It was a hot summer night in Clarkston, Michigan, as I Prevail and Halestorm brought the rock to Pine Knob. Fit For A King and Hollywood Undead opened the show with blazing sets.
Lzzy and Halestorm Rocked
I had the chance to do a stage announcement before Halestorm took to the stage. As I went to the backstage area, I saw Lzzy and Arejay Hale—two of the nicest people in the business. Lzzy stopped and talked with me for a few minutes about playing with Skid Row last month. She said the teenage girl inside her couldn’t believe it. I told her I knew she’d kill it, which she did!
She also rocked the stage at Pine Knob with her band. They rolled through all the hits. “I Miss The Misery,” I Am The Fire,” and more before wrapping up their set with “The Steeple.” As always, they kicked ass. What a great, solid rock band to see live.
I Prevail Were Amazing
I Prevail took the stage around 9:40 with an incredible intro as Nine Inch Nails played, slowed down, and manipulated to match the screens, flashing lightning bolts until the song ended. Really cool!
The stage was adorned with screens from the top to the bottom. The show was as visually stunning as the band. They were tight and fired up to be playing a hometown show. Guitarist Dylan Bowman told me, “Hometown shows are always special, but last night was a show I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.” He said, “To play to 14,000 people in our hometown is just insane! Nothing like home cooking, right?” I agree, Dylan. It was a special night.
I was surprised when the band played the Taylor Swift cover of “Blank Space,” which put them on the map years ago. I guess I’m not speaking out of school when I say that the band isn’t crazy about that song; as singer Eric Vanlerberghe said on stage, “I thoroughly hate playing this f&%$ing song,” but said they were doing it for the hometown crowd.
As I said, the video wall, matched with pyro onstage, brought the show to another level. To steal a line from Dylan is insane! What an awesome return to Detroit for the guys.
Check out some pictures below.