Evanescence is a band in name, but in practice, it is the Amy Lee show. The raven-haired singer demonstrated Wednesday night just how dominate a performer she can be.
Originally scheduled at In The Venue, the show was moved to Saltair “due to overwhelming demand” (according to the band’s official site www.evanescence.com/news.asp), and still the numbers attending were taxing to both venue and parking.
From the moment Lee and company took the state, it was obvious who was putting on the show and who was acting in support. Dressed in red and black, with a skirt in a sort of gothic-light tone, Lee was the attention magnet.

As Evanescence kicked into “Sweet Sacrifice” from its newest disc “The Open Door,” it was hard to look at anything but Lee. The crowd responded to her passionately and merely appreciated her support — guitarists Terry Balsamo and John LeCompt, new bassist Tim McCord and drummer Rocky Gray.

The four clearly understood that they were there to play so Lee could sing her guts out, and she certainly proved she can sing. Her performance was as strong as her recordings, and sung from the gut. Her vocal quality, power and sincerity lifted the band from being another 4/4 time rock outfit with power riffs and a gothic image to something that transcends its songs’ pop-structure. A highly complex light show, which seemed more suited to an arena than a club or Saltair, evoked the mood of a techno-graveyard — a perfect backdrop for Lee.
With the new disc charging to the No. 1 spot on Billboard since its debut on Oct. 3, the band had no problem using material from album, or its 2003 smash “Fallen.”
Crowd favorites included the newest single “Call Me When You’re Sober” and old hits “Bring Me To Life,” “My Immortal” and “Going Under.”