Review of the concert at Le Velvet (Quebec), June 2nd 2007 by MetalUniverse.net
Wishmaster was back for a fourth time in Quebec city in hardly a year and a half. Nothing different from the preceding concerts. The formation pays homage to Nightwish with brilliance seeking parts from several times in the history of the Finnish band. The singer is very pleasant to hear, but has a less operatic voice than Tarja. It would be thus curious to see how she will adapt with the style of the new Nightwish's singer next time.
Two surprises awaited the amateurs present. First, Kinslayer (ex-Nightwish tribute band) made a return after three years of absence. As their singer was abscent, they interpreted "Moondance" and it was very appreciated by the crowd. Second, Wishmaster invited three people to go up on stage to sing the chorus of "Wish I had an angel". An excellent initiative on behalf of the band. On the other hand, fate certainly kept picking on them. During half of the show, the sound of the keyboard squeaked atrociously due to a bad connection. At least that was corrected thereafter.
By Guillaume Cyr, MetalUniverse.net translated from french by Étienne Lafond
Review of the concert at Le Saphir, June 1st 2007 by Progmontreal.com
Last night, June 1st, the Nightwish tribute band presented a great show at the cosy Saphir, a «goth» bar on the main.
This was a fun show, with a great setlist, from a band that has matured admirably! The quintet is composed of highly talented musicians headed by the lovely Sandy, who delivers poweful, operatic vocals and brings the band's energy level way up! Their 2-hour performance began at 9:00 sharp, and included all of the great classics of the finnish goth metal band, including Dark Chest Of Wonders, Wishmaster, The Kinslayer, I Wish I Had An Angel, Nemo, Planet Hell, The Siren, Romanticide and many more! The small but very enthusiastic crowd was headbanging incessantly, and I have to admit that I got just a bit nervous when they started trashing (old farts like me aren't used to this rather "violent" practice) so I stepped back a bit. Sandy's lovely voice was pitch-perfect, Étienne kicked ass on guitar, and provided intense vocals throughout the show, Philip was fantastic on the keyboard, providing the occasional death growl! Fred was fantastic on drums, for one of his last performances with the band and finally, Daniel on bass was tight and energetic, delivering powerful grooves on the bass.
This was a terrific show, top notch entertainment! The sound was pretty good, despite a few hum problems that were quickly corrected. The group will be back in Montreal this October, and perhaps sooner, dont miss them!
Text by Robert Dansereau Progmontreal.com (02-06-2007)
Review of the concert at the Marina du Vieux-Port, February 10 2007 by MetalUniverse.net
From the beginning, I must specify that I am not a fan of Nightwish or this kind of music, so I am not the best to compare the tribute band with the real one. Wishmaster came from Montreal for their very first concert in the Saguenay region. A thing is sure, much of the people present adore Nightwish just by seeing the reactions. Each musician is well experimented leaving place for very few mistakes. Their singer has a good voice and, according to comments collected on the spot, faithful to the voice of Nightwish. Only one small comment, that I would say, at the level of her scene presence she seems, by moment, not to know what to do or even what to say, but nothing too serious especially with the assistance of her clavierist who really played with the crowd. After playing their first set, the band takes a moment of rest before returning with a very complete second set. The amateurs present were completely filled with a long setlist and the band was completely struck by the public's reaction. Wishmaster announced that they will be back in the Saguenay region in September. Let us guarantee that it will make several people quite happy.
The concert is a real success. The two bands gave a long performance really appreciated by the public. Thank you to Underground Génération to have organized this concert. Also thanks to the two bands present: Kastlegar and Wishmaster.
By Emmanuel Bergeron, MetalUniverse.net and translated from french by Étienne Lafond.
Review of the concert at L'Écouerie, December 16 2006 by MetalUniverse.net
The Nightwish tribute band: Wishmaster stepped onstage. It was the third time in one year that they visited us in Quebec city, not bad for a tribute band. Moreover, they played in Rimouski, Drummondville, Montreal, St-Jean-sur-le-Richelieu and they will play soon in Lévis, St-Hyacinthe and Saguenay. One can hardly say that they are not doing everything to promote their band. They tried something for the show: play two hours non-stop. A beautiful gift for the fans, although they ran the risk to be exhausted before the end but that was fortunately not the case. Their performance was constant all along the show. Wishmaster pays homage to the Finns very well. The singer controls well the operatic style and the keyboard player is the perfect example that someone is not obliged to be motionless behind a keyboard. The rest of the band also played well, except on some occasions for the keyboard. The melodies seemed different from the originals. The only negative point of the show was the problems with the sequences. All the orchestrations were abscent or misfunctioned half of the time. At the rate they are going, they will be able to do it again within six months in a room more suited for them.
By Guillaume Cyr, MetalUniverse.net and translated from french by Étienne Lafond.
Review of the concert at Cabaret Playhouse, November 17 2006 by ProgMontreal.com
Around 9:45 PM , Wishmaster stepped onstage. The group is composed of Sandy on vocals, Étienne Lafond on guitars and vocals, Philip Charbonneau on keyboards, Fred on drums and newcomer Daniel on bass, on what was his first live performance with the band. Their set list was composed of Planet Hell, Wishmaster, Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean, Feel For You, Wanderlust, The Pharaoh Sails to Orion, 10th Man Down, Dark Chest of Wonders, Over the Hills and Far Away, Wish I Had An Angel, Slaying The Dreamer and Siren. An excellent performance by a great band, Sandy has a powerful, melodic voice with great harmonies, an excellent approximation of Tarja's grandiose operatic voice...and the girl can hit the high notes without a sweat! Étienne is an amazing guitarist and his voice was intense and agressive, even though he mentioned that he had a bit of a cold. Daniel is an intense bass player, very exuberant and energetic. On the down side, Sandy seemed nervous and added quite a bit of unnecessary banter between the songs, unfortunately breaking the rhythm of the performance. But overall, a great show by a fun, dynamic band.
By Robert Dansereau, ProgMontreal.com
Review of the concert at Le Dagobert, June 28 2006 by MetalUniverse.net
To finish the evening, Wishmaster made a tribute to Nightwish. Once again, we waited a long moment before the beginning of the show. I was impressed by the imposing presence of the band and by the quality of the songs played. They played several successes of Nightwish which the fans present seemed to appreciate well. The good weather made several people go outside, and also, the friends of the first 2 bands left before the end, leaving a barely crowded room for Wishmaster. The musicians seemed very at ease thus making the show better still. The sound was better than for Winterstorm and Winter of Agony. Unfortunately, we had to leave before the end of the show and we don't have the complete list of all the songs played. However, in the part that we saw, the old songs were as well represented as the new ones. The singer doesn't have anything to envy to Tarja and the guitarist succeeded very well to imitate the voice of Marco Hietala, though having a voice less powerful and less raucous than the Finn. In the final analysis, Wishmaster give a very good tribute to their favourite and gave a good show. On the other hand, it is a pity that the room emptied because of the late time of the show, hoping that it will not be like this everytime at Le Dagobert.
By Lauriane Bédard and Guillaume Cyr, MetalUniverse.net and translated from french by Étienne Lafond. |
