Halestorm - Power of Youth tour kickoff - October 5, 2001

Halestorm
Power of Youth tour kickoff
October 5, 2001

After some directions assistance from the kind souls of Lebanon, we arrived at the Eagle's Club with Shannon's parents by our side. We were handed our special stormer laminates and we walked in to the amazing venue. The size was great, the stage was spacy, the balcony that overlooked the dressed up tables was unique, and the festive strands of white lights topped it all off.

We helped set up the food for the special guests who would be viewing Halestorm's pre-show. Much of the food was prepared by Nate's (guitarist) mom, Denise so she deserves major props.

Shannon's parents gave Roger (bassist) a birthday card and present (an Indian necklace), which he later clasped on stage and mouthed "thank you" for. The usual stormers were filling the room and the pre-show soon kicked off after a speech with trio: Shel Hoachlander, Beth Hale, and Denise. Shel told the story of her first Halestorm encounter and how she has grown to love them and their music. She also explained the meaning behind the "Power of Youth" tour and their upcoming tour through area high schools.

The main significance is for teens to have fun without resorting to violence, drugs, or any other negative methods of voicing themselves. Shel told the stormers to stand and we (being the shy girls that we are) stayed seated which did not go unnoticed (she announced seeing a few seated stormers…hehe).

The show heated up with the band's awesome energy on stage…not to mention the full-blown pyrotechnics! For a pre-show, it was a great preview of what we'd be in for later that night.

In a lovely white attire, Liz sang down "We might still have time, we might still get by," from the balcony and before we knew it she was back on stage, rocking with the band. There was a new instrumental piece featuring the three guys and their amazing musical talents. "The Eye" was also one of the newer and more popular songs performed. Snow was another special stage effect, during the love ballad, "Rose in December."

Once it was time for the show that was open to the public to begin, we all ran around and did our duties. We were helping clear the candles off of the tables and Shannon's parents were guarding the food (her dad seemed to be clearing that table much more than the others!!!). The doors soon opened and the line of people seemed never ending. Lucky attendants received their own copy of "The Eye" single that Halestorm kindly provided for us all.

Somewhere around 400 people, including a representative from Columbia Records, came to see Halestorm's kickoff event. There were many highlights during the show and a lot of familiar faces were in the crowd. Beth even assisted with her very own talented Hale vocals on stage. Nate was causing girls to swoon all over him (and a certain shirtless guy…my what a character!).

This was one of the first Halestorm shows we've been at with so many teens, so we didn't feel too youngster-like for once. We thought the band was throwing out gumballs at one point (which seemed weird when people were picking them up off of the floor) but once we got a closer look we saw that they were rubber erasers that looked like eyeballs. Get it? "The Eye." Gotta love the corny cuteness of that! Congrats to the winner of the Halestorm t-shirt contest, Sherri, who was decked out with an airbrushed H-storm shirt.

By midnight, the show came to an end and the filled seats soon dispersed. We helped clear the tables and tried not to concentrate on the munched-on cheese and foamy beer that was being thrown away. After Shannon's dad posed with the band for a posse picture, we said our good-byes to everyone and made our departure.