Words by Lisa Pikaard, Photos by Jeff Crespi
Halestorm, Pretty Reckless Bring The Carnival of Madness to The Stone Pony Summer Stage
Halestorm officially kicked off the Stone Pony Summer Stage this past Friday night in the best manner possible, with a sold out rock show.
Powerful vocals, mesmerizing guitar riffs, and hard hitting drum solos could be heard for blocks around the Jersey Shore staple music venue and, if you were one of the many not fortunate enough to get inside, you could join the crowd just outside the gates who stuck around just to hear Lzzy Hale rock the hell out of the band’s set.
Into the Wild Life, Halestorm’s third studio album, was released just last month and this tour highlighted much of the new material. Out of the band’s 18 song set, ten of those songs were from the new record and the fans loved every minute of it. There wasn’t a new song that the crowd didn’t sing along to.
Kicking off the show was Ohio natives, Starset. The show kicked off early and the daylight sadly detracted from the visual performance of the band, but Starset did not let the light hold them back. Starset embraces a science fiction and space theme and the band’s visual expression is truly unique and a sight to see. Although it is difficult to fully appreciate the glowing masks and touch screen the band utilizes in each of its sets, it is difficult to not respect a lead singer with a PhD who brings all of his life experiences to the stage. Best known for its hit single, “My Demons,” Starset did a great job utilizing its stage time to get a wealth of new fans.
Starset
The Pretty Reckless took over after Starset wrapped up its set and Taylor Momsen is certainly not Cindy Lou Hoo anymore. Momsen is just 21 years old but commands the stage in a way that is reminiscent of Stevie Nicks (if Nicks were embracing hard rock as opposed to embracing the gypsy lifestyle of course). Until I saw The Pretty Reckless live I thought that the band only gained notoriety because of Momsen’s acting past and that its popularity would burn out quickly. Momsen and the band disproved and destroyed that theory very quickly. This band has earned the right to say that its song, “Heaven Knows” was the number one rock song in 2014. I was blown away by the skill and strength of both Momsen and her band. The Pretty Reckless set included hit singles “Heaven Knows” and “Fucked Up World” and is certainly something worth seeing live.
The Pretty Reckless
Finally at 8:30 pm Halestorm took the stage and it was well worth the wait. Without any hesitation the band jumped in to perform “Live Bites (So Do I)” and the crowd was drawn in and what a huge crowd it was. As a matter of fact, it was Halestorm’s largest ever sellout crowd (as a headliner).
Arejay is one of the most charismatic and enthusiastic drummers to hit the Stone Pony Summer Stage. Before performing “Scream,” he decided it was his turn to talk to the crowd. While he acknowledged how cold it was, he decided to do a bit of a warm up with the crowd. He had everyone si nging oohs and ahhs and then even had everyone singing AC/DC and even a little Papa Roach. Without a roof or walls, the audience’s cheers and singing didn’t reverberate but you could definitely still hear it from blocks away. To best explain Arejay’s personality, let me quote Lzzy Hale, “Don’t feed the monkey.” He really was jumping up and down and all over the place making him so much fun to watch.
By the seventh song of the set the raindrops began to fall but not one person moved from the hard earned and fought for spots in the crowd. Luckily it was a passing shower and eased up until the encore. Arejay blessed the audience by taking control yet again after “Rock Show,” but this time, instead of trying to get the crowd warmed up, he did an insane drum solo to introduce “Mayhem.”
This song is certainly Arejay’s theme song. If anyone in the audience looked up at the hotels on the surrounding block, you’d have caught people rocking out on their hotel balconies high above the stage.
The singles from the new album, “Apocalyptic” and “Amen” were crowd pleasers but one touching moment that happened on the stage took place during the new song, “Dear Daughter.” Lzzy addressed the crowd and mentioned how important the song was to her and even kicked everyone else off the stage to begin the song with just her and a keyboard. The moment was made even more special because her dad was in attendance. As the song progressed, the rest of the band joined the song which just added beautifully layers to the performance.
After over an hour of music it would be expectant to have Lzzy’s voice beginning to fail from all of the heavy singing and screaming but she didn’t fade at all. The final song of the regular set was the new tune, “I Like It Heavy.” The best part of this song is the a cappella ending and Lzzy killed it live. I have never been more impressed by someone’s vocal abilities than I was by her range and varying tones throughout the night. To go from the sweet and melodic “Dear Daughter” to the hard rock anthem “Mz. Hyde” and to start screaming like she does in “Mayhem” is a true talent.
After a brief interlude, the band returned for a two song encore, “Here’s to Us” and “I Miss the Misery.” After 90 minutes of high octane hard rock, Halestorm truly blew me away. This is a band to see over and over again. The quality of the live show and sound is top notch. If Halestorm still has a tour date in your area, buy your tickets now.
Set List:
Love Bites (So Do I)
Apocalyptic
Freak Like Me
Scream
I Am the Fire
Mz. Hyde
Amen
Sick Individual
The Reckoning
Dear Daughter
New Modern Love
Rock Show
Mayhem
It’s Not You
I Get Off
I Like It Heavy
Encore:
Here’s To Us
I Miss the Misery
========================================================================================================
