Page 48 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 103

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HALESTORM / IN THIS MOMENT / NEW YEARS DAY – NOTTINGHAM MOTORPOINT ARENA, 25.11.19
When Halestorm, In This Moment and New Years Day announced that they were touring together, rock fans around the world rejoiced. All three
bands kick ass, so to see them together is a dream. After a U.S. tour, it was exciting to discover that the tour would continue overseas.
Aside from the fact that the three bands are all fronted by a female – which is inspiring to fellow females, all three bands have been in the music
business for the long haul. They’ve all deserved the success they’ve achieved and are inspiring for their commitment to rock and for constantly working
hard. We first saw New Years Day when they opened for Sugarcult at their Christmas show in California in 2007. 12 years later and the band has
changed quite a bit, but frontwoman Ash Costello’s dedication and determination still stands strong. Ash tells the crowd they’re Los Angeles weirdos
and happy to be. “If you’re at the show, you’re a fucking weirdo,” she adds. She gets the crowd to put their metal horns up as a sacrifice for the metal
Gods before the band dive into a cover of Pantera’s ‘Fucking Hostile’. “They said a girl couldn’t sing this song,” she says, accepting the challenge –
and proving that she most definitely can. Their own songs come in the form of ‘Epidemic’, ‘Scream’ and ‘Shut Up’. The band’s powerful rock/metal fre-
quently incorporates contagious beats. At the end of their set, we definitely weren’t wanting them to shut up – and the mention of a headline tour next
year is enticing indeed.
Opening with a cover of Steve Miller Band’s ‘Fly Like An Eagle’, In This Moment’s set is captivating. The theatrical show sees Maria Brink take
centre stage, beginning on a tall riser, ably assisted by two ‘blood goddesses’. Every song sees a different scene or stage outfit. There’s a lot of at-
mospheric smoke to give the show a dark, eerie air. Maria dramatically thrusts back and forth, left and right during ‘River Of Fire’, while singing into
her wireless mic, while her male bandmates focus on performing their deadly cocktail of heavy rock and metal on either side of the stage. ‘Big Bad
Wolf’ sees the two blood goddesses jump onto a monitor each at the front of the stage while wearing wolf masks, prowling from side to side before
Maria appears in her own wolf mask, while ‘Whore’ sees the frontwoman wearing a dunce’s cap but with ‘WHORE’ written on it, standing behind a
lectern that also says ‘WHORE’ in big red letters. The empowering song sees Maria give a speech about how others told her she ‘would amount to
absolute shit and I would become nothing at all. ‘This song is about rising above other people’s expectations’. The whole set is a striking and scintillating
experience, something far from your average rock show. In This Moment definitely lived up to and exceeded our expectations.
The last time we saw Halestorm at Motorpoint Arena (before it was actually called Motorpoint) was when they opened the Taste Of Chaos tour.
Now, nine years later, Halestorm are headlining the arena in their own right - and it is so well deserved. We saw back then the talent the four-piece
had, and since then, they’ve been winning more and more fans. What is particularly worthy is that the band are all about the music – they always have
been and always will be. They don’t
charge extortionate amounts – in
fact, bands play smaller venues
and charge more! Tonight’s pack-
age is value for money – and it’s
just another reason why they have
done so well. Opening with ‘Freak
Like Me’, Lzzy Hale, Joe Hottinger,
Josh Smith and Arejay Hale show
they have many compelling tunes
that rock fans can relate to. After
the back-to-back wall of rock that is
‘Familiar Taste Of Poison’/‘Amen’,
there’s a bass and drum solo,
which sees Arejay bringing out his
giant drumsticks. Before ‘Uncom-
fortable’, from the band’s latest stu-
dio album, ‘Vicious’, Lzzy speaks
up for women, saying she’s proud
to be a musician and proud to be a
woman. She tells the ladies in the
venue to dress however they want
to dress, be whoever they want to
be and kiss whoever they want to
kiss. ‘Uncomfortable’ is spunky and
full of attitude. “I wrote this song as
a reminder to myself that no matter
what I am going through, I am the
fire,” says Lzzy before ‘I Am The
Fire’, an earnest tune that sees
camera lights out all around the
venue, while ‘Do Not Disturb’ ends
the main set on a sexy, sultry note.
Lzzy returns to the stage to perform
‘In Your Room’ alone on the keys –
before it morphs into ‘Dear Daugh-
ter’, and then Adele’s ‘Someone
Like You’; all three tugging at the
heartstrings. The band all do shots
before ‘Here’s To Us’, one of their
long-time anthems and finally, wrap
the evening up with the well-known
‘I Miss The Misery’ (beginning with
a scorching scream from Lzzy).
We’ll definitely miss Halestorm until
they come back again, but, in the
meantime, thank them for bringing
such a badass triple female-fronted
touring package over to the UK.
YYYYY
Shari Black Velvet

Lzzy Hale (Halestorm)
Photo By Shari Black Velvet

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