Most of the videos on John Furman’s Youtube channel are show off-roading, guns or dash cam footage. Among his most popular videos, however, are rare live performances from the early days of Evanescence.
A 1999 show from Vino’s Bar in Little Rock shows a 17-year-old Amy Lee performing along with former bandmate Ben Moody and backup vocalist Stephanie Pierce. There’s also an unnamed violinist on stage.
The show lands in the Evanescence timeline prior to the band’s 2000 Origin demo and their studio debut, Fallen. Songs from both releases are played during the show including “Imaginary” and “Whisper” from their popular 2003 debut.
While the sound isn’t great (it is a video recorded in 1999 after all), it is interesting to see the early version of what would end up being the Evanescence that made it big. Lee remains poised during the performance as the rest of the performers try to keep things on track. This includes Moody, who has to step aside to start the pre-recorded drum track for some songs amid mic feedback.
The video shows what appears to be the full hourlong performance, which ends with a stirring moment where Lee and Pierce harmonize over fading drums in near darkness.
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