Live Show Review and Pics - Adelitas Way - Portland, OR 3/8/17

This week, while many were at home lamenting, or celebrating the fact that it was Wednesday, I was at Portland’s Hawthorne Theatre getting a brain-full of some of the best and freshest rock and roll currently on tour with a couple hundred of Portland’s die-hard rock and rollers joining me to get in on the action. Adelitas Way was headlining, and they brought Letters From The Fire, Manafest, and our friends The Black Moods along to put everyone in the groove.

I arrived well after the doors opened and just as The Black Moods were getting set up. The Black Moods, from Tempe, Arizona, have been on tour, working the stages, clubs, and festivals, non-stop for the better part of the last several years. We had an opportunity to chat with lead guitarist/vocalist Josh Kennedy last fall at Seattle’s Pain In The Grass festival, and he told us then that their grinding work-ethic is “all about getting the name, the music out.” Currently, they’re working to promote their recent album release titled Medicine. Together with drummer Chico Diaz and Johannes Lar, this rock trio is bringing their hard hitting rock style to the masses. No backing tracks, no wild special effects, no gimmicks, just good, clean make you feel alive Rock ‘n’ Roll. The Black Moods played a solid nine-song set, almost entirely comprised of tracks from the latest album. Their closing song, “Say It For The Last Time” has a real catchy guitar riff that you’ll find sticks with you. It’s no surprise that it’s getting a lot of rotation on Octane.

Letters From The Fire took ownership of the stage next. This visit was a stark contrast to their previous visit when they played the front room lounge. You can read about that gig here. This time, no cramped corner of the room, no acoustic guitars. One thing that really impressed me the last time I saw this band was lead singer Alexa’s vocals. Her soulful voice resonated so melodically through the Hawthorne Theatre lounge. The main stage area is a space easily 10 times the size of the lounge, but that didn’t prevent Alexa’s voice from filling that space as well especially during their performance of “At War”. The band sounded tight as they pounded through their set. The venue was getting more crowded and more animated as their set progressed. Their final song of the night was “Give In To Me” off their 2016 released Worth The Pain.

Adelitas Way, for me, is a story of redemption. Back in 2015, I was invited to cover the Table Rocks Music Festival in southern Oregon. Long story short, I made the drive, but missed a few acts including Adelitas Way. There was no way I was going to miss them right here in my hometown. Honestly, I wasn’t too familiar with their music (before that incident in 2015), but there was one song in particular that resonated with me, “Alive.” As the afternoon slowly dragged on, I was getting anxious. I began to look for setlists from previous gigs. Would “Alive” make the cut for this tour? I couldn’t find a recent setlist that included it. It was making me a bit crazy actually. So, I did what any other resourceful fan would do. I stalked them on Facebook and begged for “Alive” to be added to the setlist. Shortly after I messaged them, a notification… “Adelitas Way liked your post.” WTF does that mean? Would it be on the list? Oh man, the anticipation was killing me. Their set opened with their most recent track, “Ready For War (Pray For Peace)”, a powerful track that’s holding strong on the Octane “Big Un’s” chart. The remainder of the setlist was a diverse mix from their pretty extensive catalog. In case you were wondering, yeah, they played “Alive.” Full setlist and pictures below. Also, turn up your speakers and check out their music video for “Ready for War” off the Notorious album.