Story & Photos by Andy Lyons, Editor-in-Chief
The VooDoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino in Kansas City finally started its comeback from COVID-19 on Saturday, Sept. 30 by welcoming up-and-coming rockers Halocene and No Resolve to its stage.
Both bands brought high-energy sets to the delight of a modest crowd for a Saturday night in KC. But that meant more intimate moments between the groups and their faithful.
The two bands have been traveling across the country on a small venue tour since the beginning of September, and the vocalists of both bands commented to the crowd how big VooDoo is in comparison. Both bands are wildly popular on social media, with No Resolve having more than 75,000 followers on Instagram and Halocene with more than 209,000. Neither band is currently signed to a major label, and both are on the road supporting themselves. No Resolve’s vocalist, Oscar Ames Pegorraro, made jokes with the crowd during their set about his day job as a UPS driver.
Halocene started the night off with an hour-long set that had vocalist Addie Amick all over the stage and into the crowd as they finished with a cover of System of a Down’s “Chop Suey!” Early in the show, Amick gave a middle finger salute to the crowd, who returned the favor. She then leaned over and gave finger hugs to fans next to the stage.
A bit later, Amick gave a shout-out to one of her childhood friends who happened to be in attendance. She said the pair ran an Avril Lavigne internet radio station when they were younger and got emotional as she told the crowd the experience saved her life.
No Resolve’s set was a bit heavier than Halocene’s. The group hit the stage with a wall of sound and some deep red lighting. After the first song, Pegorraro hailed everyone in attendance to get down in the pit section in front of the stage. After Halocene’s set, fans were seated in the reserved seating area of VooDoo, and even more were lined up across the VIP section for a chance at a selfie with Amick at the Halocene merch table.
Midway through their set, Pegorraro mentioned No Resolve was short their guitarist Jason Hatmaker, who had to fly home for a family emergency. He told the crowd that while it would have been easy to cancel shows, the group was looking forward to playing the tour and was willing to go on if they were sick or had other things happening; it didn’t matter because they wanted the opportunity to get in front of their fans.
Both groups have built their popularity by playing cover songs on social media. The live versions put into perspective the work that goes into reimagining hit songs from different genres. Some of the highlights were Halocene’s covers of “Unholy” by Sam Smith & Kim Petras and “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails. The cover selections from No Resolve were even more surprising: “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush, a song from Disney’s “Encanto,” and closing their set with “How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana.”
Overall, it was a great show with an enjoyable, receptive crowd. Both bands were highly interactive and seemed to appreciate people coming to see them, a rarity at most concerts. Amick spent time taking selfies with fans after Halocene’s set, and as staff were closing VooDoo, No Resolve made it a point to take a photo with everyone there.
It was great to see music in the VooDoo Lounge again, with only a few local shows and private events hosted there since the pandemic shuttered its doors in 2020.
Halocene and No Resolve’s tour finishes with a sold out show Oct. 6 at The Machine Shop in Flint, Mich. For more, check out Halocene on Facebook here. Find No Resolve on Facebook here. View our photos below, and full gallery at beyondthefrontrow.smugmug.com.
