The Days of Disorder Tour made its final stop at Count’s Vamp’d, packing the house for a night of head-banging and even a brief moment of moshing (much to the chagrin of security). Headlining the tour was American industrial metal heavyweights Powerman 5000 (aka PM5K), and in support was (Hed) p.e. out of Huntington Beach, as well as Adema out of Bakersfield.
Adema is a nu-metal band, formed in 2000, and achieved moderate success with their self-titled debut album from 2001. They have had a revolving door for two of the original band members, with both rhythm guitarist Ransom, and original vocalist Mark Chavez, quitting and re-joining the band a few times throughout their tenure. Chavez, half-brother of Korn’s Jonathan Davis, recently left the band for the third time and Ryan Shuck (Julien-K and formerly Orgy) has taken over as vocalist. Aside from Shuck, the band’s current lineup consists of four original members, Tim Fluckey (lead guitar), Mike Ransom (rhythm guitar), Dave DeRoo (bass), and Kris Kohls (drums). Shuck is an outstanding front man and did a great job taking fans through Adema’s early catalog of hits such as "Close Friends", "Freaking Out", and "Giving In". While his tone is very different from that of Chavez, it works for their style of music, and the metalheads packed in front of the stage didn’t seem to mind one bit.
Next up was genre defying (Hed) p.e., a band formed in 1994, and known for its variety in musical styles, utilizing a fusion of rap, punk, metal, and reggae. Their current lineup consists of founding member Jahred Gomes (vocals), Jeremiah Stratton (drums), Kurt Blankenship (bass), and D.J. Blackard (guitars). (Hed) p.e. has released 11 studio albums to date, and they performed a 12-song set covering hits from six of those LPs. Kicking off their set with "No Apologies" and "Killing Time", they got the crowd bouncing and it became apparent that they had a lot of fans there to see them. Vocalist Jahred made a comment about how they had never performed at Vamp’d before, and that they usually get stuck at The Dive Bar, so this was nice for them. He did a great job getting everyone into the show, including people who had never seen them before. In fact, he did that a little too well and a mosh pit broke out (something that just isn’t permitted at Vamp’d)! Security came rushing out in force and Gomes stopped the song they were performing to call a halt to it, obviously unaware that this is a “no-moshing” venue. He thanked security for doing their jobs and asked everyone to cool down for a bit, transitioning into the next song and continued to thank Vamp’d for allowing them to perform there throughout the rest of the set. To me, they really stole the show and, although I think they would do better in a venue that allows a bit more rowdiness, they really rocked the house.
Closing out the show was headliner Powerman 5000, formed in Boston in 1991, who have released nine studio albums, reaching the height of their success with the 1999 release of Tonight The Stars Revolt!, which eventually went platinum. They have also been featured on numerous movie and video game soundtracks. The band is fronted by Michael Cummings (aka Spider One), the younger brother of Robert Cummings (aka Rob Zombie). The rest of the current lineup consists of DJ Rattan (drums), Murv3 (bass), Ty Oliver (lead guitar), and Taylor Haycraft (rhythm guitar).
PM5K performed a solid 13-song set including their greatest hits "Super Villain", "How To Be A Human", "Bombshell", "Supernova Goes Pop", and "When Worlds Collide", as well a cover medley of songs that ended with his brother’s hit song, "Dragula". I have had the pleasure of seeing PM5K several times over the years, including when they first hit it big, and I have to say that this was probably their most energetic performance I have witnessed. Although Spider One was constantly having to clear his throat and coughing between lyrics, he sounded great and brought the energy. The band had to cancel their prior performance in Salt Lake City due to his illness, but he said that there was no way he was going to miss performing in Vegas! Those of us who came out to see them were certainly glad for that. They absolutely killed this performance and left it all out there. This was the last night of their tour, although they do have a couple of shows scheduled in December in Hollywood and Fresno.
Powerman 5000 photos from Randy Udell / R U Rockin' Photos
(Hed) p.e. photos from Randy Udell / R U Rockin' Photos
Adema photos from Randy Udell / R U Rockin' Photos