Friday, May 25, 2018
State Theatre, Portland, Maine
I think nearly every song could be taken to the next level with the addition of a string section, so it shouldn’t surprise you (totally) that I’ve loved Metallica’s S&M (Symphony and Metallica) album for 20 years now. I saw a post from the State Theatre on Facebook announcing a show called Apocalyptica Plays Metallica by Four Cellos, and had literally no idea what it meant. I saw Metallica and cellos together in the same sentence, though, so put the show in my concert calendar without any additional research. A few days ahead of the show, the Maine Youth Rock Orchestra posted a contest on their Facebook and Instagram accounts for a single third row center ticket for the show, which I entered and won. I am SO GLAD that I went to this show on a whim. It was supremely entertaining.
I grabbed my seat and chatted with other Metallica fans around me, who totally knew Apocalyptica and were really excited for the show. I took that as a good sign, but I was SO surprised by how cool and just totally fun this show was. Eicca Toppinen, Perttu Kivilaakso, Paavo Lötjönen, and Antero Manninen were the current touring lineup of Apocalyptica, and the first half of the show was literally the four of them playing four cellos across the stage. They were amazing! I obviously had to look Apocalyptica up after the show, and learned that they are a Finnish orchestral rock band with eight studio releases, including their debut album from 1996, which was Plays Metallica by Four Cellos. I watched an interview with Eicca Toppinen, where he said he was told that Apocalyptica’s album of Metallica covers inspired Metallica to do their collaboration with The San Francisco Symphony in 1999 that became the S&M album. Apocalyptica was even invited to the performance.
After a pretty long intermission, Apocalyptica came back to the stage with Mikko Sirén on a giant drum kit for the second half of their show, which was a total blast and very much a rock concert. I had so much fun at this engaging, unexpectedly awesome show. Thanks for the ticket, MYRO!
xo,
bree
whatbreesees 