Thursday, August 4th at the Isleta Ampitheater in Albuquerque New Mexico, a good friend and I witnessed Halestorm, The Pretty Reckless, The Warning and Lilith Czar. It was a night of high-energy metal and hard rock helmed by some of the most talented and professional bands I have had the luxury of seeing perform recently. Each and every one of these bands is lead by women.
Over the past several years a lot more female fronted heavy bands have sprung up on the scene and it is a beautiful thing. Not only does it alter the demographics of metal concert audiences in a good way, it also adds some much needed depth to the genre as a whole. This was my first time seeing all of these artists and I was thoroughly impressed by the level of intensity that each of them brought to the stage.
Lilith Czar opened the show and I didn’t get into the venue soon enough to catch her set but everyone who saw her said she was incredible.
The Warning, a 3 piece band of sisters from Mexico was the first act I was able to catch. Their set was razor sharp and they had quite a large crowd despite getting one of the earlier time slots on the bill. I overheard the chatter of a few random audience members saying that they came specifically to see this band.
The Pretty Reckless came on next to usher in the darkness. You could almost say they were a co-headlining act, even though this is technically Halestorm’s tour. Taylor Momsen has a perfect rock n’ roll voice and gyrates to the music seductively, hypnotizing men and women alike. Her gravelly voice and rockstar energy organically moved the music and the audience. The band opened their set with a deep cut from Soundgarden, “Loud Love” off of the Louder than Love record, an album that pre-dates even their grunge-era, MTV breakthrough Badmotorfinger.
The band wound skillfully through each song in their set as the sky behind the amphitheater darkened. The crowd cheered and sang along as they played several of their most popular songs including “Only Love Can Save Me Now” and “Heaven Knows.”
After they were done winding up the crowd Momsen & Co. left the stage and the house music came on in preparation for the main event.
Halestorm exploded onto the stage with one of their new tracks “Back From the Dead” an appropriate way to kick off their sets on their first tour back since the COVID lockdowns. The band immediately tore into fan favorite “Love Bites (So Do I)” next, and everyone lost it.
The pace continued fast and the crowd sang along word for word with every song. I managed to get some footage of Lizzy Hale’s speech leading up to the song “Strange Girl” – watch:
They slowed the pace down and brought out a piano for “Rock Show” and then brought the pace right back up to where it belonged with songs like “Terrible Things,” “I Am the Fire,” and then a drum solo. Halestorm fan-favorites like Freak Like Me and Wicked Ways rounded out the set before they finally closed out with “Bombshell.”
After several minutes of the crowd chanting “one more song!” the band returned to the stage and gave the audience a 2 song encore. Lizzy introduced the band by name and they capped off the night with their song “The Steeple” – watch:
Halestorm headlined a fantastic concert from start to finish. I’m not sure if they curate the openers themselves but whoever put these bands together knew what they were doing. Halestorm will continue touring in the midwest and on the east coast throughout September and be back out west again in October before they finish up the year in Europe. Not all dates feature The Pretty Reckless but get out to see this concert if it comes to your neighborhood. It’s guaranteed to be a great show no matter who else is on the bill!
View upcoming Halestorm tour dates here.
View additional concert footage here.
The Pretty Reckless – Setlist
- Loud Love (Soundgarden cover)
- Since You’re Gone
- Only Love Can Save Me Now
- Death by Rock and Roll
- Make Me Wanna Die
- Sweet Things
- Witches Burn
- Going to Hell
- Heaven Knows
- Take Me Down
Halestorm – Setlist
- Back From the Dead
- Love Bites (So Do I)
- Psycho Crazy
- Mz. Hyde
- Strange Girl
- I Get Off
- Break In
- Rock Show (Piano Version)
- Raise Your Horns
- Terrible Things
- I Am the Fire
- { Drum Solo }
- I Miss the Misery
- Freak Like Me
- Wicked Ways
- Bombshell
Encore
17. Here’s to Us
18. The Steeple
