Its hard rock night at the Wulfrun Hall, I interviewed
Halestorm, great bunch of people, really nice,
then it was into the crowd, so no waiting around
today in the cold which is always nice.
I was surprised after Halestorms set was, why
the hell were they the opening act, after putting
on a headline worthy performance. Opening there
set with 'Its not you' and 'What were you expecting',
not as hard rock as I was expecting, but two very
catchy rock songs, and defiantly highly accessible
to non rock fans, it’s really easy to listen
to and soon gets the head or foot tapping. The
drumming is pretty decent, nothing too complex
but the drummer puts on a good show, very energetic,
drumsticks and hair flying all over the place,
flair that is not often seen! The guitar playing
again nothing too complex but it’s full
of decent riffs and a few decent guitar solos
in there as well. I really dig her vocals, bit
generic but it still sounds great, much better
live than on their first release, not that were
bad on the CD, just like hearing vocals live!
They took the set down a notch with 'Familiar
taste of poison', a brilliant ballad, with the
band matching the tone of the song, with Lzzy
putting on a dramatic performance. They close
there set with Dirty work and I get off, a dirty
song to say the least, it’s a top finish
to an excellent performance.
Heavens Basement, have a tough act to follow,
I’ve seen Heavens Basement a few times now,
while they put on a good show, I’m starting
to tire of hearing the same songs, there good,
but a few new songs in there set really wouldn't
go amiss, and after seeing Halestorm, tear it
up, well, it was a step down, but still with high
energy and it was also strange seeing the band
with a new singer on the same stage as I first
saw them last year with their original singer,
I think there new guy is trying a bit too hard.
Naturally I don’t think there going to pander
to me, but maybe they'll listen to the fans, who
seem to grow and grow with every gig. Not quite
80s cock rock at its finest, but defiantly sleazy
and dirty. Opening with 'Unbreakable' and 'Long
Goodbye', good opening tracks but I think I’ve
heard this opening duo a few times now and its
lost its effect a bit. Set closers Mirrors Reign
and Executions Day, are always good closing songs
ED being a decent closer to their energetic set,
but its tiring to me but not to most, who knows
or cares really.
Theory of a Deadman, great name, I’ve seen
this band up close playing a acoustic set for
Kerrang radio, and not being a fan, I had no idea
what to expect. They opened with Little Shirk,
Got it Made and All or Nothing, but I’m
sure it wasn’t supposed to sound tinny,
the songs felt really thin, plus I don’t
think it was the best choice of songs to open
with, as the set had to build momentum as I felt
the opening was devoid of energy, but really built
up after the opening songs, The set I guess really
started with Hating and last song, as I felt they
were better songs, and this music is all new to
me, not sure if this is make me a fan though as
it’s not really my brand of rock. Other
songs that featured in the set, Invisible Man,
Nothing, Make Up your mind, Better off and So
happy, that last one closed the main set before
the encore. I wish bands wouldn’t bother
sometimes, just get on with it! The closed the
set with the excellent Hate my Life and Bad Girlfriend,
Fan favourites I'm sure, there fairly decent catchy
songs, and probably my favourites of the night,
enough to maybe tempt me into buying a CD or two,
not really, as I really didn't feel it tonight,
pacing wasn't too good in the set, and there not
the most electrifying band in the world, but still
a solid performance.
Halestorm 5/5
Heavens Basement 3/5
Theory Of A Deadman 4/5
Review By Robert Lawrence
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