Column: Putting things in perspective, thanks to Halestorm, The Warning
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This is usually the space where I tell you the latest rock show I attended and what I thought about it.
I've dabbled with a few different versions of these reviews — though I'll never touch what Stephen Garcia poetically wrote about the Ice Cube show back in August. However, a general review for Sunday night's Halestorm headlining show at Buddy Holly Hall won't do it justice.
For reasons I won't get into detail about here, Halestorm is my favorite band of all-time. I couldn't have been more excited about their trip to Lubbock when it was announced back in June.
Something you may notice from the photo gallery of this show is that the two supporting acts — The Warning and New Years Day — are heavily featured, though there are no photos of our headliners. At the last minute, for reasons I'm unaware of, I was not given access to photograph Halestorm, even though that was agreed upon multiple times prior.
This isn't the first time this has happened. When covering and photographing concerts, there are seemingly endless layers of communication to coordinate everything. Somebody giving the green light may be rejected by somebody else and so on.
At first I was frustrated by this. This happened just a month ago. Admittedly, I let that one get to me more than it should have. So I took a second and thought about it.
Was I really about to let this minor detail ruin what should be a phenomenal show from my favorite band?
I wish I could've photographed Halestorm. It would've been a big moment for me. But, those are the breaks. Not everything is going to work out the way you plan.
Luckily, I let this go and decided to photograph the first two bands and take in Halestorm's set as a pure fan, as I did when first seeing them back in 2018.
It may have been a blessing in disguise things worked out the way they did.
Had I photographed the performance, I would've been so worried about nailing the pictures during Halestorm's first three songs — "Back from the Dead," "I Miss the Misery" and "Love Bites (So Do I)" — that I wouldn't have been able to fully digest what I was hearing, which is hard enough considering my 20% hearing capacity in my right ear. I would've been doing myself a disservice for a band that's meant so much to me over the last decade.
I would have been lost in the tiny screen on my cheap Canon for 15 minutes rather than just taking in the incredible show in front of me. Again, I'm biased, but Halestorm is a band that needs to be experienced live to get a full appreciation for them. It was easily the best performance I've ever seen — and I've seen Bruno Mars before he made it big and Big Time Rush at the height of their popularity, so I know what I'm talking about.
The things Lzzy Hale is able to do with her voice are extraordinary. As she wailed for over 90 minutes, I realized that she's the female version of the late Chester Bennington of Linkin Park. Her voice can be as angelic as any pop singer and in an instant dig down deep for screams male performers should be envious of.
The magic she, Joe Hottinger, Josh Smith and Arejay Hale put together is something my simple mind will never fully comprehend. I have no idea how they do it, but I'm glad they do, and so were the rest of the fans in attendance in Helen Devitt Jones Theater.
And The Warning, who are much newer to me, are the perfect complement to the headliners. If you're not familiar with them yet, you will be soon. The talent oozes from the Villarreal sisters like few bands I've seen this year, or in my lifetime of attending shows. They're well on their way to headlining shows of their own, just as Arejay said to me in our interview a few weeks ago.
So, what's the point of all this? If there's one thing I took from the show — aside from reaffirming Halestorm is incredible — it's that you've got to learn to let the little things go. Much easier said than done, I know.
But if you spend so much time sweating the small things, you're going to miss some incredible things right in front of you. I almost did. Instead, I was treated to a night I won't forget.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Column: Putting things in perspective, thanks to Halestorm, The Warning
