LIVE REVIEW: Auri @ The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh
They’ve been around since 2017, but AURI haven’t hit the road until now. The timing feels right: the band’s latest album, III – Candles & Beginnings, is their best yet, and Tuomas Holopainen and Troy Donockley’s other gig, NIGHTWISH, are on a touring hiatus.
Both bands share a certain kind of magic, but tonight accentuates the differences between the symphonic metal giants and AURI’s progressive folk. Where NIGHTWISH seek to blow the roof off the place, AURI are about intimacy. The stage is decked out with lanterns and soft drapery. Everyone, apart from singer Johanna Kurkela, is seated. It’s cosy.
The band request no photography be taken during the show. If there were photos, the first thing you’d notice is the smiles. These seasoned musicians look like they can’t believe their luck. Holopainen is particularly at ease behind the keys, orchestrating clap-alongs and imbibing a shot of whisky along with Donockley. Buoyed by three additional touring members, including NIGHTWISH’s Kai Hahto on drums, the troupe appear to be having the time of their lives.
With three albums worth of music to share, the band don’t shy away from earlier material fans have longed to hear live. The beautiful I Hope Your World Is Kind from 2017’s debut was worth the wait, and the audience respond with attentive silence. The timeless melodies of Night 13 and The Duty Of Dust’s delicacy are met with an appreciative stillness, until uproarious applause follows each. Some songs are less fragile, like main set-closer Them Thar Chanterelles, for which the band are joined by Michael Gill on fiddle. Donockley says the band always knew the song could benefit from more strings, and the crowd match the track’s new energy, standing up off their chairs and clapping along like it’s a Hogmanay hoolie.
Up front is Johanna Kurkela, whose balletic persona matches the beauty of the music. She flits about the stage smiling like a Disney princess, imbuing each song with wide-eyed and whole-hearted sincerity. Her voice has a lullaby quality perfected suited to AURI’s stories but, when called on, she has the power to command a Queen’s Hall ceilidh too.
NIGHTWISH has always felt like Holopainen’s band. Tonight, AURI make the case that each part of the trio is as important as the other. It takes Holopainen, Donockley, and Kurkela for these songs to exist, and something vital would be missing without any one of them. Maybe that’s why they spend so much time catching each other’s eye. By becoming a touring act, AURI have just added another string to their bow. Let’s hope it isn’t a one-off.
Rating: 8/10
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