Lacuna Coil live at Exeter Phoenix 14/11/11

Soooo, after a spiffing weekend in London, I went to see Lacuna Coil at Exeter Phoenix on Monday night. This was the 3rd time I'd seen the band in 18 months, having previously seen them in Bristol and Leeds in 2010. They are another of my favourite bands, so it's always a pleasure to go and see them perform.

The best thing about the Phoenix is the size. I always forget that it is a TINY venue. Not as small as The Cavern, but pretty small. It wasn't rammed either, which is good in some respects, as it meant it was pretty easy to get a good view. Not so good for the band, but Exeter is a tough crowd to please (I don't get it myself, but hey, that is another story that I might decide to tell one day). For the most part though the crowd were in fine mood and voice, and were largely fans. I did spot someone who'd probably been on the same gig trail as me, as he was wearing a Within Temptation Unforgiving Tour shirt, and there were a fair few people in LC shirts.

I got a spot pretty close to the front and I was struck by just how tiny Cristina Scabbia is! It's not really any secret that I have a bit of a girly crush on her, and she is super cute up close. And her voice! The sheer power in it is amazing.

They powered their way through a whole host of songs, striking a good balance between tracks from Shallow Life, Karmacode and Comalies, with a couple of new tracks mixed in, including new single Trip The Darkness during the encore. I felt a bit sorry for Andrea Ferro as it seemed like his mic was being problematic - at one point I was sure I could only hear him because his voice is quite powerful and I was quite close. It did improve towards the latter end of the gig. Not sure what was going on there though!

I'm not sure I can give you a track by track account like I did for WT - I had a bit of help with the running order for that one! Needless to say, I danced and moshed my way through the gig, sang quite a bit and thoroughly enjoyed myself! Particular highlights were:

1. I Won't Tell You - from Shallow Life, it's one of my favourite tracks on that album.
2. Enjoy The Silence - the cover of the classic Depeche Mode song is one of Lacuna Coil's most famous recordings, and never fails to produce a fantastic crowd sing a long.
3. Daylight Dancer - one of their best ever tracks if you ask me!
4. Trip The Darkness - I love this track and now can't wait for the new album in January.
5. Without Fear - I absolutely LOVE this song and they have never played it live in the 4 or 5 times I've seen them. Until this tour that is! It is the one song that I always hope they will play.

All round a fantastic gig - as I heard someone comment on the way out of the venue, they just get better every time.