Enjoying a rush of success after their sophomore release “The Strange Case of… “ on April 10, 2012, Halestorm is currently headlining a short club tour before it joins this year’s edition of the Carnival of Madness tour. The quartet features vocalist Lzzy Hale on rhythm guitar/piano, Joe Hottinger on lead guitar, Arejay Hale on drums and Josh Smith on bass.
Hitting the Town Ballroom stage at 9:30 pm, they got things underway with the first single from the new record entitled “(Love Bites (So Do I).” Not only is this band entertaining, but musically they are tight and delivered the goods all night. Lzzy did a piano number without any band backing her on “Break In.” The song was both powerful and melodic. She stayed behind the ivories as her band joined her for the next song “Private Parts.”
Even though Lzzy gets most of the attention, it’s the guys who are the glue that hold it together. Smith and Arejay Hale work well together providing that crucial backbone, however Hottinger (even though not flashy) has a fluidity to his playing that tends to get lost in the shuffle. Joe and Lzzy did a stirring rendition of “Familiar Taste of Poison” where Joe had an acoustic guitar and Lzzy’s vocals erupted throughout the Ballroom where she showed she should be considered as one of the top voices in rock, period!
Lzzy played her new Gibson Guitar signature series white Explorer throughout different parts of the show. A very sharp guitar I might add! Arejay did a very entertaining drum solo complete with him using everything but the kitchen sink during it. Besides his hands, he brought out a pair of oversized sticks that had to be 2 feet long at least.
Ending the set with maybe the most complete tune Halestorm has written to date was the song “Here’s to Us.” A perfect way to end a set with a song that encompasses the bond between them and their fans!
Set List:
Love Bites (So Do I)
Mz. Hyde
It’s Not You Freak Like Me
Familiar Taste of Poison
Rock Show
You Call Me a Bitch Like It’s a Bad Thing
Innocence
Break In
Private Parts
Drum solo
Slave to the Grind (Skid Row cover)
Dirty Work
Encore:
I Get Off
I Miss the Misery
Here’s to Us
We would like to thank both Kelly McWilliam and Mike from the Halestorm camp for the credentials for the show.
