Halestorm, Devilskin & City of Souls,
7th January 2017
Logan Campbell Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
Review by Sarah Kidd, Photography by Doug Peters.
It’s Saturday night and there is a tidal wave of black flowing towards the doors of the Logan Campbell Centre. There is always a vibe of high energy at any Devilskin gig; since forming in 2010 they have built an army of fans who support them at gigs with much gusto. Tonight’s exciting triple bill has Devilskin being supported by NZ super group City of Souls and from the USA the high octane Halestorm.
The crowd has already built up to an imposing level by the time City of Souls takes the stage. They make for an impressive look with the 6 member band being made up of 4 guitarists – as they line up across the stage and kick into their first song of the night; they provide an immense wall of sound. Richie Simpson on vocals cuts a striking figure and really puts himself into the songs, while Corey Friedlander on drums ties the whole act together with his hard hitting.
During their 8 song set they not only performed their new track ‘Cruelty’ but they also treated the audience to an excellent hard rock version of the classic Joy Division track ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’.
The audience were certainly well warmed up for the arrival of Halestorm, a chant soon rising up through the front rows who were pressed up against the barriers ready to rock it out, and Halestorm did not disappoint. Formed in Pennsylvania in 1998, Halestorm are no strangers to the touring scene being well known for performing up to 250 shows a year! Striding out onto the stage looking every inch the rock star goddess in leather pants and jacket, Lzzy Hale announced their arrival with an epic howl as the band launched into ‘Apocalyptic’ off the 2015 album ‘Into the Wild Life’.
It was reported by Lzzy herself via an FB post that she has been struggling with some health issues on this tour in regards to her voice, but she was in top form tonight, belting out notes that made your toes curl with the sheer intensity! This was especially evident when on several occasions throughout the night she sang acapella, channeling a southern gospel singer and demon rock chick simultaneously.
“I wanna know where my freaks at – wanna let me know where my freaks are at; then scream!” Lzzy’s call and response to the crowd was met with enthusiastic baying, the fans lapping up the attention. Re-Animate 3.0, Halestorms second EP of covers has just been recently released and tonight we were treated to their cover of Whitesnakes ‘Still of the Night’ (which coincidently earned a shout out from Coverdale himself!), allowing lead guitarist Joe Hottinger to show off his skills on the guitar.
Throughout their set, Halestorm consistently worked the audience, wrapping them up within the music with the professionalism and talent of any major stadium band. And the crowd loved every second of it. “Auckland, how do I like it?” Lzzy asked the audience with a sly grin on her face – as the band dove into ‘I Like it Heavy’ which included a larger than life drum solo from Lzzy’s younger brother Arejay (who had been entertaining the crowd all night with not only his playing but skills with the sticks). The drum solo even included a short sing along medley of well-known Kiss, GnR and AC/DC songs and climaxed with Arejay pulling out giant drum sticks (longer than his arms) – were they just for show, nope this boy could still whack out a wicked drum roll with them too!
Tracks ‘I am the Fire’ followed quickly by ‘Love bites (So do I)’ had the crowd at fever pitch, with security working overtime to keep the crowd cool with water sprayers. Halestorm finished the night big with an impressive version of ‘I Miss the Misery’.
As the lights started to dim, signaling that Devilskin would soon be stepping into the ring, the energy rippling through the crowd was palpable. A cross made of white roses and lit with LED’s was glowing on the lead mic stand. The stage was then bathed in red and out stormed Devilskin.
Since appearing on the scene in 2010, Devilskin have built an army of fans and have released two studio albums, the latest being ‘Be Like the River’. They have also released a live album which was filmed at their sell out show at The Powerstation in 2014.
Jennie Skulander stomps out onto the stage – this chick has definite swagger and the pipes to back it up, she grabs a CO2 hand cannon and sprays it into the air as the opening notes of ‘We Rise’ off the 2014 album of the same name ring out across the venue. Paul Martin on bass and Nail on lead guitar, with their trademark matching red beards know how to work the stage, they cover every inch ensuring that every single fan gets to see them – Nail at one stage even leaving the stage to come down into the security pit to treat the fans to some very up close and personal viewing of his finger work, much to their delight.
“How we doing Auckland” Jennie addresses the audience with a huge smile, before going on to tell how years ago she was sitting on the upper levels of the Logan Campbell Centre watching Ronnie James Dio sing with Heaven and Hell and now, here she stands singing on the same stage. “Dreams do come true” she smiles. ‘Voices’ which Devilskin recently released a video for, is a huge hit, the crowd showing the band exactly how strong their voices are as they belt out the chorus. Followed quickly by ‘Never see the light’ the audience is now hot, sweaty and moving as one. CO2 canons along the front of the stage amp up the energy another notch with every blast; security continues to do a great job by providing much needed water to the mosh pit.
Nic Martin on drums is always a sight to behold, he may be young but he plays with the intensity of a seasoned pro. Even a technical issue didn’t cause him or the band to lose their cool. Paul kept the crowd going with some epic bass playing while the stage techs addressed the issue under the kit, Nic keeping the pace while crouched beside the bass drum.
‘FYI’ is loud and raucous, Jennie going hard on a loudhailer, adding a different element to the song. During the track, a couple of bras are catapulted onto the stage – Jennie picked one up and checked the tag “Thank you, but it’s really not my size”
A large tombstone placed at the front of the stage announced the track ‘Grave’ as the band moved into the final stretch of their set. Finishing on ‘Limbs’ Devilskin thanked not only the crowd and support bands but the road crew and security for all their efforts – a true testament to the professionalism and humbleness of this well-loved kiwi band.
They barely had time to leave the stage before cries of “encore” were rippling throughout the audience, and of course Devilskin didn’t disappoint, coming straight back out onto stage and performing a rip snorting version of ‘Vessel’ and what has now become a legendary track ‘Little Pills’
Damn.
Were you there at the Logan Campbell Centre to witness this epic show? Or have you seen City of Souls, Halestorm or Devilskin somewhere else on this extensive New Zealand tour? Tell me about it in the comments below!
Devilskin Setlist:
- We Rise
- Start A Revolution
- Elvis Presley Circle Pit
- In Black
- Believe in Me
- Mountains
- House 13
- Voices
- Never See The Light
- Fade
- Bleed
- Be Like The River
- FYI
- Pray
- Grave
- Animal
- Violation
- Limbs
- Vessel [Encore]
- Little Pills [Encore]
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