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Front Row Pics: Summer Meltdown f/ Powerman 5K and (HED)p.e., Sunflower Dead, plus Special Guests

Posted on Aug 22, 2014

PM5K

We told you we weren’t even close to done sharing our coverage of Summer Meltdown!

Headliners Powerman 5K, led by the impossibly energetic (another reason for the suspicion that perhaps he is not of this planet, although he has always claimed to be from Haverill, MA) Spider-One, blew the audience away with their intergalactic intensity. They are back (read a little bit more about their return and how to get their new album Builder of the Future here) and have never sounded or performed better, showing off extreme talent and dedication to what they do while still keeping a slightly playful air about them that is contagious ~ watch PM5K onstage and not only will you find yourself immersed in the music (and,maybe even jumping and spinning incessantly as does Spider), but you will end up in a better mood than when their set started. Taking one’s art seriously while not taking one’s self too seriously(check out Spider’s Tshirt!) is a difficult balance to strike and turn into a super-engaging performance, but for these guys, it seems to come very naturally.

(HED)p.e

(HED)p.e., whose new album Evolution we just reviewed and whom we’ll be catching and reviewing/shooting again live when they hit Chicago, are unstoppable and, as is evident on the album, have grown into a cohesive group of seasoned performers without sacrificing any of their, uh, (HED)-ness. They are as in-your-face as ever (with the kind of lyrics and banter with the audience that would cause any grandmother to faint away from pure shock immediately) and dominate every inch of the stage. This band is musical power personified.

Sunflower Dead

Sunflower Dead…If you’ve been following our coverage of the band starting even before Meltdown, you already know what I’m going to say ~ “AMAZING.” Until pretty recently relative unknowns with a small but faithful group of supporters, not only has SD caught the attention of a lot more fans and critics with their self-titled album and live shows, they have set the standard for what music and performance need to be. Veteran bands could easily be intimidated by and learn a little from what Sunflower has established as what the future of hard rock ~ and all genres ~ can and should be. Arriving on the scene almost unnoticed and already as talented, professional, and confidently unique as they are, and setting the bar legitimately higher than many established bands have yet to prove they can reach, is just an introduction to what Sunflower Dead is going to bring to the music industry ~ and to what will soon be not a small but faithful group of supporters, but a worldwide following. We’ve just had the pleasure of talking with the band, so stay tuned for that interview, coming soon.

The Relapse Symphony

Close to Home

Each and every opening band on the bill more than earned its spot on the tour (and we just wanted to say, “Welcome back” to Eyes Set to Kill, whose bass player had to deal with a very serious health issue earlier this summer) and not a single set did anything to shake my belief that “opener status days” for all of them will soon be a thing of the past…and that’s one of the great things about a line-up that gives lesser-known bands a chance to show their stuff ~ it gives us, the audience, a glimpse at the headliners of tomorrow. Keep up with these bands via their FB pages, listen to their music, watch their videos, and check them out live when they play a gig near you. There’s a reason they were chosen to be part of Summer Meltdown and share the bill with some major headliners.