HALESTORM / RULE – LIVE AT THE AMP IN BIDGEPORT

HALESTORM / RULE – LIVE AT THE AMP IN BIDGEPORT

By Ralph Beauchamp

Halestorm and Predominate bring their eponymous co-headlining tour to The AMP in Bridgeport with Hollywood Undead and Fit for a king as supporting acts.

Months ago my grown child sent me a message. “Hollywood Undead is coming to CT!” A few minutes later: Kid's colleague: “Did the Hollywood Undead tell your mom it's coming?” Child: “Yes. She replied “I got the tix! See you then!”

Pre-gaming was necessary because the drink prices at AMP are outrageous. $26.50 for a cocktail in a small plastic glass half full of ice. $16.95 was the cheapest beer I saw. $6.50 waters. Drinks are cheaper at Fenway. The kid and I hit up a local joint that I love, Brick & Barrel. The staff were welcoming and looked after us well as we gorged ourselves on food and drink and enjoyed our rare parent/child outing. He went to pay and the bartender said “You're ready. The guy at the end of the bar picked up your entire tab.” Excuse me? A random act of pure kindness? The kid and I were overwhelmed and grateful for the generosity. Our night was already off to a good start!

The headliner, Fit For A King from Dallas, Texas was already on stage as we went through security. It was the empty pockets and then going through metal detectors. The kid zoomed. I had to be pulled over and waved away before I turned the green light. We found our seats quickly as the turnout was thin at this point. We had back seats on the floor but it didn't matter because only the pit peeps and front rows were there. FFAK were a quartet this night with Ryan Kirby (Lead Vocals), Daniel Gailey (Lead Guitar), Trey Celaya (Drums) and thankfully, Ryan “Tuck” O'Leary (Bass/Vocals).

The band performed eight songs. Two singles and six songs from four of their seven studio LPs. FFAK fired up and kicked it off with their single “Keeping Secrets”, which caught the attention of fans. A cut from The route“Breaking the Mirror” was next followed by two of The Hell We Create, “Falling Through The Sky” and “End (The Other Side)”. Since FFAK has had its share of employee turnover, the band plays well together. It's a recipe that feels current, hard rock accompanied by a mix of smooth melodies and inexplicable roars.

The sound was loud and in your face, the band kept their foot on the gas throughout the set. Ryan K has a decent voice, but I much prefer the non-screaming parts. It was Tuck that made me want to see the whole set. This mofo sings and plays bass and gets decent high while jumping around on stage. The title track “Deathgrip” was on deck followed by another The Hell We Create they broke with “Reaper” and their single “Technium”. The set ends with “When Everything Means Nothing” by Dark skies. Into the metalcore trend? Need a dose of screamo mixed with energetic dynamic talent? Check them out.

Remember back in 2008 when everyone was running to Hollywood Undead's track 'Undead'? Well, seven albums have been released since then! That was, the main reason the kid and I came to the concert. We jammed them for weeks to prepare. The pit was filled, along with all the seats on the floor in front of the main aisle. Their owners started grabbing the polka dot upper level seats. We weren't the only ones to see Jorel “J-Dog” Decker (Vocals+), Dylan “Funny Man” Alvarez (Vocals), George “Johnny 3 Tears” Ragan (Vocals+), Jordon “Charlie Scene” Terrell (Vocals+), Danny Murillo (Vocals+) and Matt “The Cat” Oloffson (Drums).

The band came face-to-face, the masks and bandanas long since shed. They delivered a high-octane set of twelve songs from five of their eight LPs. A cut from Five kicked it off with “California Dreaming”, followed by “CHAOS” from Hotel California before getting the crowd jumping with “Riot” off Notes from the basement. The band bounced around the stage. Back to the original beats for “Everywhere I Go” from their debut Swan songsanother cut from Notes with “Renegade” and a visit to American Tragedy for 'Comin' in Hot'.

I estimate the venue would have been forty percent full at that point, but one hundred percent of the attendees were leaving for that set. My child sang every word to every song. “Another Way Out”, also by Notes, led into a snippet of Rammstein's 'Du Hast'. “Ruin My Life” by Hotel and “Hear Me Now” off Tragedy led to a cover of Johnny Cash's “Folsom Prison Blues” – Hollywood Undead style. I'm not sure Mr. Cash would approve, but I loved it. They closed it with another Tragedy cut “Bullet” and then the track everyone was waiting for “Undead”.

If you enjoyed Hollywood Undead back in the day, their live performance will not disappoint. Something I found interesting about them, and the reason for the “vocals+”, is that they change instruments/positions (besides the drums) depending on the song. They carry six guitars, two for the three guitarists not playing at the same time, plus two basses.

Michigan Grammy Nominee Predominate was next on the bill. As co-headliners their fans pumped the venue to maybe sixty percent capacity. They had this big stage and elevated stages that were LED screens with lyrics and awesome graphics. Seeing as how the openers had nothing of the sort, this really happened Predominate stand out. The story of digital input took a little too long. The band has three studio albums, but their set consists of tracks Woundbasically half of it True Power LP and an infamous cover. Nothing from Life lines this night.

Brian Burkheiser (Clean Vocals), Eric Vanlerberghe (Unclean Vocals – aka incoherent snarls), Steve Menoian (Lead Guitar), Dylan Bowman (Rhythm Guitar), Jon Eberhard (Bass) and Gabe Helguera (Drums ) took to the stage with 'and There's Fear in Letting Go', 'Body Bag' and 'Self-Destruction'. Their fans ate it up. Then it was time for IT. The cover song that led to their popularity and went platinum. Their metal cover of “Blank Space”. My kid screamed “Oh my god, Taylor Swift” and the crowd went wild. The I Prevail tracks continued with “Deep End”, “Visceral”, “Breaking Down” and “FWYTYK”.

The floor in front of the main concourse is one hundred percent full and these fans are wild for these guys. Behind the corridor I counted forty people really paying attention. The set ends with 'Judgment Day', 'Choke', 'Hurricane', 'Bow Down' and closes with 'Gasoline'. The band translates well live and is loved by their die-hard fans. I prefer Brian's smoother vocals to Eric's dirty spells, but I realize this is metalcore, so you have to combine the two.

We were lucky to see Brian live as he had surgery for Eagle Syndrome in May. A few years ago he experienced emergency vocal rest following a severe vocal cord injury. I can't believe after all these throat problems Brian is back on stage freaking out singing his heart out every night. Man, it's an inspiration too Predominate the junkies let him know how grateful they were to have him back. Although my take on them was “meh”, my kid immediately added several of their songs to the set list. Check them out for yourself and see what you think.

Next to Hollywood Undead, Halestorm it was the main attraction for us. I was so excited to see an awesome display of female rock and roll villains with my daughter. He won a Grammy Award Halestorm never disappoints and tonight was no exception. Lzzy Hale became the first female artist to win the award in the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category (2012).

Halestorm has five studio albums, and the very short ten-song set touched them all. An extended intro showcases Lzzy's forearms as they launch into “I Miss The Misery” and their Grammy-winning song “Love Bites (So Do I),” both from The Strange Case Of LP. Lzzy trades in Gibson guitars such as suit shift, shiny silver, sparkly pink, and everything in between. Halestorm'I Get Off' featured a perfect segue into a track of Heart's 'Crazy On You'. He acknowledged the fans “We're all freaking out tonight!” before serving another slice The Strange Case Of with “Freak Like Me”.

Lzzy flashed her blues, but lost the momentum of the crowd Into The Wild Life“Gonna Get Mine”. The singer dedicated the next both to the band's devoted fans, known as Freaks or Lzzbians, and Halestorm virgins. He showed more vocal prowess with an incredibly beautiful performance Halestorm'S Familiar Taste of Poison”. Lzzy's cohorts are Joe Hottinger (Lead Guitar), Josh Smith (Bass) and her brother Arejay Hale (Drums).

It was Arejay's turn in the spotlight and he produced a drum solo that included a comically giant drum set. Each band member ended up with a drum on stage and the solo morphed into a drum circle. Back to work with another Into The Wild Life track, “Mayhem” which included an attempt at Eddie Van Halen's “Eruption”. Halestorm and Predominate conveniently released a collaborative single before this joint tour, so Eric Vanlerberghe took the stage to help out on 'can you see me in the dark?' The compact set wrapped with “Black Vultures” by Vicious and “The Steeple” by Back from the dead.

I certainly longed to hear more, but that was it, no encore. Halestorm it's been the same quartet for two decades and Lzzy's voice is a treasure. We don't have enough female mayhem, so support them. Lzzy probably has to work a thousand times harder because she has boobs. Love Halestorm? Time to revisit them. New to Halestorm? Time to get your freak on.

Thanks for your rock and readers support! More to come!

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