Halestorm returned to Flint last week with The Pretty Reckless and Starset to play The Whiting. Photos by Stephanie Sokol
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t was a hurricane of positive energy at The Whiting Auditorium in Flint, Mich. last week, when Halestorm brought a gale of good music to the stage. Opening acts Starset and The Pretty Reckless also added strength to the show.
To kickoff the evening, Starset literally lit up the stage with their track “First Light,” wowing the audience with their cool, space age costumes. Throughout their 8-song set, Starset conveyed that the band had entered a new world, the “Starset society,” as they called it. The band wrapped up with a high energy performance of “My Demons.”
The Pretty Reckless was up next, and Taylor Momsen was the star of the stage. As the band opened with “Follow Me Down,” the lights went up, but Taylor still seemed mysterious half bent over with her hair covering her face. She really got into the music, and when she played “Heaven Knows,” fans belted out all the lyrics as she continued singing strongly and dancing as the star of her band’s performance. Before finishing up their set, The Pretty Reckless performed “Going to Hell,” off of their new album, which also received gratitude from the audience.
The anticipation built as fans waited for Halestorm to make their way on stage, and as the lights went up and they opened their 19-song set with “Love Bites (So do I),” front-woman Lzzy Hale belted out the song vocally and on guitar, complimented by her talented band mates, drummer (and her brother) Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith.
“Hey Flint Michigan!” Lzzy shouted to the audience with a smile, sharing her love for the city and its fans. Halestorm has a close connection with Flint; Their video “I Miss the Misery” was shot in the town and they’ve grown up as musicians putting on many shows there.
The entire band was lively and energetic, especially during performances of “Scream,” “Sick Individual” and “Gonna Get Mine.” Each member’s talent was spotlighted throughout the show with an amazing solo.
Things calmed down a lot and got emotional when Halestorm performed the slow sentimental “Dear Daughter,” which Lzzy said was about how her parents had always supported her, even when she wanted to start a rock band at age 13 with her friends.
The night went back to a fast rock n’ roll party, even towards the end when Lzzy brought out the Jägermeister and did a shot with the audience. The band returned to the stage for an encore, rocking until the last moment when they closed the set with “I Miss the Misery” and “Here’s to Us.”
