From the beginning I was looking forward to this concert. One reason in particular is I was scheduled to shoot Huntress last year when they came to the Orbit Room in Grand Rapids, however much to my dismay, the woman at will call insisted my credentials were not there and I was turned away at the door.
A year later and I was back to make this shoot happen and with Arch Enemy! After a snow filled drive to Grand Rapids, I was relieved this time to receive my credentials and headed straight to the pit. The pit at The Intersection is a bit like an old familiar friend in some ways. There are things that I really like about it, and of course things I do not. The stage was packed tight with there being four bands in total performing. In fact the first opening act, Starkill had nearly no room to move. They were pushed so close to the edge of the stage, that I actually stayed out of the pit and just enjoyed their performance. The crowd was light, at this point, I think many being caught in the weather like I was, but those that were there gave Starkill their full attention and held their horns high.
Then my moment had come, Huntress took the stage. I’ve been a fan for awhile now and I knew this was going to be something awesome. Vocalist Jill Janus has simply amazing vocals with literally a bewitching style.
An amazing set by Huntress, it was everything I had hoped it would be. I expect to see them headlining in the near future, there is no doubt they can hold their own on stage.
The stage was cleared up a bit after the performance making a bit more room for Kreator. This trash metal band hails from Germany and the crowd was ready to accept them. I even heard a few fans talking in line before the doors opened that they were very excited to see this band, considering they don’t tour here frequently. While I wasn’t familiar with their music originally, I was very impressed by their performance. Many of the tracks were clearly thrash, which in all honesty isn’t my go to genre, but I found myself really enjoying their sound.
Kreator was clearly very experienced with performing, after all they’ve been doing this for nearly 30 years. They had some interesting fog effects that were expertly timed with both the lights and the performance, something that I only ever seen with the best performers. Doesn’t mean it always makes for a great photography environment, but it isn’t suppose to me, its a metal concert!
Kreator did their best to get the crowd into a big mosh pit, but the Grand Rapids crowd didn’t give it their best showing. The most die hard fans happily complied, but I don’t think the crowd was large enough to really reach critical mass. Maybe next time.
After a great, powerful set Kreator left the stage making way for the headliner. The crowd stirred with anticipation waiting patiently for the crews to reset the stage. As expected, Arch Enemy and vocalist Alissa White-Gluz exploded onto the stage.
While Alissa may be technically new to this position in Arch Enemy, one would never know it. She has great stage presence, insane vocals and command of the crowd.
All in all it was a great show with some simply amazing performers. I’m glad I got to shoot some bands I’m familiar with, as well as getting introduced to some new favorites. In just a couple days I’ll be right back in the pit at the Intersection for another amazing show.
