Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022 outing took me to the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, California. Built in 1909, this room is gorgeous, With it’s 35 foot ceiling and blonde hardwood floors, the Regency sounds as good as it looks.
Lacuna Coil was up first. Having been a fan for years, this was my first time seeing them live. It was worth the wait to see them. They sounded amazing as they flowed through their set. Andrea’s growling vocals were the perfect compliment to Christina’s crisp clean vocals. The guitar and bass players as well as the drummer all came out in full white face makeup and set the stage for what was to come. My personal highlights came in the middle of the set with “Heavens a Lie” and “Save Me” though, ever song was on point. You could tell, they were really excited to be back on the road.
Lacuna Coil are:
Andrea Ferro — male vocals
Marco Coti Zelati — bass, keyboards, guitars
Cristina Scabbia — female vocals
Diego “Didi” Cavalotti — guitars
Richard Meiz — drums
Lacuna Coil set list:
1). Blood, Tears, Dust
2). Trip the Darkness
3). Reckless
4). Apocalypse
5). Layers of Time
6). Heaven’s a Lie
7). Save Me
8). Veneficium
9). Our Truth
10). Nothing Stands in Our Way
What do you get when combine three classically trained cello players and a jazz drummer who are all into metal music? You get the Finnish band Apocalyptica. Then, when you stir in the Las Vegas, Nevada native crooner Franky Perez, you get a band that ticks all the boxes.
Apocalyptica hit the stage and the crowd went wild. This was the first time seeing them live and I was blown away. The way they worked their cellos was like nothing I have seen before. These guys are rockers! The first three songs were all instrumentals. The fourth brought out Franky Perez on vocals. Franky can sing with the best of them and he belted out the next two songs, “I’m Not Jesus” (original vocals by Corey Taylor) and “Not Strong Enough”. The next three instrumentals were full of energy and style. Franky came back out for their new single “I’ll Get Through It”. This is a Grammy worthy song. They followed that up with the title track from the “Shadowmaker” album.
Apocalyptica is probably best known for their Metallica covers. Tonight was no different. When they broke into “Nothing Else Matters” the whole audience turned it into a sing along. It was pretty special hearing the choral sounds of 500 plus people all singing along to the cello version. Next was “Seek and Destroy”. Much harder but, the crowd didn’t miss a beat singing along.
The encore finished up with Edvard Greig‘s “In the Hall of the Mountain King”. Norwegian classical music never rocked so hard! All said and done, these guys are stellar and put on an amazing show. The next time they come through town I will be there. I hope you will too.
Apocalyptica are:
Eicca Toppinen – bandleader, lead cello (original and occasional role) rhythm cello (current role), programming
Paavo Lötjönen – rhythm/bass cello
Perttu Kivilaakso – lead cello (current role), programming, rhythm cello
Mikko Sirén – drums, percussion, programming
Franky Perez – Guest vocals
Apocalyptica set list:
1). Ashes of the Modern World
2). Path
3). Grace
4). I’m Not Jesus (with Franky Perez)
5). Not Strong Enough (with Franky Perez)
6). Rise
7). En Route to Mayhem
8). Scream for the Silent
9). I’ll Get Through It (with Franky Perez)
10). Shadowmaker (with Franky Perez)
11). I Don’t Care (with Franky Perez)
12). Nothing Else Matters
13). Inquisition Symphony
14). Seek & Destroy
Encore
15). Farewell
16). In the Hall of the Mountain King (Edvard Grieg cover)
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Photographer of about 10 years, I have been shooting concerts for about 8 of those years. I started to get serious about concert photography about 6 or 7 years ago and now try to shoot as many as I can. I shoot mostly rock but, have done some country and big band stuff. I love music and since I am nowhere close to being a musician, this is a way I can be a small part of what, in the words of Henry Rollins, “gets me through the highs, the lows and everything in between”.
