Now THIS is what I like to see when I come back to EvThreads!
Okay so some quick thoughts upon watching the video:
You'll notice that the video begins as Whisper ends (incomplete video?) which means the full set was probably something along the lines of:
(1) Intro(??) (some little something like the 1999 one?) << I'm presuming this - I have no proof otherwise.
(2) Whisper
(3) Imaginary
(4) So Close
(5) Give Unto Me
(6) Understanding
(7) Lies
(8) ?? (others?? did the show end? video cuts too early maybe? ran out of tape?) << I'm presuming this - I have no proof otherwise.
Maybe this show took place on
2 January, 1999 (credited as the
first ever show by Evanescence) link. That night was released the
first Evanescence EP.
I think you are correct as on 08:18 Ben says "[...] thank you for coming out (audience member: "What?") I said thank you for coming out! On this wonderfully cold
January evening, anyway I broke a string. I'm gonna fix it now, we're going to tone this down just a little bit . . .".
This means this is four months EARLIER than the May 1999 live set we have. So this might be the EV EP release party? That probably explains the relatively short set list and yet . . .
. . . it's interesting that "Only Happy When It Rains" wasn't on this set list, as it was rumored to be in the late 1998/early 1999 live sets. Now it's also possible that this video didn't record the
entire live set, as by the end it fades to black rather than Ben saying goodbye/goodnight to everyone like in the May 1999 video. I hear someone in the audience ask "is that it?" (27:03) and a female respond "maybe" (27:06). It also didn't record all of "Whisper" in the beginning. Ending on "Lies" is strange, since "Solitude/The End" seems like a more natural closing/encore song, as was in the live set we have from May 1999. I can't hear what Ben is saying about Will (26:44 "give it up for Will . . ." ) or at the end of the video (27:10 "I heard rumors about fights"(?)) to determine if they were actually wrapping up the show, so maybe they did end after all? It's strange.
"Solitude/The End" was also on the EV EP and if this was the release party, one would assume that all the songs would have been played from it (that's the point, isn't it?). So WWYG, Exodus, Solitude, and The End are conspicuously absent from the EV EP release party (if in fact that is what this is), the EP they all come from? The only other alternative is that this is from Jan 2000? It might better explain why "Lies" is hanging out with all the EP songs xD.
I love hearing Stephanie's vocals with Amy's. Personally I'd rather have Stephanie sing the alternate lines in Whisper rather than Will, but that's neither here nor there. Also I totally understand Amy messing up on "Give Unto Me" because that song is really easy to get confused on (lyric wise).
Very interesting Ben speech about Christianity on 08:33 - I mean, he said the same thing in written interviews with Gabe/on the Exodus website but hearing it on video is different than reading about it. An interesting juxtaposition between what he says here in 1999 and what he will say in 2003, but yet again he's a teenager here so *shrug*.
Good to see So Close performed live. I think the guy singing is Will Boyd, isn't it?
I imagine so as "So Close" was rumored to be the song Will + Ben + Matt Outlaw's band (So Close) made. This video
kinda lends credence to this, as Will sings on it (and why would there be any male vocals on it otherwise since there aren't any on the EP version). So I imagine it was probably something along the lines of Will normally sings on the So Close version of So Close (LOL at the names) and since that's the only song they really could come up with/the only good song they made/the only song that really came together before the band parted ways, they gave it to Evanescence to put on their EP/perform it when Will + Matt would perform with Amy + Ben + Steph. I guess kinda like a cover? I dunno - this is all me trying to piece together things but I really like the live version of "So Close." It's neat.
Also we knew there was at least one example of "So Close" being sung live because Gabe said at one point (and I have the quote somewhere in my files) that every song from the EV EP was performed live at least once. And with this example of "So Close," that fact is now proven true.
And Lies is much other than we thought! But as you pointed out Amy's hair is different. It's darker than her natural hair colour in the 1999 video. Maybe this is a Origin show?
Ah and here is where the debate is! Mayyybeee - it's Jan 1999 (which makes it the EV EP release party and the earliest live set we have) or Jan 2000 (which explains Lies and the absence of some EP songs). Again, going back to it maybe being Jan 1999 - why are they playing the Sound Asleep version of Understanding at the EV EP release party? Remember that the EP version of Understanding is what got them sorta-kinda popular in Little Rock, as that is the version that was played on the radio and presumably the popularity of that version is what necessitated it being on the Sound Asleep EP. Yet again I imagine the EP version of Understanding is hard to perform live in and of itself. If this is Jan 2000, why is there such a distinct absence of any
OTHER Origin songs? They couldn't have waited that long to write them between the release of Sound Asleep EP in Aug 1999 and the release of Origin in Nov 2000. It'll be interesting to see what other people say about this. Double A, what do you think?
So all that's left is the Origin 2000 release show and the TNT Powerhouse 2001 show to be released and we'll be golden! Little clips have been released from who-knows-where already (EDIT: in case anyone forgot >>
Whisper (Live Origin 2000 Release Party),
My Immortal (Live TNT 02-03-01),
The Dolphins Cry (Live TNT 02-03-01)), so it's not like they don't exist. It seems like every ten years an old set gets leaked so . . . here's to 2029? xD
EDIT: I just realized something as I was mulling this all over. David joined the band in LATE 1999, which means this can't be Jan 2000 since David would be there by then. This has to be Jan 1999 then, so this means this IS the first ever Evanescence concert and the EV EP Release Party. I suppose it makes sense as to why the set would be small then (it being their first and all), assuming the video ends correctly when it does. I'm still confused as to why they didn't play the actual songs on the EP but maybe I'm thinking about it the wrong way. If the EV EP was released Jan 1999 and the Sound Asleep EP was released Aug 1999, then maybe it's more so like Amy + Ben thinking to themselves that they have like 20 or so songs recorded - they chose 7 for one EP and 6 for the other EP and just thought that the others will be played live whenever it was necessary. That way, the fans can listen to a handful of songs on the EP, a handful of DIFFERENT songs live, and a handful of OTHER songs on their other EP. Maybe?
