On May 8th, 2024- Periphery performed at The Orange Peel in Asheville NC on their “The Wildfire” tour with special guests: Jake Bowen and Eidola! The room packed out so fast even though Sleep Token was playing a few blocks away! You can’t win against nostalgia!
Jake Bowen
Opening the night was Jake Bowen doing a solo electric music set! At first, I had no idea what was going on, but then it reminded me of an EDM show with him on the stage providing tactile movements to this key board machine. I'm not a music person, so I have no idea what he used. People during his set were very rude with being obnoxiously loud and not enjoying what he created. If you are going to disrespect a musician like that, please leave. You could barely hear the music because attendees were that loud. I actually enjoyed it because it was very peaceful and it's something DIFFERENT. I guess people here didn't like to be different and this is why the scene is full of individuals who are stuck not being able to be open minded.
Ediola
Next up was Ediola! Ediola formed in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2011 consisting of; Andrew Wells (Lead Vocals/Guitar) , James Johnson (Bass Guitar) , Matthew Dommer (Guitar/Unclean Vocals) , Matthew Hansen (Drums) , and Sergio Medina (Guitar/Live Backing Vocals) I've never listened to this band before and I didn't know what to expect. My friend told me hours before that Ediola is THAT band and that she wishes she could see them live. Their love performance was out of this world. Between Matthew Dommer and Andrew Wells' vocals; I instantly fell in love because I love a band that has a mixture of both clean and heavy! They released their newest album “Eviscerate” in April of this year and at this moment; that album is the most popular on their spotify! And they will be going on their “The Eviscerate Tour” in June till July! They are actually performing an hour away from me, so I might go and support them! Honestly; I don’t know what songs were played during their set because like I stated; I’ve never personally listened to them before, so I went to see if they will be added to my bands to listen to and after their set; they definitely are. By the way the crowd responded to their energy on stage, I know they are a band I should keep an eye out for!
Periphery
Periphery was finally up and this is the one band I’ve been waiting to see since 2011! Periphery formed in 2005 in Washington, D.C and currently consists of; Spencer Sotelo (Lead Vocals) , Mark Holcomb (Guitar) , Matt Halpern (Drums) , Jake Bowen (Guitar, Programming, Synthesizer and Back Vocals) , Misha Mansoor (Guitar, Synthesizer and Orchestration). The band did go through numerous changes with members throughout the years. My favorite albums are “Icarus” released in 2011 and “Periphery II” released in 2012. Once I heard Spencers voice; I automatically fell in love with this band because when I was younger; I was all about only clean vocals and some heavier stuff, but I became insanely obsessed! Especially the song “Frak the Gods” !
Periphery opened up with “Ragnarok” and let me tell you that this was the best light production I’ve seen at a show. Which made the experience even more intense and insane because you actually were able to see all the musicians! I’m so used to photographing dark shows, so this literally “brightened” up my whole night. The amount of head banging at the barricade and people attempting to crowd surf was an amazing sight to see. They also performed songs such as; “Wildfire” , “Letter” , and “Wax Wings” . I talked to someone in the crowd and they stated that Periphery has been one of their favorite bands since they formed and this was the first time seeing them. He also stated that this band pulled him out of a really bad mental darkness and you can see that he was tearing up talking about it. This is what music is all about. Relating to the lyrics.
Seeing Periphery brought so much nostalgia to myself and others at the show! I will forever be grateful that I got this opportunity to photograph one of my favorite bands. Seeing people with old merch from the band and even seeing the new generation enjoying the show with their parents!
Comments