With the last show of their American tour, Epica were clearly in a playful mood, and the members of Blackguard and Threat Signal were too. Members of the support acts frequently crashed the stage during Epica's performance to bang their heads and spray water from bottles onto the crowd. During several songs there seemed to be at least 10 heads banging their long hair recklessly. It was evidently not a typical set for them, and was extremely light-hearted, and they did not seem to play more than 10 songs.
Of course, the main attraction in EPICA is their incredible lead singer, Simone Simons. She was in fine vocal form, tried hard, hit all her notes, and gave a truly special performance. She's really quite an amazing woman - the true bright star with this band. Her voice cut through the din like a razor, high and clear, and unexpectedly powerful. Wearing leather pants and her traditional leather corset, Simone is sexy without being dirty, she doesn't dance or try to act in a sexual way - this is most refreshing - she is a songbird who stands there and sings her heart out. Unfortunately the 'cookie monster' vocals that are a part of EPICA's sound were too over-used: Rather than sing the verses to "Quietus", the gruff-voiced guitarist grunted them out, and Simone sang only the bridge and refrain. My honest opinion is that those guys need to shut up and let her sing - on every song - it's really Simone that we came to see, and she's the real jewel in this band. They would be far more successful showcasing her - for practical purposes, she's singing only about 60-70% of the time, and with talent like hers, that is inexcusable.
It appears that the keyboard player for Kamelot was on keys for this concert, and that he is Simone's boyfriend. He was excellent as always, and she hugged on his arm, or laid a head on his shoulder frequently, once, they joined hands and briefly danced. It seems rather obvious that they are in love, and it was kind of nice to see. Innocent and sweet.
A very entertaining, albeit short, concert. You better take your chance to see them when it presents itself... I'll always remember seeing Simone Simons in her absolute prime, and what a lovely, talented sight it was!