By Andrew Bansal
August 17th 2013, Loaded Bar, Hollywood CA: Amidst the plethora of hard rock and heavy metal bands attempting to ply their trade basing themselves out of Los Angeles and surrounding areas, Pasadena rock n’ roll flag-bearers Gypsyhawk have been a standout group ever since they began in 2008. Musically they have their own thing going on, with a kind of style that largely separates them from most other bands of similar age. And when it comes to live performances, very few acts match up to Gypsyhawk’s aura and persona. They got signed to Metal Blade Records and put out a great sophomore album last year called ‘Revelry & Resilience’. For a number of reasons, I still hadn’t seen them live since the release of the album, and last night at Loaded Bar I was finally able to rectify that. Obviously I had a level of expectation from them based on my past Gypsyhawk live experiences, but they had a few surprises in store for this audience.
Hollywood Boulevard hasn’t really been known for its smaller rock clubs in recent times, so it’s kind of refreshing to now have this Loaded place booking rock and metal shows. But the setting here is quite weirdly interesting to be honest, with the ‘live music area’ totally separated from the actual bar and people allowed to hang out at the bar for free but requiring to pay a cover to enter the live music room. And the stage itself is probably the tiniest I’ve ever seen. Anyhow, it was a few minutes past midnight when Gypsyhawk were ready to begin their set.
Of course, the first thing to be noticed on stage was the new guitarist Ben Robbins (formerly of the band Jameson) and this was his first show with Gypsyhawk. Whether he is the new permanent guitarist or not is something I’m not sure of, and the band will obviously make an announcement about that when they’re ready to do so. Also worth noting was the change in vocalist/bassist Eric Harris’ appearance as he was going for a classic rock frontman look a la Phil Lynott, Ozzy Osbourne, Dio and the likes. They started off this set at Loaded appropriately with ‘Overloaded’, the opening song off of the latest album, and it was time to rock out. The crowd got into it straightaway, stepping nearer to the stage, head-banging and yelling. The response from this audience throughout the set was great, although that might have been partly due to alcohol consumption.
Next up, the band took us back in time with an old one, the ‘Gypsyhawk’ song itself. That one, along with ‘Eyes Of Ibad’ and ‘Commander Of The High Forest’ reminded me of the quality of the first Gypsyhawk album ‘Patience & Perseverance’, an album I had honestly forgotten about in recent times simply because of the album that came out last year. While ‘Revelry & Resilience’ is a better set of songs, last night it was clear that the older songs still hold their own in a live setting. But aside from songs off of the two released albums, Gypsyhawk also presented two brand new tunes ‘Three Castles’ and ‘The Answers We Need’. I hadn’t heard these songs before this, so this was completely new to me and I was impressed with what I heard. It’s hard to judge based on just one listen of a couple of songs as to how the next album will compare to the previous two, but all I can say is Gypsyhawk have come up with some fresh-sounding riffs, hooks and melodies that should take them to the next level upon release of said next album.
I dug the new guitarist’s performance. He had a very effortless vibe about him but played with a lot of strength and feel. His partnership with Erik Kluiber on the six strings was very smooth and it almost seemed like he’s been in the band for a long time. Of course, Eric Harris has reached a new peak with his vocals, bass playing, stage moves and audience interaction, and I can only imagine him raising the bar even higher as the band moves along its career path. Drummer Ian Brown locked in well with Harris’ bass and together the quartet rocked Loaded with a killer set. Why this band isn’t the next big thing already is beyond my comprehension and understanding, but as long as they’re getting to bring their massive rock n’ roll shows even to smaller stages, true rock fans will be happy.
Two of my personal favorite Gypsyhawk tunes ‘The Fields’ and ‘Silver Queen’ were missing from the set, but the taste of the older tunes and the new unreleased music more than made up for it. Other than that, there is absolutely nothing negative I can point out from this Gypsyhawk set. The sound in the room was decent enough to do justice to the band’s music, and the vibe somehow was a perfect fit with what Gypsyhawk was going for. The band will be on two upcoming tours this year, with Scorpion Child and then with Alestorm. Make sure you catch them then, because these days no band can induce you to rock, party and dance like Gypsyhawk does.
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Set List:
1. Overloaded
2. Gypsyhawk
3. Three Castles
4. Eyes Of Ibad
5. The Answers We Need
6. State Lines
7. Rock N’ Roll, Hoochie Koo
8. Commander Of The High Forest