LIVE: AVATAR – January 18, 2022
Venue: Brooklyn Bowl
City: Nashville, TN
Date: January 18, 2022
Review and Photographs by: Rachel Craig (rachelcraigmedia.com)
Avatar kicked off their US tour in Nashville at one of the city’s newest venues, Brooklyn Bowl. The show began with Magic Sword, a synth-heavy instrumental band wearing cloaks and masks (and yes – they did pull out an actual magic sword). Their music easily caught the attention of all the metalheads in the crowd – gaining massive applause without even saying a word. This was just a warm-up, because Avatar took the stage next with a playful, entertaining set that lasted nearly two hours. The entire band started off at the front of the stage, grouped together to perform “Colossus” with stiff, robotic movements before taking their usual places to windmill headbang. Avatar had incredible energy all night and blended together all their different album styles into a cohesive performance that can only be described like one of their songs – a freakshow. Frontman Johannes Eckerström was chatty with the crowd, talking about their online shows during the pandemic and finally getting to travel again. A few notable moments during the show included when the band left the stage for Johannes to perform “Gun” while playing piano, and when the room erupted into a flurry of bubbles to welcome the King of Avatar Country (guitarist Jonas Jarlsby). The band skipped the usual encore routine and finished out the night with two of their biggest fan favorites – “Smells Like A Freakshow” and “Hail The Apocalypse.” I have not been able to catch this quirky Swedish metal band since 2018, but it was refreshing to see there’s no stopping them from being one of the best and one of the most fun live performances in heavy music today. The band sounds on top of their game, and I believe they’ve started their tour off strong.
Setlist: Colossus – Let It Burn – Silence in the Age of Apes – Bloody Angel – Child – The Eagle Has Landed – Paint Me Red – A Secret Door – For The Swarm – Torn Apart – Gun – Going Hunting – Pigfucker – A Statue of the King – The King Welcomes You to Avatar Country – Wormhole – Smells Like A Freakshow – Hail the Apocalypse
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Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries