, I noticed a map on the wall to my right.

I realized, 'wow, the only door the band would have easy access to is the one my friends are sitting next to right now. I wonder if they'll come out that way.' So I say goodbye to Alena, and as I walk towards everyone I notice a man that looks SUSPICIOUSLY like Tuomas talking to the Nightwish manager and some of the tech guys. I mention this to Erin, who's out of sight of him, and as she comes around to get a good look at him she collapses on my shoulder, mumbling that it really is him. She's a super fan, in case you didn't know ^^ the rest, as they say, is history!




Well there he is, Tuomas himself! And why, that couldn't be Rinny and LaLa standing next to him would it? Erin was in pieces she was so excited. I got him to sign my ticket stub, but when I told him I was 'starstruck' I don't think he understood me ^^




I look like SUCH a dork here, I was giggling and ended up looking sort of cross eyed ^^; but who cares! Marco was so funny, and just fun to talk to! When we were done with the picture he made a joke about loving that he's surrounded by beautiful women, and that his wife wouldn't like it ^^ he sure knows how to make his fans adore him even more.




Ah! Jukka was probably the nicest of 'em all! He made sure we had a good picture before he let us go, and apologized for his smell because he'd been performing and hadn't changed. I had to tell him he smelled just lovely ^^ Then Erin handed him her iPod, asking him to sign it. She's been DREAMING to get it signed by him and Tuomas almost a year, really dreaming because she assumed she'd never get close enough. He took it, stared at it for a bit with a smile on his face, then started rubbing it with his sleeve, saying "I want to make it shiny for you!" XD then he signed and Erin melted. She was in hog heaven, I don't know if it'll ever be possible to top last night in her record books.




Finally Anette, who was such a sweetheart! She thanked us for coming and happily took a picture, and told us they'd probably be returning eventually if we wanted to come back. A shameless plug never hurt anyone! :D seriously though, she was just so cute and nice.

The whole show was downright fantastic. I loved seeing it with my friends, I loved the energy of the crowd and the look of 1st ave., I loved the music so loud I felt it in my rib cage, and I LOVED seeing Nightwish. I was screaming along to most of the songs, including Wishmaster, to which I only know the joke lyrics XD. It was a stunning night, I wish everyone could go to a concert that awesome. Sorry if this post seems too long, I put in a lot of pictures at least! ^__^;