Synthesis Live was a concert tour by the American rock band Evanescence, in support of their fourth studio album, the orchestral and electronica-based Synthesis (2017). This was the first tour where the band performed with an orchestra on stage. For each city on the tour, a local orchestra was assembled by conductor Susie Seiter. Synthesis Live included 60 concerts in cities across North America in 2017 and 2018, four concerts in Oceania and 18 concerts in Europe in 2018. The tour received critical acclaim.
Background "This is a total passion project for me", Amy Lee said. "There are so many layers in our music underneath the huge drums and guitars. I've always wanted to shine a light on some of the gorgeous David Campbell arrangements and programming elements in our songs, and that idea snowballed into completely re-doing them with full orchestra, not just strings, elaborate programming and experimentation." She deemed Synthesis a fun experience that became "something bigger because you're really starting from scratch on the songs", and found the musical journey to be therapeutic. Lee said she was excited about the new instrumental material on the album and performing with a full orchestra live for the first time in their career.
The Synthesis Live tour was announced by the band on August 14, 2017. They would be accompanied on stage by a different 28-piece orchestra in every city, performing re-worked orchestral and electronica-arrangements of some of their back catalogue plus two new songs from Synthesis. For each city on the tour, a local orchestra was assembled by the show's conductor, Susie Seiter. With the purchase of tickets for the concerts, concertgoers received a free download of the album along with an instant download of the reworked version of "Bring Me to Life" included on Synthesis. For the final leg of the North American tour, violinist Lindsey Stirling, who featured on the Synthesis song "Hi-Lo", co-headlined with Evanescence, with both artists alternating on who headlined each night.
Critical reception The Synthesis Live concert tour received critical acclaim, with several publications calling it an ambitious tour. Billboard wrote that Evanescence "delivered a riveting performance" and Lee "delved into every nuance of her vocals" with her "haunting voice and eerie piano" evoking "the pulse of Evanescence's sound". Gig Wise said the band "exceeded all expectations" and "the multiple layers in this performance make it become a whole different jaw-dropping experience". "Each and every musician onstage is in perfect sync" and Lee emits "such incredible depth and sound", Renowned for Sound reviewed, regarding the concert "spectacular." Variety wrote, "Lee firmly re-establishes herself as one of rock's pre-eminent vocalists" while "she and the ensemble turn the familiar material into full-throttle, wide-screen epics, its themes of loss, guilt and self-doubt enlarged to tragedy on the Greek proscenium. The Wall Street Journal commended Lee's "rich, measured yet emotional performance" and piano work, concluding, "the majesty of Ms. Lee accompanied by Mr. Campbell's arrangements was undeniable."
Live album On August 8, 2018, Eagle Rock Entertainment announced Synthesis Live on CD with DVD or Blu-ray and digital download to be released on October 12, 2018. The concert film was shot during their fall 2017 tour at Foxwoods Resort Casino Grand Theater in Connecticut and directed by P. R. Brown and mixed by Damian Taylor. The set contained the entire concert with a live orchestra and included the music video for "Hi-Lo".
Set list Orchestra opening "La Strada" (by Nino Rota) "La Chasse" (by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) "Pavane" (by Gabriel Fauré) "Moonlight Sonata" (by Ludwig van Beethoven) "Lacrimosa" (by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) "Sally's Song" (by Danny Elfman)
Evanescence with orchestra "Overture" "Never Go Back" "Lacrymosa" "End of the Dream" "My Heart Is Broken" "Lithium" "Bring Me to Life" "Unraveling" "Imaginary" "Secret Door" "Across the Universe" (The Beatles cover, played on second North American leg) "Hi-Lo" (with Lindsey Stirling on second North American leg) "Lost in Paradise" "Your Star" "My Immortal" "The In-Between" "Imperfection"
Encore "Speak to Me" "Good Enough" "Swimming Home" / "Weight of the World"
On the first night of the tour, at the Pearl Concert Theater, Las Vegas, October 14, "Speak to Me" was not performed. Starting November 30, "Weight of the World" was performed instead of "Swimming Home". "Palladio / No More Tears / Alive", a mashup of Ozzy Osbourne and Sia, was performed by both Evanescence and Lindsey Stirling starting July 7, 2018.
Tour dates + List of 2017 concerts Date City Country VenueOctober 14, 2017Las VegasUnited StatesPearl Concert TheaterOctober 15, 2017Los AngelesGreek TheatreOctober 17, 2017PhoenixComerica TheatreOctober 20, 2017HoustonRevention Music CenterOctober 22, 2017IrvingToyota Music FactoryOctober 23, 2017New OrleansMahalia Jackson TheaterOctober 25, 2017NashvilleRyman AuditoriumOctober 27, 2017AtlantaDelta Classic Chastain Park AmphitheaterOctober 28, 2017CharlotteOvens AuditoriumOctober 30, 2017PittsburghHeinz Hall for the Performing ArtsOctober 31, 2017Oxon HillThe Theater at MGM National HarborNovember 2, 2017Upper DarbyTower TheaterNovember 3, 2017MashantucketFoxwoods Resort Casino Grand TheaterNovember 5, 2017BostonOrpheum TheatreNovember 7, 2017BethlehemSands Event CenterNovember 8, 2017BaltimoreHippodrome TheatreNovember 10, 2017BrooklynKings TheatreNovember 30, 2017ChicagoChicago TheatreDecember 2, 2017CarmelThe PalladiumDecember 3, 2017St. LouisPeabody Opera HouseDecember 5, 2017MinneapolisState TheatreDecember 6, 2017MadisonOrpheum TheatreDecember 8, 2017TorontoCanadaSony Centre for the Performing ArtsDecember 9, 2017WindsorCaesars WindsorDecember 11, 2017Kansas CityUnited StatesKansas City Music HallDecember 13, 2017DenverParamount TheatreDecember 15, 2017RenoGrand Theatre at the Grand Sierra ResortDecember 16, 2017San FranciscoMasonic AuditoriumDecember 19, 2017PortlandArlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
+ List of 2018 concerts Date City Country VenueFebruary 10, 2018BrisbaneAustraliaBCEC Great HallFebruary 13, 2018SydneySydney Opera HouseFebruary 14, 2018February 16, 2018MelbourneRod Laver ArenaMarch 12, 2018MoscowRussiaCrocus City HallMarch 15, 2018St. PetersburgYubileyny Sports PalaceMarch 17, 2018PragueCzech RepublicPrague Congress CentreMarch 19, 2018MilanItalyArcimboldi TheatreMarch 20, 2018ZürichSwitzerlandSamsung HallMarch 22, 2018StuttgartGermanyPorsche-ArenaMarch 23, 2018LeipzigArena LeipzigMarch 25, 2018AmsterdamNetherlandsAFAS LiveMarch 26, 2018DüsseldorfGermanyMitsubishi Electric HalleMarch 28, 2018ParisFranceLe Grand RexMarch 30, 2018LondonEnglandRoyal Festival HallMarch 31, 2018April 2, 2018ManchesterO2 Apollo ManchesterApril 3, 2018NottinghamMotorpoint Arena NottinghamApril 5, 2018GlasgowScotlandSEC ArmadilloApril 6, 2018SheffieldEnglandSheffield City HallApril 8, 2018BrusselsBelgiumPalais 12April 9, 2018LondonEnglandEventim ApolloJuly 6, 2018Kansas City United StatesStarlight TheatreJuly 7, 2018Maryland HeightsHollywood Casino AmphitheatreJuly 9, 2018ClarkstonDTE Energy Music TheatreJuly 10, 2018Highland ParkRavinia PavilionJuly 12, 2018NoblesvilleRuoff Home Mortgage Music CenterJuly 14, 2018CincinnatiRiverbend Music CenterJuly 17, 2018CamdenBB&T PavilionJuly 18, 2018MansfieldXfinity CenterJuly 20, 2018CharlottePNC Music PavilionJuly 21, 2018RaleighCoastal Credit Union Music ParkJuly 24, 2018BristowJiffy Lube LiveJuly 25, 2018UncasvilleMohegan Sun ArenaJuly 27, 2018TorontoCanadaBudweiser StageJuly 28, 2018Saratoga SpringsUnited StatesSaratoga Performing Arts CenterAugust 10, 2018HolmdelPNC Bank Arts CenterAugust 11, 2018WantaghJones Beach TheaterAugust 14, 2018SimpsonvilleHeritage Park AmphitheaterAugust 17, 2018TampaMidFlorida Credit Union AmphitheatreAugust 18, 2018West Palm BeachCoral Sky AmphitheatreAugust 20, 2018JacksonvilleDaily's PlaceAugust 22, 2018New OrleansBold Sphere Music at Champions SquareAugust 24, 2018DallasDos Equis PavilionAugust 25, 2018The WoodlandsCynthia Woods Mitchell PavilionAugust 28, 2018AlbuquerqueIsleta AmphitheaterAugust 29, 2018PhoenixAk-Chin PavilionAugust 31, 2018Chula VistaMattress Firm AmphitheatreSeptember 1, 2018IrvineFivePoint AmphitheatreSeptember 4, 2018Los AngelesGreek TheatreSeptember 5, 2018Mountain ViewShoreline AmphitheatreSeptember 7, 2018AuburnWhite River AmphitheatreSeptember 8, 2018RidgefieldSunlight Supply Amphitheater
Changed dates The concert in Brisbane was originally scheduled for February 11, at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, but the promoter changed the date to February 10 and the venue to the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.
Personnel Evanescence Amy Lee – vocals, piano Will Hunt – drums, electronic percussion Troy McLawhorn – guitar Tim McCord – guitar Jen Majura – guitar, theremin, backing vocals
Additional musicians Will Hunt – electronics, percussion Dave Eggar – cello Susie Seiter – conductor
References