Show 76: Evanescence @ The Midland

Show #76 was the best show experience we have had as a band hands down. We were fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to open up for Evanescence at The Midland, which is seriously my absolute favorite venue in Kansas City.  Needless to say, all of us were excited to play this show. 

We showed up at The Midland during Evanescence's sound check and they sounded quite massive. After they  finished we were led back to a dressing room (another first for us) and treated like a touring act with all the bells and whistles. We meet the second band, Weaving the Fate, who are exceptionally nice dudes. After their sound check, we loaded in, setup our gear and went through a couple of songs for sound check.

We hung out in the backstage area for a while then we went outside of the venue and were  surprised to see a line around the block full of people waiting for doors to open. We obviously knew Evanescence was a huge band but what we didn't know was that this was their first tour in 5 years. Bonus! We went back inside and chatted with the Weaving the Fate guys and Will, the Drummer for Evanescence. After that, I had a brief conversation with Tim McChord about old Sacramento, CA bands. Tim was previously in Quitter and The Revolution Smile but has played Bass with Evanescence for the last 7+ years. Shortly thereafter, Amy Lee came out and introduced herself to us. She was a sweetheart in every way.  In fact, everyone in Evanescence and Weaving the Fate were as cool as it gets. 

About 30 minutes before we were scheduled to go on at 8:00PM sharp, we took a peek out front. And to our surprise, the place was quite full. Not what we expected at all for the opening act. As our start time drew closer, all of us were feeling the butterflies on a level we have not before. In the moments before we took the stage we were standing side-stage and my heart was poounding. I felt like we were about to take off in a rocket ship or something. In the weeks leading up to the show, I assumed this would be like every other show to some extent.  Despite what I thought, I was feeling something completely different. 

With that, the lights went out and we walked onto the stage. The crowd roared, and so began our 30 minute set of 8 songs.  I felt like we played well and the audience response invoked an awesome feeling for all of us. We played several new songs and they were received well. It's always a great feeling to connect with people at any show, especially a show like this one. By the time it was over it felt like it was only a total of 2 minutes long.  But what a great 2 minutes it was...

Next up were Weaving the Fate who worked the crowd over proper.  They did a great job and their rhythm section was insane. After their set was over, the stage transformed into the backdrop for Evanescence and the lights went out.

A packed Midland was eagerly anticipating the band they came to see. And let me tell you, Evanescence delivered. This band's show and production is the blueprint for what a touring, professional, mega-act with millions of fans show should be.  I think it's safe to say their fans were more than satisfied. 

At the end of the night, we spent the time after the show talking to people at our merch booth on their way out and we were overwhelmed by the kinds words so many people at the show had to say about us. Ryan and our friend Pat went backstage to gather the remainder of our a stuff and ran into Amy and Will. Once again, they were incredibly nice and unpretentious.  Amy said she really enjoyed our set. I later found out she watched from stage left the entire time we played.  How cool is that? Most people in her position would be hanging out in their dressing room not giving a shit about the opening bands. Not her, she and her entire band are a class act. Much respect.

This was easily the best night we have had as a band, ever. And I think it's safe to say we are ruined for life. How can we go back to bars after this? :-) Can someone put us on a tour already? We're cheap dates and we promise to be excellent tour companions. 

We would like to thank:

Mike, Ryan and everyone at AEG for making this possible

Evanescence, tour staff and management for having us

Weaving the Fate

Jeff Pickman, Sound Magician and 5th Member

Neill Smith, for making this happen

Everyone at The Midland for being so hospitable

Rachel Brown for working the merch booth

Pat Doyle for Cheerleading and All around good time

Jimmy Allen for being the ambassador to the stars

And last but not least, everyone who came to the show. You were awesome.

Till Next Time,

Gene