LIVE Review: Halestorm Brings Fargo Into The Wild

The stage was on fire with some of the hottest ladies of rock and roll Friday night at the Fargo Civic Center in Fargo, North Dakota.
Currently out on their 2016 U.S. tour, Halestorm has brought on Lita Ford, a metal legend herself, and newcomers Dorothy as support.
Halestorm’s frontwoman Lzzy Hale is easily one of the most influential females in the industry today. Her ‘don’t give a shit’ attitude is reminiscent of the great Joan Jett, a pioneer of her day. Her powerhouse vocals and guitar shredding abilities make her a stand out talent and an icon for many young women to look to for inspiration.​

Kicking off the night was LA based blues rockers Dorothy. If you have yet to catch wind of this group, (which I pity you if that be the case), you need to look them up NOW. This quartet is blazing a new path, bringing the old school rock and roll sound of Janis Joplin back to modern radio.
​ Their live performance can be summed up in one word- HAIR. With all four of the members sporting a full head of locks, there is no shortage of wild hair flipping, twirling and whipping gloriousness. Visual aside, Dorothy’s sound quality is beyond radio. I have listened to their studio work quite a bit over the past few months but I would much rather hear them live again. Frontwoman and the band’s namesake Dorothy Martin sports the ability to sound better live than on record, which isn’t as common these days, and I believe it will be a huge element to the future success of the band.

​It was Lita Ford’s turn next. The nostalgia was real for a handful of the older concert goers as they sang along to her biggest hits “Kiss Me Deadly” and “Close My Eyes Forever” her duet with Ozzy Osbourne. She strut around in her red spandex suit and fringed boots, tearing up the guitar like it was 1988. Her energy was beaming from the smile on her face and you could tell that stage was her home. It’s always fun to see the gap between generations filled and adding Lita to the lineup was the perfect glue.

---

   Finally, Halestorm took the stage, making their entrance to “Mayhem”, a hit track from their latest release Into The Wild Life. The song is loud and edgy and gets you pumped, which it accomplished nothing less. The crowd was ready to go. The key to Halestorm’s live show is their nonstop enthusiasm. They keep the party going hardly taking a break between songs, just blasting into one after the next, giving no time to get bored. 
​   Their stage presence has everything to do with interaction, between each other and everyone in the audience. One of the most memorable interaction of the night being when Lzzy took the time to step towards the edge of the stage and give a pep talk to all of the young women in the audience followed by “Dear Daughter”.

---

If you have ever seen a Halestorm show, you know the highest energy comes from behind the drumkit. Drummer Arejay Hale is wild! Like the energizer bunny he keeps going and going. His drum solo is the highlight of the show, particularly when he abandons the kit, strapping on his wearable drums and runs back and forth on the stage pounding away like a child with a shiny set of pots and pans.

  The night came to a close with no encore, just song after song until curfew. No time was wasted and it felt like the show would never end. As they finished up “Here’s To Us”, an anthem that the crowd sang back every word, most had accepted that that was it. Lzzy reconnected the mic to the stand and all prepared for the big farewell, but there is not subtle ending for Halestorm. Immediately the band jumped into the longest version of “I Miss the Misery” I have ever heard. The Civic Center was alive one last time with fists in the air and headbanging madness. Finally, “Goodnight Fargo” rang out and the lights went down.

​FULL Halestorm photo coverage here.