Lazerfest 2015
Day 1
Carnival Of Madness
May 8th, 2015
7 Flags Event Center
Des Moines, Iowa
Holy White Hounds, Starset, We Are Harlot, Young Guns, Halestorm
First off, y’all need to stop hating on Lazerfest, and be thankful that the two day event went on at all. It’s not easy to put together a festival, no matter the size.
There are so many variables to work with, it’s nearly impossible to make every fan happy. Do you have any idea how difficult it was to get the Lazerfest bands together? The biggest hinder was Northern Invasion taking place in-between KAZR’s two day festival. Each of the national acts on the first day of Lazerfest would be playing Northern Invasion the next day. Lazerfest’s day 2 headliner, Five Finger Death Punch, also played Northern Invasion. It’s not easy to bring several tours together into one festival.
The second variable is the venue. I’d much rather have the comforts of an in-door stage at 7 Flags than the exterior of the Court Avenue bridge. It’s a more controlled environment.
The bands KAZR chose for Lazerfest were a perfect combination. Opening the festivities were a group of young ladies from the Des Moines Metro area. These girls ranged in age from the band’s 11 year old drummer, the youngest person to ever play a Lazerfest, to the 15 year old guitar player. Their set was comprised of covers, including Green Day’s “Holiday” and one original song. These young girls did an amazing job pumping up the crowd, and are a perfect example why it’s so important to have a supportive arts and music foundation at such a young age.
Local boys Holy White Hounds were next on stage. The quintet slammed through a set of original material and did an amazing job continuing to excite the fans as the Lazerfest crowd swelled.
Tonight would also mark the return of futuristic rockers Starset to Des Moines. The live show from these 4 guys from Columbus, Ohio has been perfected. As vocalist Dustin Bates sprinted around the stage conducted the crowd, guitarist Brock Richards, bassist Ron DeChant and drummer Adam “DrumAbuse” Gilbert, thrashed and slammed through the band’s 7 song set.
Starset knows that there’s more to a live show that just the music. The visuals that the band has incorporated into their set greatly enhances Starset’s demonstrations. Not content with maintaining the same set performance, the band has incorporated two blazing LCD screens into their set. Each projects videos from the bands 3 music videos, and fantastic images and videos of outer space. Richards, DeChant and Gilbert’s masks also flashed between shades of blue, green and yellow to entice the moods and tones of each song played. Bates would tell me during Northern Invasion that it took hours to deconstruct the masks and reprogram them to flash and pop each color.
Having toured almost non-stop for the past two years, and building their fan base with a grass-roots campaign since the release of their debut album, Transmissions, it was no surprise that the crowd sang along during the band’s set.
Starset’s setlist;
First Light
Rise and Fall
Down With the Fallen
Halo
Telescope
Carnivore
The Future Is Now
My Demons
We Are Harlot were next to the stage. The hard rock super-group comprised of singer Danny Worsnop, formerly of Asking Alexandria, and guitarist Jeff George, formerly of Sebastian Bach, were formed for concerts such as Lazerfest. This would mark Warsnop’s second time at Lazerfest. His first being 2013’s set with his former band Asking Alexandria. We Are Harlot’s lineup also includes bassist Brian Weaver from Silvertide and drummer Bruno Agra, formerly of Revolution Renaissance. We Are Harlot are a very balls-to-the-wall band. Their music raw and loud, and their live set pushes the crowd to the limits of rioting.
The band’s half hour set was full of the heaviest tracks from their debut album, a gentler track and a cover of Queen’s Tie Your Mother Down. Ever the jokester, Worsnop asked the crowd is it was alright for the band to slow it down for the third song of their set. The crowd responded with approval. “Good,” Worsnop told the crowd, “because it’s written on this piece of paper.” Worsnop was referring to the band’s setlist. “And this paper dictates what we play.”
We Are Harlot setlist;
Denial
Easier to Leave
Someday
Never Turn Back
Dancing on Nails
Tie Your Mother Down (Queen Cover)
One More Night
Marking their second time at Lazerfest, British rockers Young Guns were next on the bill. Vocalist and founder Gustav Wood has a raw, and very lived in voice. The band’s unique amalgamation of hard rock and pop was just what the fans needed to amp themselves up to the next level.
Soon enough the clock struck the time that a few thousand fans had been waiting; the return of Halestorm to Des Moines. Tonight would be my 9th time photographing Halestorm since the 2006 Winter Fresh Sno-Core tour. Back then, Lzzy and her boys opened for Seether, Shinedown and Flyleaf, playing a blistering 6 song set. Tonight, Halestorm would be dominating the stage for over an hour.
The band’s 17 song set opened with the thunderous I Like It Heavy. Halestorm’s setlist was full of tracks off of their 3rd full length release Into the Wild Life, with fan favorite scattered through out. The band has been honing their stage presence for over a decade, and Lzzy used musical dominance to control the crowd for the moment she stepped on stage.
For me, seeing Halestorm now is a lot like seeing an old friend. There are gaps between the times you shared together, but the memories are still fresh and it’s like picking up right where you left off. Several times during each song, the crowd’s voice was almost as powerful as Lzzy’s was. To hear a thousand voices singing back up on songs like I Miss the Misery and Love Bites (So Do I) is almost a religious experience.
Halestorm are one of those bands that I’ve always rooted for.
Arejay Hale’s skills behind the drumkit are remarkable. Seeing that scrawny kid ten years ago turn into the machine he is now is amazing. Guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith have also grown into their roles. Becoming a worldwide phenomenon will do that.
During their time on stage, Halestorm proved once again that they are here to stay and have earned their place amongst rock royalty.
Halestorm setlist;
I Like It Heavy
Freak Like Me
Amen
Love Bites (So Do I)
Scream
I Am the Fire
I Get Off
Bad Girls World
Daughters of Darkness
Dear Daughter
Mayhem
It’s Not You
Apocalyptic
I Miss the Misery
Encore;
The Reckoning
Sick Individual
Here’s to Us
