97.1 The Eagle’s Freakers Ball Rocks Verizon Theatre!! Grand Prairie, TX 10/15/17

If you missed 97.1 The Eagle’s Freakers Ball on October 15, 2017 at Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie, TX you may as well start mainlining fur boots, hoodies and buckets of cornstarch blood to get caught up in the Halloween spirit. While more basic humans might be dreaming of their first pumpkin spice-fueled corn maze, those of us from beyond the veil prefer something a little more… wicked… to celebrate the death of summer.



Newcomers GRETA VAN FLEET took me back…So far back, in fact, I could have sworn the show played from my dad’s 8-track collection, only these guys are half my age, and without the brown acid. It’s days later and I’m still blown away by the skill shown by all of the band members. The hauntingly beautiful vocals of Josh Kiszka, the traditional homage to JIMI HENDRIX’S “behind the head” guitar move, and before I forget, their bass player was wearing socks through the whole set. Socks? Freaking Adorable. If you haven’t heard their single, “Highway Tune”, it’s worth your time.



I last saw BEARTOOTH about four years ago, and that night was plagued by technical issues and a sound guy that must have stepped out for a smoke break. They redeemed themselves wholly Sunday night with an incredible and enthusiastic performance. “Sick of Me” was exciting to see live and I’m ready to see what next summer holds for these guys.  



I was a little surprised to see IN THIS MOMENT on the bill, as they had just passed through DFW in July on the Half God, Half Devil Tour with MOTIONLESS IN WHITE. The stage set-up was the same, but the set list was shorter and ran the “greatest hits” gamut.



Lzzy Hale of HALESTORM has officially convinced me I need to start wearing earplugs when attending their shows. The power and clarity of her voice is absolutely mind-blowing. Beginning their set with “I Get Off”, and including other fan favorites like “Apocalyptic”, “Mz. Hyde” and “Love Bites (So Do I)”, they had no trouble owning the hearts of the crowd from start to finish.



It’s no secret that MARILYN MANSON took a swan dive on stage, injuring himself in the process a few weeks ago. The cancellation of the remainder of a tour included Sunday night’s show, but thankfully, even though “winter is coming”, the Gods of Rock had mercy on us mere mortals, bringing MASTODON into the lineup. I don’t know that everyone was ready for the metal show that followed, but it was obvious by the end of the first song that they were all on board. When MASTODON laid waste to Verizon Theatre, there wasn’t a silent Wildling in the house.



I’ve skipped out on Freaker’s Ball the last couple years, but if next year is anything like 2017, I’ll be back.

LIVE IMAGES AND WORDS: REBEKKAH RAVEN