Emo’s – Austin, TX
Powerman 5000
You know how some of your family and friends ask for list of gift ideas around the holidays? Or maybe your birthday? You spend time thinking about suggestions based on appropriateness and cost. You might even be careful to not give the same ideas to different people so you don’t end up with the same gift. When you open that gift you are grateful, but not surprised, at what you find. But every once in a while, someone goes out on a limb to buy you something you didn’t ask for. And sometimes those are the best gifts of all.
Concert-going is a lot like this. I spend a lot of time planning who to see next. I check online resources for concerts and my favorite bands daily, keeping my fingers crossed for a show near me to be announced. But once in a blue moon, I happen to be in the right place at the right time. Unexpected. Unplanned. Fly by the seat of my pants kind of stuff. Such was the case with Powerman 5000.
I was in Austin, Texas on business and happened to check pollstar.com (great resource for live shows.) Powerman 5000 was scheduled to perform at local club Emo’s that same night. I’ve never seen these guys and I was dying to check them off my “list.” There was only one problem - the show was sold out. In the words of Joe Dirt... “Dang.”
I really wanted to take in some live music while in Austin, so I decided to check out another band that was playing Emo’s outdoor stage. Don’t get me wrong, they were good. But it was more difficult than I expected to be mere feet away from a hard rock show and not enjoy it. Luckily, the bouncer at the back door was chill and let us sneak inside.
I should have gone back and tipped that guy because what followed was one of my favorite shows of the year. I don’t know what I was expecting. Though they’ve had recent hits, I mostly associate Powerman 5000 with my high school years of the late 90’s. Their most known hit “When Worlds Collide” is typically the only song people associate with the band. So I was surprised when I actually recognized song after song. The crowd was pumped and the club was cool, so it was easy to really get into things.
It didn’t hurt that the band’s performance was killer. Their genre is coined as Industrial Metal, and they exude it in every way. Donned in leather clad ensembles reminiscent of “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” this band has the ability to almost think you have entered another time or place. During the encore they came back onstage wearing metal masks that even Mr. Roboto would have been envious of. But the music was the major factor that set the mood. The grating beats and screeching guitar riffs add to the sound that is uniquely Powerman 5000.
Lead singer Spider One (aka Michael Cummings) still sports spiky, bleached blonde hair. He really gets into his role as front man, something that must run in the gene pool considering his brother is Rob Zombie. I’m guessing theatrics runs in that family.
After such a great experience, I’m now itching to know what my next unexpected show will be…
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