Personally, I’ve never been a huge fan of hard core or metal music. I can listen to it for its musicianship, but the thought of actually attending a concert was foreign. That all changed recently when I had to work security for a concert featuring three hard rock/metal bands – New Years Day, In This Moment and Halestorm.
Halestorm did their meet and greet before the gates opened, and lead singer Lzzy Hale and her brother RJ, who plays drums in the band, immediately introduced themselves to me. After they had finished the meet and greet, we chatted about some mutual friends in the Rival Sons, who had opened for them when the band played the Wilma a few years back. I also met Jessica, the manager for New Years Day, and we talked about the LA music scene, where the band is from.
For the most part, the crowd was young and well-behaved. For many of them, this is the closest they come to a religious experience, and after experiencing the energy and magic myself, I can understand why they are such die-hard fans. As a huge fan myself of female-fronted bands, it was an honor to see three such bands at this show.
New Years Day started the evening off with a riveting 30 minute set featuring those sterling vocals of Ash Costello, and driving guitar of Nikki Misery. Everyone in the band was simply amazing, and they worked the crowd to a frenzy in preparation for the remainder of the show. The band’s chemistry was palpable, and Costello was a master at crowd engagement. Her stage presence was monumental, and she had her fans in the palm of her hand.
The next band to take the stage was In This Moment, fronted by lead vocalist Maria Brinks. This portion of the show was so much more than just a concert, it was an event. Brinks is a female version of Alice Cooper, and she and her band put on a theatrical spectacle, including having a pair of dancers that perform alongside Brinks.
This was also the portion of the concert that seemed like a church service, with Brinks serving as the pastor and the entire audience as her congregation. They were fully into the spectacle, and stayed engaged throughout the 75 minute show. My favorite moment was the band’s cover of Phil Collins‘ “In the Air Tonight,” and I’ll never look at that song the same again.
What also made this portion of the evening fun was hanging out with JR from Halestorm and guitarist Nikki, his drummer and their tech guy from New Years Day, who stood with me to watch most of In This Moment‘s show. There were amazingly humble and kind individuals despite their star status, and I was impressed by all four of them.
Finally, it was time for the headliner, and the crowd was up for the pinnacle of the evening. For only a four-part band, Halestorm puts out a lot of music. Unlike Costello and Brinks, lead singer Lzzy Hale is also a badass guitarist, and showed her skills throughout their set.
Hale has that Joan Jett look, and plays like she’s a Runaway herself. Her brother RJ is one hell of a drummer, and performed an impressive drum solo during the show. The band played a lot of songs from their new album Vicious, including the stirring title track which closed their show.
All in all, it was an incredible night, and left me with a new respect for hard rock and metal music and their fans. After the show, both In This Moment and New Years Day held their meet and greets. I covered the latter, and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know their fans and talking further with members of the band. I look forward to the next time these bands come to Missoula.