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| POWERMAN 5000 (ADEMA W/SPINESHANK & FINGERTIGHT) House of Blues, Chicago, IL 07.28.03 Fingertight Though receiving a lukewarm reaction at first, it took just halfway through the second song for the crowd to commence the half-assed, head-banging/chin-bobbing an opening band is meant to generate. By the end of their set they'd earned the crowd's respect. Spineshank The kind of performance that left me wondering why the hell I don't actually own any of their albums as they blew the crowd away with their brutal but not-so-unique brand of electronic-laced metal. The first real pit of the night formed as lead singer Jonny Santos commanded the crowd to "FUCK IT UP!!!" Powerman 5000 Hang in there, we'll get to them in a second. Adema Although they were the last band to perform, it seemed obvious that the majority of the crowd had actually come to see the band prior to them... Powerman. Not looking forward to their closing set [I caught their performance during Ozzfest 2002 and thought it horrible], I was pleasantly surprised at how much they'd improved. This was not the same Adema I'd seen at Ozzfest. Maybe I'd caught them on a bad day, maybe there'd been equipment problems; whatever the case, the Adema performing for a packed house that night was full of vim and vitality, ready to prove to the world that they are much more than "Jonathan's half-brother's band" [ed.'s note - Adema lead singer Marky Chavez is the half-brother of Korn lead singer Jonathan Davis]. Kudos to them. Of their 15 song set, 7 were from their upcoming album, Unstable: Co-Dependent [new] Close Friends Rip the Heart Out [new] Unstable [new] Stand Up [new] Do What You Want To Do Trust Promises [new] Stressin [new] Blow It Away Everyone The Way You Like It Freaking Out Giving In Needles [new] Powerman 5000 Powerman opened the night's set with 3 songs from their latest album Transform ["Action," Free," and "Top of the World"], all of which were met with fist-pumping fervor. Lead singer Spider, with Strummer-esque rally cries of "LET'S GO!," demanded the crowd's total attention and got nothing less. After a brief moment of silence came a subtle, yet deafening rumbling accompanied by the foreboding narrative of "An Eye is Upon You"... which can only mean that the band was about to explode into the supersonic fury of "Supernova Goes Pop." "Tonight the Stars Revolt" and "Automatic" soon follow. Next, Spider ribbed the crowd, "you thieves and internet pirates should know this one," and, with a recent setlist addition that had every powerfan drooling in anticipation, the band performed "Bombshell" [ed.'s note - Bombshell is a track from the unreleased album Anyone for Doomsday? that's slated to appear on the Jason vs Freddy soundtrack due out August 12th]. After first slowing down the tempo a bit with "System 11:11," in which Spider seamlessly interjected verses from "The Shape of All Things to Come," PM5K steadily picked up the pace with the groove-heavy "Nobody's Real" before proceeding full-force with "Transform." Following "Assess the Mess" and "Theme to a Fake Revolution," Spider gave a short but poignant speech. He said that real bands should start out with your friends, playing in a garage, making mistakes together... unlike the groups today who are put together by labels because "they look cute." Spider, with a strong sense of conviction in his voice, proclaimed: "We're a REAL band." The final 2 songs of the night were "Car Crash" [an older song for "all the old-school powerman fans"] and the venue-shaking grand finale, "When Worlds Collide." THIS is what the concert-going experience is all about. Not only did PM5K play all their hits, but they threw in a surprise or two [a rare performance of "Bombshell," the medley [for lack of a better term] of "System 11:11/The Shape of All Things to Come"] and even included something from their humble beginnings ["Car Crash"] to thank the fans for years of support. More bands should follow their example and offer more than just a shuffled playlist of hits... my walkman can do that. Action Free Top Of The World An Eye Is Upon You/Supernova Goes Pop Tonight The Stars Revolt! Automatic Bombshell System 11:11/The Shape Of All Things To Come Nobody's Real Transform Assess The Mess/Theme To A Fake Revolution Car Crash When Worlds Collide review by br1an s3rra |