Fugazi

So would I. I don't see it happening anytime soon, at least not an official biography, with Tuomas and everybody but Floor growing all secretive over the last few years. The next best thing is the Nightwish Story book and We Were Here, but neither give a complete picture of the post-Tarja years. That's a job for @Mape to tackle in his spare time! 😁

Ok, instead of Australia a new show has been announced for June 17, 2023 in Vaasa Finland! 👀 I'm not sure if this is before or during their rehearsal/recording camp retreat, but perhaps there's hope for more shows in June, as Floor is already touring solo in April and May.

Floor addresses serious fan concerns about her new haircut 😁 https://www.facebook.com/floorjansen.singer/posts/pfbid036PhB8L3KHDRhgk1goKagkySpnTjevkEtp5Vsezxk7Vk53BaKXM35xF8xU95dodk7l I love my shorter hair! Even though I’d rather have it long and healthy. But my hair grew thin, became brittle and wasn’t healthy anymore. I started using extensions that made it look beautiful again. I am grateful for the possibility of that, but like my natural me the most. So, if that means shorter hair to make it healthy and natural again, so it is. I am excited to ‘test drive’ my shorter hair for some windmilling on stage with Nightwish next week in Brasil!!! It’s still called headbanging haha, not hairbanging I know some of you are concerned that I cannot or won't headbang anymore, and that the choice for shorter hair has somehow something to do with my solo career or a move away from metal. Rest assured, it is nothing more than a search for a natural healthy head of hair from a 40+ mom who is as in love with metal and music as ever, but also…. just human.

And another performance, on NPO Radio 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGdTeyeDMr0

Floor on Dutch TV again tonight... sporting a new haircut! Also, she mentioned that the band on stage with her tonight will be the band she will tour with next year -- so no more Marcel Fisser band? I couldn't tell who any of the musicians are. There was no backing vocalist either.

In a few days will be the 9th anniversary of Floor and Troy officially joining Nightwish. We know full well when Floor sang with the band for the first time (October 1st, 2012) but what about Troy? Wiki mentions that Troy joined NW for select shows during the Dark Passion Play tour, but do we know which? And when was his first presence on stage with Nightwish? 🤔 I've seen mentions of the 2008 European leg, and of the "UK and 2009 shows" so I guess that by 2009 he was a regular. Where is that biography sequel when we need one! 😁

Update on the AFAS show release: Full Concert Release Date! Hi everyone! Writing you from backstage at the Dutch late night tv-show Humberto. We have finally received the uncompressed audio files combined with the video edit! You might have noticed my team has started uploading videos again. At this point, there's only The Phantom of the Opera left. After that, we'll premiere the full show on YouTube where all of you can join and enjoy the watch party. For now, this is planned for Saturday October 15, but might be subject to change. Have a wonderful evening everyone and I hope you're all just as excited as me to finally see the final product in its entirety. Again, thank you all so much for your patience and the support! de groeten, vänliga hälsningar, lämpimin terveisin and all the best, Floor

According to Kai on his Facebook, there's NOT going to be an Australian tour in 2023, despite indications to the contrary by Floor over the last few months. It's possible they tried to make it work but couldn't. 🙁 https://www.facebook.com/kai.hahto.96/posts/pfbid02kZGjVFTtdxRJZ3ma9D7LJjvU5Z3DziMS6TDGHb3dN1msFDBRkNb915Uf4jK11VNDl

Marko has performed a number of shows with Northern Kings this summer, and I have now managed to catch up on some of those performances. He's doing great on stage with them, he looks like he's having fun. I like the way they're adapting 80's classics for a metal crowd, it works well IMO. Take On Me (A-Ha) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwSZ-A0u6BI A View To A Kill (Duran Duran) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvkY5i7S0tk Kiss From A Rose (Seal) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQwplqaD444 We Don't Need Another Hero (Tina Turner) -

What was Floor doing in 2012 before joining Nightwish? Her last show before flying to Salt Lake City was with MaYaN (also in the USA), but as she was recovering from her burnout she also sang with other bands including Adrenaline Mob. Adrenaline Mob is an American heavy metal band formed by Russell Allen (of Symphony X and Allen/Olzon fame, but he also sang Sweet Curse with Floor in ReVamp) and Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater). So Floor sang twice with Adrenaline Mob that summer, performing Come Undone (a Duran Duran cover) in Bochum Germany and at Bospop in the Netherlands. Bochum 2012-07-07: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiENIUuVovM Bospop 2012-07-08: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peLlsaala_E and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtX_0R-8VzA

Wow, this is a nice montage of Floor singing Storytime through the years! There's even 2022 footage from Helsinki, with Jukka. I wish they would have shown more of that first show in 2012, since the rest is widely available on DVD or YouTube, but still a nice video. 🤘 Edit: Also, kudos for using what appears to be the actual sound recording from the 2012 performance, for those 40 seconds or so from the first show (compare with this fan recording). When NW released a special live clip of Storytime on the Tour Edition of EFMB, the live footage and the sound track were sort of a mashup of the whole Imaginaerum tour. In this new video, the 2012 visuals are also assembled from a couple of different shows, but at least when Floor sings it's the real Seattle footage and sound.

Original: Mellower (slightly):

It's been 10 years since Floor's very first show with Nightwish, and that story is recapped here -- -- but it's also nice to just sit back and enjoy the performance! I did my best to build a playlist of that first show using available YouTube recordings. Full setlist here. Also, here's the whole list of available recordings from that show that I'm aware of: United States-Seattle WA-Showbox SODO-October 1, 2012 Storytime (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Storytime 🎤 (audio only) Wish I Had An Angel (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️ Wish I Had An Angel 🎤 (audio only) Dark Chest Of Wonders (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Dark Chest Of Wonders 🎤 (audio only) Amaranth (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Amaranth (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Scaretale 🎤 🎞️ Scaretale 🎤 (audio only) Dead To The World 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Dead To The World (excerpt) 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Dead To The World 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Dark Chest Of Wonders, Amaranth, I Want My Tears Back, Nemo (excerpts) 🎤 🎞️🎞️ The Islander 🎤 🎞️ The Islander (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️🎞️ The Islander (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️🎞️ The Islander 🎤🎤 🎞️🎞️ Nemo (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Nemo (excerpt) 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Planet Hell 🎤 (audio only) Song Of Myself 🎤 (audio only) Last Ride Of The Day 🎤 🎞️🎞️ Outro 🎤 🎞️ Outro 🎤 🎞️

Indeed, you were very lucky! I mean, there were probably some clues that not every day was perfect within the band, but I don't think that anyone thought that they could suddenly split in the midst of the tour like they did. Fans didn't know that Anette was pregnant either, it only became known months later when she gave birth. I wonder what would have happened had Floor not been available on such a short notice. Would have they carried on as best they could with Anette, would they have cancelled the rest of the US tour, would they have asked Elize Ryd to practice the songs some more and take over? 😮

10 years ago, Anette's last show in Salt Lake City, and the last time this group of people was seen together: From this blog: http://tonnomura.blogspot.com/2012/10/nightwish-and-anette-olzon-part-ways.html A short review of that show: https://tonnomura.blogspot.com/2012/09/nightwish-and-kamelot-in-salt-lake-city.html

It's been 10 years! 😮 Nightwish, Kamelot at the Ogden Theatre, 9/28/12 (review) by The Know, October 1st 2012 https://www.denverpost.com/2012/10/01/nightwish-kamelot-at-the-ogden-theatre-9-28-12-review/ The Kamelot/Nightwish concert at the Ogden Theatre on Friday was a serious case of “the show must go on.” Maybe even one of the band must go on. Both groups had built a passionate fan base due in large part to an enigmatic lead singer. And both had to replace their lead singers in recent years, so this tour had the power to solidify or sever their fan bases, forcing the replacements to prove their credibility. Kamelot took the first shot, with Tommy Karevick working to fill the rather large shoes of the charismatic Roy Khan. Is it sheer coincidence that Karevick bears an uncanny physical resemblance to Khan? Kamelot’s first recording with Karevick doesn’t come out for another month, so this was his chance to make the all-important first impression. While his performance was satisfactory, it won’t cause the faithful to soon forget the loss of Khan. It wasn’t Kamelot’s lead singer who made the biggest impression. It was the touring background singer, Elize Ryd, and not for her performance with Kamelot (keep reading). The crowd grew restless at the slow changeover following Kamelot’s generally well-received set. After all, they were very eager to see if Nightwish’s current front woman, Anette Olzon, had the live pipes to measure up to the iconic vocals of Tarja Turunen — a debate that has deeply polarized the fan base of Finland’s most successful band abroad. (Nightwish has reportedly sold more than 8 million records worldwide and collected 60 awards.) This was the big chance for Denver fans to decide if they were staying onboard the Nightwish train. Only it wasn’t. The reason for the delay was eventually revealed: Olzon had been rushed to the hospital, and it was left to an audience vote as to whether the show should be canceled, or they all have what one band member called “a huge karaoke night.” Although stunned by the announcement, the crowd clamored for the show to go on, and as the lights went down, Kamelot’s Elize Ryd emerged with lyric sheets in hand, singing “Storytime.” Ryd made a valiant effort to spontaneously salvage the show with performances sprinkled through the set, and her awkward but earnest efforts on “Amaranthe” and “Nemo” were rewarded with heavy praise. The band and audience alike seemed to be determined to make the best of a bad situation. Bass player Marco Hietala filled some spots with falsetto vocals and allowed the crowd to take the reigns on other songs. Yet another unexpected surprise was the performance of uileann pipes master Troy Donockley, whose Celtic leads sharply contrasted the bombastic symphonic wall of sound created by Empuu Vuorinen’s guitar and Tuomas Holopainen’s keyboards. Concluding with a cinematic version of Gary Moore’s “Over the Hills and Far Away,” Nightwish somehow managed to team up with a forgiving audience to play what is surely going to be a stop in the tour the band won’t soon forget. --- Also, a few pictures from that fateful night: https://www.flickr.com/photos/brandonmarshall1/albums/72157631652576008

The Charismatic Voice has a podcast with Anette and Russell Allen (of Allen/Olzon). The take-home message from this interview is that Anette and Russell have never met and never even spoke to each other before this interview. 🤔 They made two joint albums without ever communicating directly, which goes to show that technology is a double-edged sword.

Further to the above, here's the story of why Nightwish sang a Battle Beast song that one time in Stuttgart. Excerpts from Sonic Cathedral, by Angela Infernale: https://www.soniccathedral.com/zine/index.php/concerts-events/162-Nightwish Live Review – European Imaginaerum Tour 2012 The show in Slovenia got cancelled, making Stuttgart the final show of the European Imaginaerum tour. Now what seems to happen at a final Nightwish show is that total prankage breaks loose, and that clothing is optional, but I'm getting ahead of myself. The show started out perfectly normal. Eklipse were about halfway into their set when there was a pretty unexpected addition to the band. Two scarcely dressed guys on the higher end of the BMI-scale came on stage with fake instruments, and joined the girls for a minute or two. Wearing black panties and some see-through tops, they had done their best to observe the dress code. The girls' reaction was priceless, but in spite of all they managed to keep playing without any noticeable mess-ups. But it also took a lot more than that for Anette to lose it later on, but first things first. One detail I haven't mentioned so far is that between Eklipse and Battle Beast there was the shortest re-arranging break ever. It didn't take more than five minutes till they were finished and the next band came on. So when I expected to hear the usual, sort of symphonic Battle Beast intro I had gotten used to, I instead got some weird techno-ish music. It stayed on for about a minute until the real intro started. Granted, they – who ever they were – could have been a bit more creative on that one. In the break that followed the Battle Beast set, Dr. Cotton – that's what his lab coat said – handed out some free Nightwish shirts to the crowd. Well, children's shirts and old tour shirts from the “South American Kumbajah 2008”, etc. So the biggest and funniest prank had to be played on Nightwish. But what would it be? First, Nightwish had their own shot at Battle Beast, making up for the yet funny, but not so hilarious prank before. During the acoustic part of their set, when they were supposed to play “Nemo”, they started playing Battle Beast's most characteristic song: “Show Me How to Die”. At that, the latter came running into the photo pit and rocked out to their own song, while Troy Donockley added some witty remarks, such as “I would really like to be deceased.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HE7KBybiPI That could have been it, but no real prank had been played on Nightwish yet. And sure enough, as they were playing “Over the Hills And Far Away”, Battle Beast were suddenly back in the photo pit – only this time, they were dressed in sauna towels only (Nitte made an exception, she had thrown the towel on top of her stage outfit). Now “Over the Hills and Far Away” is a very danceable song, and a sauna towel can be really restrictive to your mobility. So some of the guys decided it would be better to open their towels in the front – facing the stage – and wiggle what they got. That's when Anette cracked up in the middle of singing. After that, no one knew what they were singing anymore. I know I didn't, but Anette and Marco also seemed to be singing different things when they were supposed to be singing the same. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziibL8Qn9pM (unfortunately Battle Beast are invisible but you can hear Anette laughing her ass off!)

One song I haven't listened to very often, Erämaan Viimeinen with Joensu from Indica. Tuomas' former girlfriend has released solo material recently but the band Indica appears to be pretty much dormant.

More about 'Flesh And Blood' from The Sound Cafe: https://www.thesoundcafe.com/post/finland-s-hisq-release-flesh-and-blood-with-ex-nightwish-bassist-singer-marko-hietala "The song has a long history. I composed this on the piano some 40 years ago, and originally it had just a few Finnish lines of text to it. It got buried underneath other songs, but it stayed on my mind. One day I found lyrics called 'Flesh and Blood' in my drawer. I had no idea which song the lyrics where meant to go with, and I even managed to compose a new melody to them. At some point I finally realized, what song they belonged with, and the early version of 'Flesh and Blood' became a reality," Erkki Vuokila explains. The moving piano ballad also features Mikko Mäkinen, who has played the keyboards in HiSQ before and who now gave his finishing touches to the piano arrangements, and Peter Engberg, who plays the acoustic guitar. Bablo had the idea of asking his namesake Marko Hietala to come sing the song, and Hietala was more than happy to lend his voice to a story, which resonated with his own life story. Marko Hietala says, "Hi people! I was approached by Bablo and Erkki a few months back. They said that they had a song, which they would like me to sing for their HiSQ release. I listened to the song and read the lyrics and ended up singing the song. Here’s how it resonated in me. I’ve struggled with a few addictions in my life. The worst of them has been alcohol, which made me so impulsive, untrustworthy and reckless, that everything dear to me was about to break. And it was happening because of me. I needed to make a change and I did. But I also remember how my troubles made me blur the accusing voices and constant pain in my mind with booze. I was a chronic depressive alone on a highway to hell. And addicts are worthless enough for others to write them off without getting to know anything about their reasons. We all need to communicate how we feel. We all need to hear the others. If we don’t, we’re cowards in our own field of battle. I’m only flesh and blood. Can I count on you?'" Here are the lyrics, according to AZ Lyrics: Flesh And Blood My life has been just one big masquerade The lovers that I lied to, the enemies I made And how to end it is what I must now learn Before the time of reaching the point of no return 'Cause I am only flesh and blood and hope you see that too The times of my pretending they are through I am only flesh and blood and all I say is true But if I stumble, can I count on you? I owe it all to you if I succeed You saw where I was going, you saw the change I need It's hard for you but mine is the hardest part Cause all the things I'm doing they must come from my heart I know I'm only flesh and blood and hope that you are too The times of my pretending they are through I am only flesh and blood and all I say is true But if I stumble, can I count on you? Can I count on you? No, I'm only flesh and blood and hope that you are too The times of my pretending they are through I am only flesh and blood and all I say is true But if I stumble, can I count on you? If I stumble, can I count on you?

Not for you if you're looking for a technical comment, but it's good fun. Rosalie Reacts - Ghost Love Score: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbf9FLHtUn4

I'm so happy that we now have this quality recording of Floor performing "Our Decades In The Sun", since the band won't perform it live. 🙏

A new collaboration for Marko, with this Finnish musical collective named HiSQ. It's a very nice song IMO. https://www.hisq.fi/new-single-with-marko-hietala/ "September 23rd presents a new phase for HiSQ. The single ”Flesh and Blood” starting the series Hi Status Qualified is a beautiful piano ballad with powerful vocals from ex Nightwish member Marko Hietala." From their page: https://www.hisq.fi/initiation/ What is HiSQ? It’s the name for this Finnish collective. It’s short for Hi Status Quotes but also for instance Hi Status Quirks and Hi Status Qualified. It’s mostly about good songs created for the love of music. Our collective and the HiSQ band together try to create something special. The genre is of no importance, only that we are satisfied with what we’ve done. Before going to studio we usually know, who is going to sing the song. The Quotes’ music is inspired by words heard in tv series or movies. They can be classic lines or just some random words that suddenly make Erkki hear a melody in his head. Erkki is a big Abba fan, so he likes to play with words and how they sound and doesn’t take them too seriously. The five first Quotes’ songs are being published as an extended play. The Quirks will be something you don’t expect. No need to tell more at this point. Hi Status Qualified is dedicated to an especially good music with no quotes or quirks!

This could be of interest: July 31 – August 7, 2023 Nightwish Fans Meeting Kitee https://www.facebook.com/NightwishFansMeetingKitee2023/ Greetings to all of you who are fans of Finland, Nightwish, Finnish culture, and Finnish music!!! With this post we will inform you about the summer of 2023. Write it on your calendar: July 31 – August 7, 2023 Nightwish Fans Meeting Kitee It’s formally known as KIMAF - Kitee International Music and Art Festival. It started as a yearly festival in 2012 and we had more than 4000 visitors from 67 countries visiting Kitee between 2012-2019. That's an impressive number! We are very proud that people from 5 continents visited the birthplace of the iconic Finnish band Nightwish, wanted to know more about the early years, sang the Kitee song, and met the band if they were nearby. Now, info about the 2023 event: As you can see, we changed the name from KIMAF to Nightwish Fans Meeting Kitee 2023, or short: NFM Kitee 2023. It will take place at the same iconic place where all KIMAF started, Kitee Folk School, in the center of Kitee. In this space, we can accommodate singers, musicians, and visitors from around the world during the festival. We can accommodate 50-60 people in three- or four-bed rooms. We will post the conditions and prices in a Word document. As well as the complete program and activities you will be participating in during your stay. There has also been a change in the face of the festival, and we refer to this event as a meeting. You are the main artists, since you can sing Nightwish songs alone/some of you can play piano, guitar or other instruments. Here are the points of the program: - The first days we will meet at the Juhlasali - small concert hall in our school, where each of you will present a short story about how you got to know Nightwish, what you know about Finland, etc. With a little help from 2-3 Finnish teachers working at our school, you will face one of the most difficult and exotic languages in the world the same day and the next day. Also, you can learn to make Karelian pie, which is strongly associated with the Karelian area, where you will be. - There will be a Nightwish Tour, taking you to all important places in the area. We start with Nightwish Story Exhibition, the brand-new exhibition at the center of Kitee, check https://nightwishstory.com/en for more info. Our next stop will be Röskö / Nightwish Summer Camp, where the albums Imaginaerum, Endless Forms Most Beautiful, and Human :II: Nature were created. Our next stop is Potoskavaara and Monttu Studios, where 'Once', the most successful Finnish rock album worldwide, was recorded in 2004. - During the week, there will be a church concert with a number of Nightwish songs on the program. Everyone can join. We can sing Sleeping Sun together at the end of the concert. - And of course, there will be enough free time where you can enjoy the beautiful Finnish nature and you can try some of the good Finnish food. Accommodations for the event are as follows: 1. Kitee Folk School, the center of the event - soon will post an email where you can reserve your room 2. The Juurikan vapaa-aikakeskus is located 15 kilometers from the center 3. Karjalanhelmi, 15 km from the city center, on the beach of the lake, exclusively for fishermen 4. Koivikon Kievari is 11 kilometers away from Kitee. We will post pictures of our school's sauna, swimming pool, rooms, and conditions soon! Please stay tuned for more detailed info!

Nightwish might play to sold-out venues, but Floor too: yesterday she revealed on FB that most tickets from her 2023 Netherlands tour were sold: April 11 - Amsterdam - Paradiso (83% tickets sold) April 12 - Tilburg - Poppodium 013 (65%) April 13 - Utrecht - TivoliVredenburg (76%) April 16 - Den Haag - Paard (95%) April 17 - Groningen - Oosterpoort (sold out)