When Nightwish's Tuomas Holopainen unceremoniously fired Tarja Turunen as the lead singer in 2004, I lost the dream of ever witnessing them together. The day of that news has since been etched into my memories.

Redemption came tonight, one month short of twenty years since that day.

Marko and Tarja reunited

With the departure of Marko Hietala from Nightwish, the band lost another iconic singer. That it would lead to him and Tarja reuniting and even touring together was a surprise.

And then they announced a stop in our humble city of Groningen. If I'd believed in fate, this would have been it.

What a concert it was. Marko went to space and played progressive rock pieces, making me want to listen to Steven Wilson again. Tarja switched between her operatic rock voice and calm pieces, albeit sometimes too abruptly.

The two singers couldn't be more different: the staunch Marko, one axe short of depicting a Nordic god, versus the sultry Tarja, who exudes fun and playfulness towards the audience.

The duo wasn't together on stage often, and each brought their band, but they sang several duets, including three Nightwish songs, towards the end of the evening.

The concert had been seated for almost four hours, but when the evening neared its end, the crowd said, "To hell with the seats."

And while we were all jumping to I Wish I Had an Angel, it felt like we were collectively healing a twenty-year-old wound.

Emotions

There were emotions tonight, in all the good ways. The variety of ancient Nightwish band shirts among the concert-goers was a sign of many having waited long for this day, and it connected us as strangers in a way only concerts can.

I grounded myself to the soothing tunes of Loreena McKennitt on a half-hour bike ride home. The fresh air under the cover of darkness is what you need after four hours in a stuffy concert hall.

(Re: stuffy. The band had ground fans pointed at their faces, which is glorious when the line-up consists of long-haired musicians.)

Good people

Rock and metal folks have been known for being a relatively friendly and unproblematic concert crowd. Somehow, you always end up with a temporary concert friend.

One such person saved my friend's concert tonight: we had near-front-row tickets, but she had to sit further away for unexpected reasons. We found the perfect seat for her and offered the guy there an upgrade to the first row. It turns out he's cool, and everyone benefited from this arrangement.

So Richard from Ljouwert, if you're reading this, thanks again for accommodating my friend; much appreciated!

Youthful regrets

I had an opportunity to see Nightwish's last Amsterdam concert with Tarja as a young teen, but my parents forbade it.

Ever since, I wish I had sneaked out and attended that concert, damn the consequences.

So, to every parent with a kid who has music in their soul, please take them to the concert of their dreams. They will treasure that memory forever.

Wrap-up

I have been to amazing concerts, but this one is close to my heart. These voices were there in my teens when the music of Nightwish might have saved my life.

So yes, I am posting this personal article on my tech blog at over 1:30 AM local time.

To quote a Dawes song:

May all your favorite bands stay together.

Or may they reunite, reform, or rearrange in the best of ways.

Sleep tight.