26 March 2024 – The Princess Theatre, Brisbane – words by Lucas Bell – pictures by Bec Harbour
After a monster day at Knotfest Brisbane, there were sideshows aplenty. One of these sideshows caught my eye though, as Pennsylvania rockers Halestorm and Welsh reggae metal crew Skindred announced a side show for the Princess Theatre. I knew this had to be a show to see. But what I didn’t know until the day before, was that Sydney based alt metalers Reliqa would also be part of the show! Which I was super stoked about.
This was my second time seeing Reliqa, and despite some unfortunate technical difficulties that seemed to eat up a bit of the set time, this was definitely a better outing in terms of performance. A mix of backing track issues, and guitars not feeding back in the PA system was the bulk of the issues, but lead singer Monique Pym and bass/drumming brothers Miles and Ben Knox pushed through to give the audience a sample of their awesome alternative metalness. We got a taste of the new album as well, with ‘Killstar (The Cold World)’ being played to Brisbane for the first time ever, which definitely builds a more proggy/djent sound for the band, which I’m all for. Despite the issues, the set was great, and I can’t wait for this crew to come back and tear it up once ‘Secrets of the Future’ drops in late May.
Reliqa – The Princess – photos by Bec Harbour
During the Knotfest show, I sustained a pretty hectic knee injury, causing me to have issues standing for too long, but there was no way I was gonna let this injury mess with a band I’ve been waiting 20 years to see. I caught them at Knotfest and even jumped in with their famed Newport Helicopter, but having the chance to see Skindred twice in three days feels like a fever dream. The EDM remix of the Imperial March kicked in, as Arya, Mikey, and Dan (YES BENJI I KNOW HIS NAME) walked out onto stage to a massive ovation. Benji eventually walked out and kicked the set into overdrive from the jump with ‘Set Fazers’.
For the most part, it was the set they did at Knotfest, but I didn’t care. Skindred is an experience live. I absolutely lost my mind to ‘Ratrace’, which included a birthday surprise for Dan. Everyone sang happy birthday, but had to redo it, because everyone (except me) didn’t know Dan’s name, which was a pretty funny part of the show. ‘That’s My Jam’ went off like it did on Sunday, and the only notable deviation to the set was my second favorite Skindred song, ‘Kill the Power’. Everything from here was the same, with ‘Nobody’, ‘Gimme That Boom’, and set closer ‘Warning’ all going nuts, with me going two for two in Newport Helicopters. Please come back ASAP Skindred. Don’t leave it another seven years.
Skindred – The Princess – photos by Bec Harbour
After going bonkers in the Skindred pit, I had to sit down for a bit for Halestorm, and honestly, it felt like the way to go. Halestorm’s headline set felt a bit of a lower energy affair, with ‘Break In’ and ‘Raise Your Horns’ being played by a solo Lzzy Hale to start the show, which initially, felt a bit weird. The rest of the band joined Lzzy on stage though, as they ripped through ‘I Miss the Misery’, ‘Love Bites’, and ‘I Get Off’. It was at this point, we were informed that Lzzy was having her first asthma related problems in over seven years, after potentially picking up bronchitis at Knotfest. Which was both a damn shame, and actually kind of impressive. At this point, I hadn’t even twigged that Lzzy could have been sick, as when ‘I Miss the Misery’ was playing, I texted fellow Live Wire contributor and “Halestorm Freak Like Me” (I’m a funny guy) Cody, to just gush over Lzzy’s insane power live.
Halestorm – The Princess – photos by Bec Harbour
From here, the show was a bit of a blur for me. My knee pain was growing pretty intense from the weekend, but there were definitely some standout moments. ‘Rock Show’ received a massive reception from the audience at the sheer mention of the song’s name, as did ‘Freak Like Me’ and ‘Bombshell’. Definitely my favorite part of the night though, was Arejay Hale’s drum solo. That dude is an absolute fiend on the drums. The solo only ran for about 4 minutes, but I could watch him go for 40. The crowd naturally chanted for the big sticks, to which Arejay obliged, whipping out two of the most comically sized drum sticks I’ve ever seen in my life. And he still freaking ripped with them too. The show was closed off beautifully though, with Lzzy and Arejay being flanked by guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith, all with drinks in hand, as they welcomed Reliqa back onto stage, with drinks in their hands, and a toast as ‘Here’s to Us’ closed out the night.