I’ll admit. I was looking forward to photographing this show. I’d seen Three Days Grace a few years back and thought they were great.
I was personally interested in seeing the band with their new front man Matt Walst. He happens to be the brother of bassist Brad Walst.
How would he measure up to former front man Adam Gontier? I would soon find out. But up first was Halestorm.
I didn’t know what to expect from Halestorm. I’d heard a few of their songs and thought they sounded tight.
Some of the riffs kinda reminded me of early 90’s rock. Oh, and just so you know, The lead singer Lzzy Hale and the drummer
Arejay Hale were also siblings. That made me wonder about the bands dynamics behind the scenes. That’s another story I’m sure.
Anyway, The buzz among the fans seemed to be about Arejay and how he was the one to watch. Being a drummer myself,
I was intrigued. Normally the drummer and bass player get the least amount of attention. Yet, the hype was almost equal for Lzzy and
Arejay. The crowds excitement grew as the lights went down. The band took the stage. Lzzy had a smile on her face as she adjusted her
guitar and kicked on the distortion pedal. Boom!
The stage lit up and Halestorm started playing the song “Sick Individual”. Right away I could understand why people were talking
about Arejay. Even though he was sitting, he was amerced in the song. Moving, shaking and violently clubbing the skins. He was
as much of a presence as Lzzy who was not to be outdone by her brother. She was jumping around singing and almost taunting
the audience. The energy was intense. The band was having fun and so were the fans!
Halestorm had never been to Halifax, Nova Scotia before but they really looked like they were enjoying the experience.
The reception was warm as Lzzy carried on a little conversation with the fans. She called everyone in attendance her “friends”. The
show went on to feature some fast paced, in your face songs as well as a few “slower” tunes. Joe Hottinger’s guitar skills were also a
focal point for me. He flowed through the songs effortlessly. He was very calm and focused stepping out of the shadows every once in
a while to show off his talent. In the middle of the show, Arejay did a frantic drum solo. It sounded seamless as he captivated the fans.
He stopped for a second to pull out the “big sticks”. Yes, he pulled out a huge pair of drum sticks to finish the solo. Not only did it look
funny but I had never seen anything like it.
All in all, Halestorm had a crazy energy. They kept the crowd on their toes and made a lot of new fans. I myself hope they return to
Halifax in the near future. Not only do I think they would draw a much larger crowd but, I think they could be the headliner and not the
opener. My hats off to you Halestorm. I really enjoyed the show!
Halestorm set list
-Sick Individual
-Apocalyptic
-Amen
-Scream
-Fire
-Heavy
-Drum solo
-Love Bites
-I get Off
-Freak
-Misery
Now for Three Days Grace
This was a band I was very familiar with. I had listened to their music for years. As I mentioned before, I wanted to see how their new
front man Matt Walst would do Live. Knowing I still liked the music they were making, I wanted to see how Matt would do right in front
of me. There was nothing I hated more than seeing a band live only to find out they sound nothing like their CD/studio recording.
The band took stage with their normal audio recording playing in the background. (Rage Against the Machine’s Bulls on Parade) Walst
ran out from stage right just as the place lit up. The fans were sucked into the rock and roll atmosphere right off the bat. They seemed
to almost forget the world existed just outside the doors behind security.
3DG belted out “I am Machine” as the energy grew more and more. Again, it seemed to me the siblings in the band were the most active
on stage. Almost as if they were feeding from each other and competing for the fans attention. I lowered my camera for a second to take
in the music. Probably not the best thing to do because when you’re doing concert photos, normally you only get the first three songs to
get the shots you need. Snapping back to reality it sank in that the music sounded good. As I shot photos I listened for the over dub vocals
but didn’t hear them. The slight shake was present in the voice as Matt jumped around but that was to be expected. It had been some time,
but I quickly remembered why I liked to hear 3DG live. The band played a good mix of hits from the past as well as the current songs they
were promoting from the new album.(Human, 2015) Each member played with heart. It was easy to tell each of them was in the zone.
The music was tight and the energy was high.
Three Days Grace may have traded in their front man but they didn’t miss a beat. At the end of the night, I was happy to have attended the
show and didn’t feel let down by the music that was played. 3DG had made it through hard times and came smashing though with music
the fans loved.
