Pennsylvanian rockers Halestorm have just wrapped up a UK tour which took the band to a sold out show at the O2 ABC in Glasgow last Saturday. Having chatted to the band before the show, we’re more than a little excited to see the performance these beautiful people bring.
As we were interviewing Dayshell when The Smoking Hearts came on, we only caught the last few songs of the first support acts set (the rest was heard through a wall so as you can imagine it was slightly muffled). The band was loud and bursting with energy which saw them bouncing about the stage and screaming their lungs out. Their punk style was reminiscent of the old school punk of yester year, the songs were catchy and seemed to go down well with the crowd.
We are more than a little interested to see how ex- Of Mice and Men’s front man Shayley’s new band Dayshell will go down. Dayshell take to the stage to a round of cheers, but its clear from the off that Shayley’s voice is troubling him. When he speaks he sounds like a teenage boy. Fair play to him though, he battles on and completes a pretty damn good show. Dayshell‘s music is reminiscent of Deftones with all of the bass lines of S.C.I.E.N.C.E era Incubus. The band give an energetic but not particularly engaging performance (perhaps due to Shayleys upset over his vocal). As the set finished there were some tracks that just stuck in our head, such as Edge of the World and Not Coming In, to name a few.
Then it was time for the main event, Halestorm. There is a trend in today’s rock scene, and it is for female vocalists. Lzzy Hale is surely leading the pack though, as she charges on to the stage and opens the set with her husky, sexy vocals growling “Ohhhh, I Miss the Misery”. The audience, who have been relatively somber till this point, go completely and utterly nuts. Halestorm seriously kick things up a notch with a typically great set. Lzzy has an easy confidence and natural stage presence, she easily holds her own with the best frontmen, let alone women. Plus it has to help that she looks like a teenage boys wet dream in red high heels and suspenders. Woof. Drummer Arejay Hale jumps about with boundless energy from behind the kit, in fact he is one of the most animated drummers we’ve ever seen. He could give Animal from the Muppets a serious run for his money as he delivers an epic drum solo featuring tributes to Kurt Cobain and Layne Stayley.
Lzzy takes to the keyboard for a stunning rendition of Break In, with the audience singing every word and continues to shed the guitar for Familiar Taste of Poison. Despite only having released two albums, Halestorm still give us an awesome show spattered with covers including Dio and Judas Priest. Tracks like Freak Like Me, Love Bites and I Get Off sound massive. We’re also treated to a new track called Mayhem before Get Lucky and a lighter/ phone illuminated Here’s To Us close the superb show.
As we watch the enamoured crowd from the comfort of the balcony, we have to admire Lzzy for her subtle feminism. Rather than following other female stars and getting her tits out, she just empowers women by being who she is and letting her talent do the talking. Lzzy Hale is a perfect role model for all the metal kids out there, I just wish she had been around when I was growing up.
Written by Lisa Fox
