The Hellacopters

On Wednesday 29th May, Valencia received a musical gift in the form on the Hellcopters. The much awaited and anticipated gig took place at the legendary Sala Canal venue, which is situated on the famous Ruta Destroy. Organised to perfection by Hey Tonight promotions the event was a sell-out success with the Hellacopters taking the crowd on a journey through both classics and newer material. The stripped back venue, devoid of lasers, pyrotechnics and LED lighting was the perfect backdrop for the purists. Nothing to distract from the bands on stage.

The capacity crowd was warmed up by veteran Italian band – The Peawees – a classic Rock & Rock quartet whom have been together for 25 years and were a perfect complement to the Hellacopters.

By the time the Swedes took control, the room was already close to a meltdown!

The Hellacopters exploded onto stage the classic sound of incoming helicopters before launching into “Action De Grace” With barely time to take a breath they followed on with “The Devil Stole The Beat From The Lord.”

Nicke Anderson owned the room from start to finish with his trademark hat, guitar riffs and Rock & Roll strut – at times almost melting into the crowd, teasing those at the front who were desperate to be even closer!

The lighting was dark and moody, but the energy was the opposite – the fans moving and singing in unison and becoming one with the music. 

Anthems including “So Sorry”, “Rainy Days” and “Soulseller” were stand out tracks, but the entire setlist was delivered with such energy and perfection, It would be hard to choose any that were better or worse than the rest.

Finishing on “By The Grace Of God” the band left the stage to screams of oncore! And One More!!!

The didn’t disappoint and retuned with a encore of four tracks, finally ending what can only be described as an epic night with “(Gotta Get Some Action) Now!”

As always, it was over too soon, the stage empty but fans still sipping on beers and reminiscing on what had just been moments before.

Words and photos: Rhyan Paul