Date: May 10th, 2014
Lineup: (hed)pe, SOiL, Sunflower Dead
Venue: Marquee Theater (Tempe, Arizona)
I was stoked to be asked to film this show!! I have seen all 3 bands multiple times before this show (hed pe: 5 times, SOiL: 2 times and Sunflower Dead: 1) so I knew exactly what to expect and knew it would be a kick ass show.
First national band to play this night was a 5-piece theatrical metal/rock band from Long Beach, California. I got to see them last year when they were on tour with Nonpoint, Hellyeah and All That Remains and was instantly hooked. They all wear face paint on stage and they really bring a show when they play.
They started off their set just like the first time I saw them, with their vocalist, Michael, walking onto the stage playing the accordion. It may or may not appeal to you that they incorporate the accordion into their music, but I think it works extremely well and is actually one of my favorite aspects of their sound. Besides the accordion, one of the other things I love about this band is that they can have some pretty hard songs and then bust out their version of “Every Breathe You Take” by The Police. It sounded outstanding and the crowd reacted extremely well to it.
If you are looking for a really awesome band to see live, Sunflower Dead is at the top of my list and should be added to yours. They are also really easy to talk to afterwards because they are roaming around the venue, talking with their fans and signing anything you want them to autograph.
You can pick up their album HERE
https://www.facebook.com/sunflowerdead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AsrTi_SriM
Next up on stage was SOiL and I was excited to see them again with their original singer Ryan! I first saw them on the Merry Mayhem tour back in the day with Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie and Mudvayne and was instantly hooked. After seeing them this time around, they definitely got tighter as a band and it was great to see them rocking out on stage. I got to hear my 3 favorite songs by them (Breaking You Down, Unreal and Halo) so I was pretty damn happy with the night. They also did 2 covers this night, “37 Stitches” by Drowning Pool (which Ryan was also the vocalist for on a couple of albums) and “Black Betty”.
All in all, they rocked the place and were once again, very enjoyable to watch and I hope to get the chance to check them out again.
You can pick up the entire SOiL discography on iTunes HERE
https://www.facebook.com/SOiLmusic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j__5zW2Kxe8
And finally, (hed)pe takes the stage and they came out with a fury! They spanned most of their discography with this tours set list with songs “Killing Time”, “Bartender” and “The Meadow” from their 2000 release Broke to “White House” from their 2010 release Truth Rising. They did not forget to play their amazing Bob Marley cover “Get Up, Stand Up” and they do this song justice. Just like every other time I have seen them live, they ruled that stage for the night and the crowd went nuts for them. My biggest disappointment with them was they started playing “Blackout” and quickly jumped into their cover only seconds later. Other than that, their 50 minute set kicked ass and I look forward to seeing them rock out the next time.
Don’t forget to pick up their upcoming album Evolution when it drops July 22nd. Also, check out their Facebook page for tour dates as they have some dates going up for the release of their new album.
https://www.facebook.com/hedpe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTfGYeRouH0
