Halestorm blows the roof off the Commodore

Halestorm Blows the Roof off the Commodore, Aviator Shades are pretty Cool
written by Scotty Evil

A category 5 star performance blew into Vancouver on Wednesday night by way of some powerhouse vocals from Pennsylvania.

But before that, a change in the opening act came as a welcome surprise. Local boys Aviator Shades took the stage instead of billed The Wild! from Kelowna, who apparently had a band member fall ill at the last minute. They took the stage promptly at 8:30 and owned it.

Irish lad Dave Gorman along with the twin guitar attack of George Baker and Shaun Michael Thackery proceeded to show off their interesting Iron Maiden/Thin Lizzy lovechild type sound (and retro looks to match) to the increasing delight of the head-banging crowd. The sound was tight and shirtless drummer Spencer Tomlinson wailed on the skins. How he never got his long blonde locks tangled in his sticks is a mystery. They then cemented their music in everyone’s heads with a rowdy sing-along from their latest EP, “Ready to Blow”. “Tallahassee woman yeah” was stuck in my brain for the rest of the night. I look forward to catching these guys again, they were a lot of fun.

It wasn’t hard to tell how much of a female following headliners Halestorm had in the crowd. Leather, black t-shirts, ripped jeans and dark lipstick was the dress code, and they screamed loud and long as Lzzy Hale and band took the stage. Long legs decked out in shiny black pants, the frontwoman tore into “Apocalyptic” and the audience sang along, word for word.

The band paused at times to engage with their fans, also apologizing for cancelling their previously booked show in June (Lzzy stated at the time that she was exhausted and it was affecting her performance). “I’m so glad you all came out tonight” she said with genuine gratitude, then proceeded to deliver with a flawless, energetic show.

The song selection was heavy with picks from their latest offering “Into the Wild Life” but they also surprised with an edgy but soulful rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Gold Dust Woman”.

Sibling Arejay layed into a pounding drum solo before the band launched into “Love Bites (So do I)”. A two-song encore ended with a couple of their biggest hits from their 2012 release “The Strange Case of…”

The band was tight, the sound was loud and this group was clearly having a lot of fun. The fans hung on everything Lzzy Hale did as she was engaging and entertaining. Although this was their last Canadian show this tour prior to a leg through the Pacific, she assured the crowd “Don’t worry, we’ll be back, I promise!”

Personally, I look forward to it.