Stratovarius - BB King Blues Club - NYC - September 21, 2005

 

 Once again, we had the opportunity once again to check out Finland’s power metal masters Stratovarius, this time in our home territory. 

 

 Show openers Into Eternity performed a solid 45 minute set. We have seen this band before, as they also opened up for Hammerfall and Edguy back in August. Again, we are not too familiar with their material, but they put on a very powerful performance!

 

 After the temporary breakup of Stratovarius in 2004, we hoped and hoped that they would somehow patch things up and pull it all back together. After almost a year of hoping, the news came that the band had reunited and that they would be releasing a new album, and touring the world, including the United States! After witnessing their phenomenal US debut at ProgPower VI in Atlanta 4 days before, we knew that the New York crowd would not be disappointed!

 

 Before they took the stage, their intro and documentary showed on two screens on each side of the stage. After the documentary the opening notes to Maniac Dance played, and the band took the stage to a very enthusiastic crowd that went nuts!!! They performed the exact same setlist as ProgPower. Vocalist Timo Kotipelto said in the middle of the set that out of all the US shows that Stratovarius had performed so far, that New York was definitely the loudest!!! Once again, he asked us to do the count of four in Finnish at the end of the show, and we were all VERY LOUD!!! From our experience, the New York crowd seemed MUCH more enthusiastic than the crowd in Atlanta, even though to us both performances were awesome!

 

 After the show, we stuck around to see if the band would come out, but this night everyone was kicked out of the venue!!! So we stood outside for about 2 hours and finally something happened: their tour bus rounded the corner, and one by one the band started to emerge from the venue. Timo Kotipelto came out first, put his stuff on the bus then came out to sign autographs, talk to and take pictures with the fans, he remembered seeing us in the front row. We took a picture and talked for about 5 minutes, he is a super nice guy, really cares about the fans! We also met Jens Johansson and new bassist Lauri Porra (who seemed a little buzzed...lol) and chatted for a few. 

 

 According to the screens at the end of the show, it looks like Stratovarius will be back in two years with a new album and another world tour…once again we will be there!!!

 

Stratovarius Setlist – New York City

 

Maniac Dance

Speed of Light

Kiss of Judas

Legions

Twilight Symphony

Will the Sun Rise

 

Lauri Porra Bass Solo

 

The Land of Ice and Snow

United

Against the Wind

Season of Change

Father Time

 

1st Encore

 

Coming Home

Destiny

Hunting High and Low

 

2nd Encore

 

Forever

Black Diamond