Gypsyhawk
(supporting Trollfest/Alestorm)
December 5, 2013
Atlanta, GA
The Masquerade
If you’ve been a regular reader of this here shitty little metal blog, you probably know by now that Gypsyhawk is one of the Brainfart’s favorite bands. This little band from Van Halen’s backyard (Pasadena, CA) have been delivering their no frills, Thin Lizzy inspired dual harmony guitar driven hard rock for 5 years now. Through relentless touring and a “never say die” attitude, Gypsyhawk has pushed through the hard times and turned them into good times up on the stage for any and every face that is in attendance for a show. The band has been out supporting their current release “Revelry and Resilience” since its release last year and with every tour Gypsyhawk just seems to be drawing in more fans each time they come to town. When the band announced they were coming to Atlanta once again supporting Trollfest and Alestorm I rejoiced that I’d get to see my brothers once again bring it.
Last time Gypsyhawk was here as support for Valient Thorr, something just didn’t seem to be right with the band. The energy was a bit depleted and I was concerned that maybe the band was having some hard times. As it would turn out, change was on the horizon as guitarist Andrew Packer turned in his resignation (amicably) and decided to bow out of tour life for a while. I heard that the band had a new guitarist in Bryant Throckmorton so I was more than curious to see how this new addition would change the dynamics of the band. As the band took the stage and opened with “Gypsyhawk”, a huge smile took over my gigantic head as I watched these guys with a new found energy and punch that I hadn’t seen from them in quite some time.
Throckmorton had only joined the band 15 days before the tour started and it kind of showed. You can tell that he’s still trying to get his footing and maybe even find his place in the songs but this isn’t a bad thing. He did a really fucking killer job nailing these songs down with the short amount of time but the important part was that he seems to be a great fit for the band. His stage presence meshes great with the other guys and I can totally see that given time this guy will prove to be a great addition to the sound and the performances.
While this was definitely an Alestorm crowd (noticeably because of the majority of guys/girls dressed like pirates and wenches), this was definitely the most open audience I’ve seen Gypsyhawk play for and the crowd seemed to really loving them. This just fueled the fire in the band which had them taking things to new heights that I had never seen from them before. Bassist/singer Eric Harris was way more energetic and animated than I have ever seen him and as the band ripped through fan favorites “The Hedgeking” and “The Fields.” The new song “The Answers We Need” which was dedicated to “anyone who’s ever played Dungeons and Dragons” has really come into form and has Gypsyhawk really perfecting their sound. This song has me anticipating some more new Gypsyhawk which I’ve heard will be sometime mid-2014.
Gyspyhawk closed things out with their now ceremonious ending of “Commander of the High Forest” which completely melted the faces of everyone. I surveyed the crowd as they took everyone on this sonic journey and they were eating every last crumb of it up. At the breakdown in the end Harris jumped from the stage to the floor with bass in tow as everyone formed a circle around him and rooted him on with pumping fists and banging heads. Drummer Ian Brown brought the house down with his signature jazz/swing solo and the band brought it all home to a rousing ovation from this mass of swashbucklers.
Gypsyhawk stepped it up a few notches on this performance and delivered a truly memorable and fun show. The band’s energy and passion seems to be at an all-time high and that fire which seemed to be slowly going out has been rekindled and is burning brighter and hotter than it has in a good while. I can only hope that the band will find some solidarity with this new guy and continue to move forward delivering their no frills hard rock music and electrifying live performances. The sky is truly the limit as this hawk has wings.
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