PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Friday night in Glasgow was miserable, wet, raining and freezing cold, but none of the almost 2000 people who turned up to see Halestorm even noticed with some of them already forming a queue when I arrived at 5pm, two hours before the doors opened. I was there to interview Chad Nicefield from opening act Wilson, and you can listen to that interview at the link below.
The venue was already full by the time Wilson came on stage and the crowd were on side right from the start. Chad told me in the interview that he’s been really struggling with a sore throat but you wouldn’t have known as he roared his way through their set, which included a nice reference to Scotland when they played Nazareth’s Hair of the Dog. He was so full of energy, at times even straddling the photo pit to get closer to the fans. Wilson recently signed with Razor and Tie records and their new album will be out this summer, hopefully leading to a return to the UK. Quite often an opening act can come and go without making much impact but that most definitely wasn’t the case here, I heard lots of people commenting afterwards on how good they were.
Next up was Nothing More. If there’s an award for most innovative instruments these guys win, with a drum kit that seemed to be made A-Team style from the junk in a barn. It was definitely decorated with old bike chains, and later in the show had an exhaust pipe style contraption attached to it from which a guitar could be hung and swung 360 degrees. Completely innovative, I’ve never seen anything like it, and although I flinched a few times when the drum kit rocked as singer Jonny jumped on it, their show was definitely a spectacle. The crowd absolutely loved them, and joined in with enthusiasm, especially with final song Salem(Burn the Witch).
To the main event and the roof almost came off as Halestorm came on. In aviator shades and killer heels Lzzy is every inch the rock star. I’m not normally a fan of female fronted rock bands, they just don’t do it for me as a rule, but this woman can stand beside the best of them. The crowd was a pretty eclectic one, but from the opening chords of Mz
Hyde to the very end they loved every minute. There was a section in the middle of the set where they played Daughters of Darkness, Apocalyptic and Rock Show one after the other that was just brilliant. There’s a rumour constantly circulating that rock has died, and it’s shows like this which prove that completely wrong. With such a varied crowd singing every word, and so many young people joining in, the future is bright. The loudest roar of the night came when Lzzy told the crowd, “I get off on you getting off on me,” before launching into I Get Off. It was a set that included their best known songs as well as tracks from their new album Into the Wild Life, including Apocalyptic and I Like It Heavy. Comedy moment of the evening came when the rest of the band left the stage leaving Arejay Hale to a drum solo. He got up and yelled, “say hello to my little friends,” before producing a massive pair of drumsticks, at least three feet long and proceeded to play perfectly with them. During the encore a Saltire was thrown on stage and Lzzy performed the last of the show with it tied round her neck, before thanking the people of Glasgow for the hundredth time. It was a sell out show, and Halestorm, and Lzzy in particular have made a new fan in me. I say again, what a voice that woman has.
Links:
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