Gypsyhawk Rock Viper Room As Main Support For The Iron Maidens

By Andrew Bansal

January 18 2014, The Viper Room, West Hollywood CA: Pasadena’s hard rock road dogs Gypsyhawk have been on a relentless touring run of late, but for a change, they’re in town, and played a show at the Viper Room on the Sunset Strip last night, opening up for The Iron Maidens, the world famous all-female tribute to Iron Maiden. Gypsyhawk play LA shows on a regular basis whether it be as part of tours or as one-offs, but for true rock lovers it’s nearly impossible to get tired of a band like theirs. Last night was another opportunity for LA locals to roll with the good times brought forth by Gypsyhawk, and they not only delivered the goods, they even had a surprise up their sleeve.

But before that, another local act The Frayed Ends took the stage at 9 PM and played a 40-minute set filled with covers of songs by metal heavyweights such as Metallica, Slayer, Pantera and Megadeth. Fronted by Nick Simile from the band Desecrate on guitar and vocals consisting of Legal Tender members Sam Herman on bass, Frankie Lindia on guitar and Jonah Nimoy on drums, The Frayed Ends gave it their all and treated this already sizable audience with an enjoyable set. You can’t go wrong with playing metal covers in front of a 21+ alcohol-consuming crowd at a venue like the Viper Room. All their covers were well done and I really dug their Pantera stuff which Nick in particular did a great job on. Their Megdeth covers weren’t bad by any means either but it was strange for me because I strongly feel Megadeth songs cannot be covered, because of Mustaine’s uniquely imperfect vocal style which is impossible to replicate and indispensable to any and every Megadeth song. That being said, an excellent set by The Frayed Ends and an ideal way to start this show.

Shortly after, Gypsyhawk announced their arrival on stage and ripped into a short, high-impact set, playing a couple of songs each from their two studio albums ‘Patience & Perseverance’ and ‘Revelry & Resilience’, along with a new unreleased tune ‘The Answers We Need’. But the aforementioned surprise in the set was Gypsyhawk’s cover of Bachman Turner Overdrive’s ‘Let It Ride’. I’ve seen them play a cover of Rory Gallagher’s ‘I’m Not Awake Yet’ in the recent past, and with this BTO tune, these dudes once again proved themselves as true rock nerds, playing a cover not many would even think of and doing justice to it, complete with bassist/vocalist Eric Harris and guitarist Erik Kluiber combining for the vocal harmonies, an integral element of the song.

Despite them playing an insane number of live shows, unfortunately there are still plenty of people in the Los Angeles rock community who’re completely unaware of who Gypsyhawk are. Amongst those who had merely come here to see The Iron Maidens, there was a large majority who fell into this category, and by the end of the set, they were converted into new Gypsyhawk fans through the sheer power of the band’s performance. As soon as the eponymous opening song kicked off, it instantly drew people closer to the stage and the applause only grew louder with every song. Tunes like ‘Hedgeking’, ‘The Fields’ and ‘Commander Of The High Forest’ compelled many in this sold-out venue to put their dancing shoes on. So it’s safe to say, Gypsyhawk chose wisely when they decided to play this show.

It was a pity they ended their set as soon as they did, and as main support one would have expected at least a 40-minute set. But the top-notch quality of the set more than made up for the inadequate quantity. I say this every time I review them and I’m going to say it again, if you haven’t checked out Gypsyhawk, you must.

Visit Gypsyhawk on the web:
facebook.com/GypsyhawkUSA
twitter.com/GypsyhawkUSA
instagram.com/GypsyhawkUSA 

Set List:
01. Gypsyhawk
02. The Answers We Need
03. Hedgeking
04. The Fields
05. Let It Ride (Bachman Turner Overdrive cover)
06. Commander Of The High Forest

As for The Iron Maidens, I didn’t get to see most of their set this time because of other commitments at the Whisky-A-Go-Go, but I made it back to the Viper Room right as they were starting the final song ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’, which turned out to be an epic ending to another great night on the Sunset Strip. I’ll be catching their performance at the Peavey booth at NAMM next Saturday at 12 PM, and I’m already looking forward to it.

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