"Can I get a Amen?"

Halestorm.

Southampton O₂ Guildhall

12.03.15

I’m back!

And I’ve been a busy bee. Between my job, mountains of assignments and my commute I’ve been struggling with maintaining any kind of social life. But I managed to go to a gig this week! I know! Be proud of me! Want to know why I love and fully promote going to as many live shows (both music and theatre) as you can? Because nothing truly beats that experience. No live show ever gives you the same experiences. There’s something truly remarkable about such a large body of people all coming together because of one common interest. Everything is forgotten about: the world, life, love, and religion. All that matters is that moment. Right there. This is one of the reasons I want to be a live performer so much, because of the power it can have over people and their lives…in a non-creepy, dictatorship, egotistical manner of course.

So I finally got round to seeing Halestorm headline. I’ve seen them live once before, supporting Alter Bridge along side Shinedown. Again I was completely blown away by this band’s performance. Lzzy Hale (singer and guitarist) is an inspiration to any girl wanting to be in Rock. Although in recent years more female artists are emerging, they mainly surface in R&B or Pop genres, or they’ll front the softer elements of Rock such as Pop Punk. But not Little Miss Lzzy. Nope. She’s taking hold of the rock world and shaking it up. Following a similar style to Metallica’s James Hetfield or Shinedown’s Brent Smith. This woman is not afraid to use her sexuality to enhance her front woman traits. She’s proving women know how to play heavy Rock whilst still maintaining her feminine side. She’s also adamant to show we are capable of singing and writing about more than love and breakups; though still is able to show this side simultaneously to her insistence that women can be just as aggressive, sexually raw and ambitious as men. What’s more, her vocal range and delivery is exceptional, with so much power it’s awe-inspiring. Along with rarely putting down her guitar, occasionally soloing but primarily maintaining the groove and grit in the rhythm. WHILST delivering an amazing stage presence and interaction with fans in something like eight-inch heels! Now it’s easy to assume that someone of the above description would be quite arrogant and self-involved. But no. Far from. Lzzy is the most humbled, sweetest performance I have had the pleasure of seeing live.

My respect for this woman increase by ten fold after Thursday nights performance, as she still gave a remarkable show whilst having the typical British cold. Her vocals remained powerful and exceptional despite losing her voice, thus proving how much of a professional she is and how proper, frequent vocal warm ups are completely necessary. Furthermore, she is fully aware of what her vocal chords are capable of without over-straining them or doing anything that would severely damage them. Yet you could only tell her voice was more fragile when she spoke between songs. Like I said a professional.

Another element of the show that I personally found remarkable was Arejay’s ten minute drum solo. Yup you read that right. A ten minute drum solo. In which he was the only body on the stage. There are only a handful of drummers who are capable of maintaining an audiences attention for that duration of time. Hell there's few frontmen who can do that effectively! But Arejay successfully kept his audience captivated for the entire time before the remaining members of Halestorm returned to join him.

 If you ever get the chance to see this band live do it. You won’t be disappointed.

Here's the setlist for you guys, definitely give it a listen if you haven't already!