By Lisa Burke
September 26th 2015, Fonda Theatre, Hollywood CA: The last week has been a lesson in culture in the world of metal, and on Saturday September 26 2015 at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, I watched Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie put on a remarkable two-hour set from their North American tour as main support to Epica along with openers The Agonist, and Martina Edoff. Unfortunately, Epica had to drop off this tour because one of the members had to fly back to the Netherlands due to a family emergency, but Eluveitie continued the tour, playing the same venues as headliners instead.
The absence of Epica greatly effected the audience numbers, and due to lack of patrons they closed off the entire upstairs of the venue, patio and all. Despite this letdown, Eluveitie fans filled the downstairs auditorium, and at promptly 9:30, Eluveitie took the stage. They love to incorporate celtic folk melodies with melodic death metal, and the results make for a party you don’t want to miss. Picture the scene from ‘The Dark Crystal’ with the Podlings in the tavern dancing to the melodies, and all of a sudden they get attacked by the giant beetle creatures causing chaos, and that is what it feels like to be at an Eluveitie show. With eight members on stage, and an average of two singers harmonizing in most of the songs, there is never a dull moment. The first half of the set featured their more melodic tunes while the second half featured the more death metal variety, and in between was a very well-done acoustic jam interlude. While I prefer the heavier tunes because it brings in a wonderful contradiction, I definitely love all of their music. If you have any desire to see a violinist head banging and hair whipping while playing a beautifully carved out see-through wooden violin and singing back up vocals, you’re going to need to attend an Eluveitie show. Other fun and unique instruments they play that bring an element of surprise and really add to the folk appeal are the octave mandolin, hurdy-gurdy, bag pipes, tin whistles, and flutes.
Their last show in Los Angeles was just about one year ago, and if I remember correctly it was at the House Of Blues Sunset which no longer exists at the moment. While that was a great venue, I have come to the conclusion that the Fonda is the perfect venue for them with its walls papered with giant blow-ups of scenes from the “Hell” panel in Hieronymous Bosch’s ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ triptych. Images of a giant ear creature and a man with a recorder up his ass is somehow peaceful to look at while in the presence of Eluveitie. This was actually the most solid and well-rehearsed performance I’ve ever seen from this group, and with all the effort they put into it, the overwhelming positive response was effortless. They all commanded the stage in their own unique way, and made it their home. A well-noted exciting moment was when about three-fourths of the way into the set the female vocalist jumped on the drum platform and played the cymbal with her back to the audience. This sort of choreographed action is what kept the two-hour set feeling like it flew by, and when they went back into their celtic melodies the mosh pit turned into an Irish dance party which if you haven’t been a part of I can assure you it’s a great time.
One aspect I’ve noticed with European bands is the flawless effort and dedication they serve up to the audience every show from surviving un-ideal conditions to directly thanking the audience. Despite the reformatting of bands that took place, and oddly early show times, this has proven to be a great headlining tour for Eluveitie and I highly suggest you catch them if they come to your town on the next tour.
Set List:
01. King
02. Nil
03. Thousandfold
04. AnDro
05. Slanias Song
06. Omnos (Metal Version)
07. The Call of the Mountains
08. From Darkness
09. Kingdom Come Undone
10. Neverland
11. Brictom
12. Scorched Earth
13. Jig Set (traditional Celtic folk arrangement)
14. Reel Set (traditional Celtic folk arrangement)
15. Hope
16. Carnutian Forest
17. Memento
18. Helvetios
19. Meet the Enemy
20. A Rose for Epona
21. The Siege
22. Quoth the Raven
23. Tegernakô
24. Havoc
25. Alesia
Encore:
26. Inis Mona