Early Video Resurfaces Showing 17-year-old Amy Lee in Tiny Club

A grainy video has resurfaced showing a pre-fame Evanescence playing a small bar in Arkansas in 1999.

Early Evanescence Live Video

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.

Evanescence’s Huge 2002 Return Caught On Video

A second video on John Gorman’s YouTube Channel has Evanescence returning to Vino’s Bar for a 2002 New Year’s Eve show. This time, there is a full band, better lighting and Lee trading in her street clothes she wore in 1999 for a black dress with matching angel wings.

The set is loaded with rare covers including Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box,” “Zero” from the Smashing Pumpkins and The Offspring’s “Self Esteem.”

The members that appear here that also were there in 1999 are more polished and confident. This version of Evanescence is closer to the one we know today.

Evanescence is currently set to play just about every big rock fest throughout the summer and into the fall. You can catch then at Rocklahoma in Pryor, Oklahoma on Aug. 30 and Louder Than Life in Louisville, Kentucky Sept. 26-27.