Testament @ The Trocadero Theatre

Chuck Billy of Testament, Copyright Pete Troshak

Trocadero Theater
Philadelphia, PA
2/13/13

On tour celebrating 2012's excellent Dark Roots of The Earth album and almost 30 years of existance, Testament rolled into Philadelphia's Trocadero Theatre on Valentine's Day Eve. It was a dark and stormy night, with threat of a snowstorm looming over the city - in other words the perfect atmosphere for the arrival of one of the loudest most uncompromising and legendary metal groups ever to play. The band arrived to a roar from the packed house and immediately displayed that they are still vital and powerful by unleashing four explosive numbers from their current album in the first six songs - "Rise Up," "Native Blood," "True American Hate," and "Dark Roots of the Earth." Each of those songs stand with the best that they have ever recorded and live they are pure Testament - shuddering riffs, thundering drumming, blistering solos, bad attitude and singer Chuck Billy's angry growling and howling. At that point the band turned back the hands of time and unleashed "Into The Pit" driving the crowd into more of a frenzy and kicking off the second half of the show. Soon after came more hightlights - the rolling waves of riffs of the rarely played "Riding The Snake" and the slow burn punky "Trial By Fire." They followed that with an explosive hardcore "The Haunting" from their debut album and finished a few songs later with a ceiling rattling version of "The Formation of Damnation," then sending the crowd out into a snowy night full of the fire of metal.

See more Testament pics here.

Setlist:

Rise Up
More Than Meets the Eye
Burnt Offerings
Native Blood
True American Hate
Dark Roots of Earth
Into the Pit
Practice What You Preach
Riding the Snake
Eyes of Wrath
Trial By Fire
The Haunting
The New Order
D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)
3 Days in Darkness
The Formation of Damnation

Halestorm "Haleidays" show

Lzzy Hale of Halestorm, Copyright Pete Troshak

Halestorm 

Electric Factory

Philadelphia, PA

12/27/2012

Halestorm returned to one of their home bases, Philadelphia, on Friday for the first time since they got nominated for a Grammy award. The group thrilled a packed house at The Electric Factory with a staggering two and a half hour, 29 song mega-set. It was one of a handful of special “Haleiday” shows they are playing during the holiday season. The show consisted two sets – a “light” acoustic set and a “dark” electric set.

The acoustic segment opened with the band all in white, sitting on stools in a row. Lzzy Hale (in a white flowing dress!) playing piano, Joe Hottinger on acoustic guitar, Josh Smith on bass and Arejay Hale playing percussion on a white wooden board. The band played some of their ballads and quieter numbers and three killer covers – “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You” by Heart, “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC and “Gold Dust Woman” by Fleetwood Mac. The highlight of this set was Lzzy Hale alone at center stage, playing an acoustic guitar and singing “Hate It When You See Me Cry” – a B-side from the deluxe version of the album – while brother Arejay watched from the wings. Hale explained that she didn’t expect the positive reaction she received from the people who she let hear the song when she first recorded it, and that those reactions opened her up to writing more songs like it which ended up on the record. The “light” set closed with Lzzy again on piano playing the slow beautiful “Break In” to a spellbound crowd.
After a short break, the band returned to the stage for their electric set wearing their usual rocker garb, with Lzzy in a leather mini-skirt and jacket. The group opened their second set by tearing into “Mz. Hyde,” “Love Bites (So Do I)” and “Freak Like Me” taking the energy of the room to another level and not letting it down for fourteen more songs. Highlights included a stomping chant-along to the rarely played “Daughters of Darkness” and a cruching version of their signature song “It’s Not You.” They performed a hammering version of Skid Row’s “Slave to the Grind,” but the best cover of the night was a slashing, wailing cover of Judas Priest’s “Dissident Aggressor” with Lzzy ripping up the stage Halford style. They closed out with a pounding “I Get Off” and then encored with “Here’s To Us” and “I Miss The Misery” leaving every ounce of energy they had on stage and sending a smiling exhausted crowd out into a wintry night.

See my pics from the show here

Edit this setlist | More Halestorm setlists

Royal Thunder @ The Trocadero Theatre

Royal Thunder, Copyright Pete Troshak

Trocadero
Philadelphia, PA
12/16/12

Royal Thunder played a half hour set opening for Monster Magnet and showed why they should be the main event and not a supporting act. They opened strong with “Parsonz Curse, ” a lumbering descent into darkness that would’ve sounded at home on the first Black Sabbath LP. From there they alternated some of their shorter thrashier numbers with the longer dark songs, one of the highlights being the throbbing “Whispering World,” with throbbing bass and wailing vocals provided by powerful vocalist Mlny Parsonz. Parsonz is worth the price of admission alone – a rumbling bass player and an intense vocalist able to switch from hard to soft in a moment with a unique beautiful but rough voice. The band closed with the powerful, shifting “Blue,” a seven minute emotional and musical rollercoaster ride and then left the stage quietly, having made their statement.


See more Royal Thunder pics here.

Epica @ The Trocadero Theatre, Philadelphia, PA

Simone Simons of Epica, Copyright Pete Troshak

Trocadero Theater
Philadelphia, PA
10/25/12


Epica’s music is built on contrasts. Classical influences and the operatic soaring mezzo-soprano voice of Simone Simons vs. the rough growling vocals of guitarist/singer Mark Jansen and the band’s relentless, pounding riffs and rhythms. The band was tight and powerful, rattling the grand old building with a display of roaring metal thunder. Simons’ voice was in excellent form as usual, soaring sweet above the din to the roof of the one hundred forty year old venue and rolling out over the crowd in emotional waves.

The band kick-started their 80 minute set with the twisting and turning “Monopoly on Truth”, a new track that represents the light and shade of the band as well as anything in their catalog. They followed with ten more tracks of roller coaster highs and lows, hitting on selections from all five albums. The main set ended on with an explosive duo – a stirring rendition of “Sancta Terra” immediately followed by their first single, “The Phantom Agony”, which sacrificed no power despite being a decade old. They returned for the encore with the fantastic new “Storm the Sorrow” and followed it up with the gypsy tinged “Quietus” and finishing with a crushing “Consign to Oblivion”. It was a fitting end to a epic show that proved that the band’s name is more than just a name, it’s a goal they aim for and hit.

See more of my pics here

Setlist:

Monopoly on Truth
Sensorium
Unleashed
Martyr of the Free Word
The Obsessive Devotion
Cry for the Moon
Sancta Terra
The Phantom Agony

Encore:
Storm the Sorrow
Quietus
Consign to Oblivion

The Greatest

I was fortunate enough to be sent to photograph and write about Muhammad Ali receiving a Liberty Medal in Philadelphia.

my thoughts - http://www.phawker.com/2012/09/14/sidewalking-the-greatest/

And the most touching moment of the night, a moment between father and daughter...