Hale yes: Hard-rocking Halestorm and STP entertain Pittsburgh faithful

PITTSBURGH − The universe repeatedly had conspired against Halestorm and its Pittsburgh fans, until Tuesday night when the planets finally aligned.

After a 2021 pandemic postponement, then a January 2022 cancelation due to Winter Storm Izzy, Halestorm at last headlined a Pittsburgh stage again, and the famed York County, Pa., hard-rockers didn't disappoint.

Frontwoman Lzzy Hale took the Stage AE outdoor stage with an upraised arm flashing the metal horns as she and her three bandmates promptly got to their forte of serving up pounding, twin-guitar powered rock, starting with "The Steeple" and its chorus of " This is my kingdom/This is my cathedral/This is my castle/And these are my people."

Her Pittsburgh people, about 1,700 of them, mostly 30- and 40-somethings, already had loaded up on Halestorm merch, and grooved along elatedly, raising their voices when "Love Bites (So Do I)" arrived as the third pick of the 17-song setlist.

Rocking fishnets and black platform boots with red laces and heels − and more importantly, one of her signature, intriguingly geometric Gibson guitars, with a seven-sided body − Hale and her sibling drummer Arejay Hale, lead guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith attained an enticing groove-metal sound on "Apocalyptic."

Hale dedicated the anthemic, bass-heavy new song "Strange Girl" to ladies like her, proud to stand out from the pack. It's an attitude she's embraced since age 11, when getting pushback from friends who didn't understand why she liked shock-rocker Alice Cooper.

She introduced the wiry guitar-driven "Uncomfortable" as a middle finger to conformity.

Next came "Bombshell," highlighting her solid, clear singing style. Stage AE's acoustics sounded excellent on this evening, which likely would not have been the case at the originally planned venue for the postponed/canceled Halestorm shows, with Evanescence, at the acoustically challenged Petersen Events Center.

Hale's voice shined, accompanied by her piano playing, for solo renditions of "Break In" and "Raise Your Horns."

Though the band's pacing began to get sluggish, with a lengthy but pedestrian guitar solo and then a drum solo that was relatively unremarkable until Arejay pulled out a pair of drumsticks that were whiffle ball bat-sized, whacking away with the same speed you'd expect from regular drum sticks. Audience members gasped and cheered. Somehow the band had regained its momentum, with "Freak Like Me" and "Wicked Ways" clearing a tight, hard-driving path.

The three-song encore began with the fine "My Redemption" from an album released 11 days earlier, then "I Am The Fire" with Hale and Hottinger both wielding double-neck guitars.

Preceding Halestorm was Stone Temple Pilots, which delivered a very well-received performance.

It was the first look for many Pittsburgh fans at STP singer Jeff Gutt, who in 2017 took over the mic for the famed grunge-era alt-rockers.

Gutt strode confidently on stage in a crisp red shirt, dark tie, black vest and sunglasses, calling to mind the fashion choice of late singer Scott Weiland.

Gutt's voice didn't dig as deep as Weiland's, or stretch as theatrically on the "to find it/to find it/to find it" part of "Plush."

Wisely, Gutt took the Adam Lambert approach − be faithful to the songs, but don't try to mimic the original singer, and it worked.

Gutt's voice and charisma won over a crowd simply grateful to hear STP hits like "Vasoline" and "Interstate Love Song" played well, and featuring founding members/brothers Dean DeLeo and Robert DeLeo on guitar and bass.

Black Stone Cherry launched the show with a strong set of hook-driven, Southern-tinged hard rock. They're what you want in an opening act; a drummer twirling his sticks, a singer with a hint of grit and growl in his voice, and a guitarist and bassist with long hair bobbing to beats as thick as battleship chains.

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com.

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This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Hale yes: Hard-rocking Halestorm & STP entertain Pittsburgh faithful