Powerman 5000 kicked off their Devil in the Dark tour with support from Julien-K and Priest at House of Blues San Diego on July 7, 2023. I love opening night of a tour, you never know what to expect especially when you can’t Google the setlist ahead of time! It’s all a surprise!
I’ll confess, I didn’t know much about the bands before the show, but my friend was so hyped for months about this line up so I had to see the hype for myself. As I walked down the stairs to the main floor, I scanned the scene to get a feel for the vibe. I saw the usual concert attire, t-shirt and jeans, bright colored haired, cyberpunk look, and a man wearing a leather vest and kilt. I realized later that it was Ryan Shuck, the vocalist for Julien-K.
The lights go down, it’s showtime!
The stage stayed pretty dark, but I could make out three figures dressed in black leather head-to-toe walk out on stage. The only thing I could really see was a red light for an eye, reminding me of Static X. Priest is a synth-pop band from Sweden. The band consists of members Mercury and Salt who are two former members from Ghost (which did not end on a good note) and keyboardist Sulfur. They seem to be a mix of some Ghost, Sleep Token, with their goal being to help humanity into the next step of evolution, as they say “the merging with machines.”
Julien-K, made up of Amir Derakh, Ryan Shuck, and Anthony Valic, are a trio that has been collaborating musically for over 15 years! Working together on hits like “Blind” by Korn, “Crawl Back In” and” Let Down” by Dead by Sunsrise with the late Chester Bennington. They’re industrial metal, which made me think of Depeche Mode, New Order, and Nine Inch Nails all in one band. I was unfamiliar with their music, which I usually cheat by snapping a photo of setlist on the stage to research later, but I didn’t see one. I believe there were a couple new songs as he was reading lyrics off an IPad on the floor for a couple of songs. I loved their look and their energy!
Powerman 5000 came on stage with green lasers coming from their guitars and out the ends of drumsticks!
They started off their set with “You’re Gonna Love It,” “Foolsteps,” and “Nobody’s Real.” Lead vocalist Spider One said ‘I apologize for not doing a lot of talking, but we have a lot of songs and there’s a hard curfew of 11pm here.” They did a compilation of cover songs including “Seven Nation Army,” "It's Tricky,” “I Want It That Way,” “Rebel Yell,” “Du Hast,” and “Oops, I Did Again.” Introducing the next song he said “Old people, here’s your chance to show the youngsters how we did it with “Bombshell” Of course, they ended their set with their hit “Worlds Collide.” This tour has only just begun and there’s a bunch of dates left so be sure you don’t miss out on this great show!
Remaining dates Devil in the Dark tour:
07/26 – Wyandotte, MI @ District 142 07/27 – Columbus, OH @ King Of Clubs 07/28 – Marietta, OH @ Adelphia Music Hall 07/29 – Harrison, OH @ The Blue Note 07/30 – Braidwood, IL @ Top Fuel Saloon 07/31 – Hobart, IN @ Hobart Art Theater 08/02 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Crafthouse 08/03 – Clifton, NJ @ Dingbatz 08/04 – Mechanicaburg, PA @ Lovedrafts Brewing Co 08/05 – Fredericksburg, VA @ Hard Times 08/06 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade 08/08 – Fort Worth, TX @ Rail Club 08/09 – Austin, TX @ Come And Take It Live 08/10 – Odessa, TX @ Ector Theater 08/11 – El Paso, TX @ Rockhouse Bar and Grill 08/12 – Scottsdale, AZ @ Pub Rock
10/05 – Tampa, FL @ Absolution Fest
Comments