Old video resurfaces and shows 17-year-old Amy Lee in the Tiny Club

A grainy video has resurfaced showing Evanescence performing at a small bar in Arkansas before their rise to fame in 1999.

Early Evanescence live video

Most of the videos on John Furman’s YouTube channel feature off-road driving, weapons, or dashcam footage, but some of his most popular videos include rare live performances from the early days of Evanescence.

A 1999 show at Vino’s Bar in Little Rock features 17-year-old Amy Lee with former bandmate Ben Moody and backup singer Stephanie Pierce. An unnamed violinist also performs on stage.

The show lands in the Evanescence timeline before the year 2000 Origin Demo and their studio debut, Fallen. Songs from both releases will be 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’s interesting to see the early version of what would become the breakthrough band Evanescence. Lee remains composed throughout the performance while the other cast members try to keep things on track. This includes Moody, who has to step aside under microphone feedback on some songs to start the pre-recorded drum track.

The video appears to show the entire hour-long performance, which ends with a moving moment in which Lee and Pierce harmonize to fading drum sounds in near-total darkness.

Evanescence’s big comeback in 2002 captured on video

In a second video on John Gorman’s YouTube channel, Evanescence returns for a 2002 New Year’s Eve show at Vino’s Bar. This time there’s a full band, better lighting, and Lee swaps out the everyday clothes she wore in 1999 for a black dress with matching angel wings.

The set is full of rare covers, including Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box,” Smashing Pumpkins’ “Zero,” and The Offspring’s “Self Esteem.”

The members who performed here are more polished and confident than those who were there in 1999. This version of Evanescence is closer to the one we know today.

Evanescence will be playing pretty much every major rock festival throughout the summer and fall. You can catch them at Rocklahoma in Pryor, Oklahoma on August 30th and Louder Than Life in Louisville, Kentucky on September 26th and 27th.