Who: Halestorm, In This Moment, New Years Day
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
When: August 2, 2018
One of the best tour lineups of the year is Halestorm and In This Moment with New Years Day. Having previously attended their show at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, MA in May (where Stitched Up Heart was also on the bill), I really wanted to see the show again, so I headed to the Mohegan Sun arena.
This was my fourth time seeing New Years Day; every time I see the band, I become a bigger fan. The show had technical difficulties from the minute the band stepped on stage, but looking at vocalist Ash Costello, you would never have known there was anything wrong. “Kill Or Be Killed” was the perfect opening track. Their cover of Pantera’s “Fucking Hostile” was next and followed by “I’m About To Break You,” “Disgust Me” for which a video was premiered just a few days before, “Epidemic,” and “Defame Me.” The technical difficulties continued throughout the set; vocalist Ash Costello’s mic was too low and she could barely be heard, which was a shame since she is an excellent vocalist. Despite the issues, she made it seem like everything was perfect and delivered a top-notch opening set. Her stage presence is more commanding every time I get to see her and the band sounds better live every time.
I was excited to see In This Moment for the second time. The band is very theatrical and puts on a great show, but this set blew their performance last time out of the water. The setlist was pretty much the same as last time; “Blood” was a powerful first song, followed by “River of Fire,” “Adrenalize,” “Roots,” “Monster Jam,” a killer drum solo from Kent Diimmel which also gave guitarists Randy Weitzel and Chris Howorth and bassist Travis Johnson a chance to shine, “Black Wedding” featuring Ash Costello, “Big Bad Wolf,” a cover of Phil Collin’s “In The Air Tonight,” “Sick Like Me,” “Oh Lord,” and of course “Whore” to finish it all off. While the setlist had not differed, the show was so much better than I remembered it being. In This Moment were on fire; every single band member was at the top of their game that night. The theatricality of In This Moment is not for everyone, but their performance was good enough to impress fans and doubters; they ended up being my favorite band of the night.
Halestorm is one of my favorite bands and I could not wait for them to take the stage. Their newest album Vicious had just released and the setlist reflected that. “Skulls” off Vicious opened their set and it was fun; it had a great beat and was energetic enough to get the audience’s heads moving in time with the music. Classic tracks “Love Bites (So Do I),” “Mz. Hyde,” and “I Miss The Misery” immediately followed. “Killing Ourselves To Live,” “Do Not Disturb,” “Amen,” “The Silence,” “Black Vultures,” and “Vicious” continued the setlist that was a good mix of new songs mixed with old favorites. Drummer Arejay Hale, one of the best in the game, performed an impressive solo before the setlist plunged into “Freak Like Me,” “I Am The Fire,” “Uncomfortable,” “It’s Not You,” and finally “Here’s To Us.” With the new tracks being performed, I did not get to hear a lot of my favorite songs that were performed last time, but the new tracks performed well and got a positive response from the audience, many of whom already knew all of the words to the new songs. Lzzy Hale is a captivating frontwoman who knew exactly what her audience wanted. Halestorm did not disappoint the second time around.
Halestorm, In This Moment, and New Years Day have some of the best vocalists in the game. The frontwomen know how to captivate an audience and make you feel as if the set has flown by much too fast. With this tour now extending into the fall, there are plenty more opportunities to catch this fantastic lineup and it is highly recommended that you do.
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Post and photos by Karen Shalev
Did you attend this tour? Comment below.
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