POWERMAN 5000 – ILL NINO – HED PE – PRIEST – THE GREAT ALONE
POWERMAN 5000 – ILL NINO – HED PE – PRIEST – THE GREAT ALONE
By Kat Gullage
Powerman 5000 landed at the recently upgraded 1200 capacity venue on a random tropical weather Tuesday night in Hartford CT. The Great Alone, Priest, Hed PE, and Ill Nino were also on the bill.
Switzerland’s The Great Alone got things started with lead vocalist Murielle being the only female to grace the stage that night. The band was founded in 2018 by the singer along with guitarist Vincent Zermatten. They were joined by Arnaud Court on bass and a drummer. They have two albums, 2024’s Perception and 2025’s Face Me Now – whose title track recently charted at #46 on the Secondary Market Rock Chart. Their videos have a Nordic mystical vibe.
The alternative power rock group has potential but their live performance, at least on that night, could have used a little finesse. Unfortunately, shortly after the performance, the band announced to their fans, known as Loners, via social media that they were “forced to interrupt our U.S. tour. Due to a major logistical and technical incident”. Check out The Great Alone’s YouTube channel for yourself.
The Swedish synth band Priest, not to be confused with veteran metal icons Judas Priest, was up next. The trio is composed of two members who were in the band Ghost. This includes vocalist Mercury (former Ghost bassist known as Water), keyboardist Salt (known as Air when he played keys in Ghost) and keyboard player/programmer Sulfur. The group has four LPs and two EPs. They snatched from three of em for the six song set.
They came out completely cloaked in darkness, wearing all black with zero stage lights, the singer’s red glowing eyes were the only illumination. Mercury shouted “Make some noise!” and the crowd seemed into em. Priest opened with “The Pit” off of New Flesh, “Neuromancer” from Obey and then two from Body Machine, “Blacklisted” and “A Signal In The Noise”. One of the keyboardists randomly ran around the stage wielding a coupla flashlights.
They wrapped with title track “Obey” and another New Flesh track, “Vaudeville”. Their user-friendly website makes you feel like you’re in the matrix. You can also check out their sound on their YouTube channel.
Glory be to Hed PE! AKA Higher Education Planet Earth/Planetary Evolution or (hed) Planet Earth. This was the main reason I attended this particular gig. Their 2000 LP Broke was my battle cry in the aughts. And, if you know me at all, you know I love watching their guitarist Nathan Javier jam. Nate brings a breath of fresh air, passion and vivacity to the group. When he’s not playing you’ll find him everywhere: at the merch booth expertly slashing a shirt for a fan, at the bar, on the sidelines watching another band perform, or interacting with fans – all with enthusiasm.
The group would not exist without founder and singer “M.C.U.D.” aka MC Underdog aka Jared Gomes. Bassist Kurt “Kid Bass” Blankenship and drummer Stephen Arango round out the quartet perfectly. The few hundred fans in attendance were all in for Hed PE as they still drew in the faithful devotees. The band has sixteen (!) studio LPs and their too short nine song set hit on five of em.
Jared addressed the loyals, “How’s everyone doin tonight? It’s good to be back in town!” before feeding us two from Detox with “No Way Out” and “Rat Race”. Nate did not disappoint as he combined his axe grinding with his west coast swagger, utilizing every inch of his confined space to fuckin groove. “Peer Pressure” from Back To Base X was on deck before Jared declared “Let’s play some old shit!” and we got “Killing Time” off Broke.
A pit got rollin and there was plenty of room for it. Another Back To Base X track, “Let’s Ride” had Jared break out what I refer to as his trusty organ kazoo thingy, but is officially known as a melodica. I get it but I wonder, if the melodica was to be misplaced, just for one night, would anyone besides Jared miss it? The only good thing about the too short set was that it didn’t leave much melodica time. Jared added a fittingly screamo growl into the song.
Hed PE then merged into the Bob Marley and the Wailers hit, “Get Up, Stand Up”, a fan favorite part of the performance. Jared announced, “Imma need a little help with this one. This song is dedicated to my neighbor who always tells me to turn the music down. Fuck that guy!” “When I say Bitch! You say get the fuck out!” “Hartford let’s go!!!” The crowd responded with a roar that was bigger than their size. The track was “Let’s Ride” from Only In Amerika. “Sophia” was up next before they delivered their biggest hit, “Bartender”.
I was transfixed on Nate since I was on the rail in front of him. Jared grabbed the damn melodica again and Nate motioned for the crowd to show respect to the original member. The singer spoke one last time, “Thank you to our ten year veteran t-shirt guy! My parents came here from Brazil, I’m the first American in my tribe and look what I did, makin money off metal for twenty-five years now!” The set, which was over in the blink of an eye, wrapped with a track off New World Orphans, “Renegade”. Do you like or wanna taste Hed PE? Don’t miss their current touring line-up, which is more than worth the price of admission.
This was my first time seeing Ill Nino, the Latin American nu-metal band from Jersey, live. Founded in 1988 by drummer and sole original member Dave Chavarri, the band has seven studio LPs and have sold over a million albums worldwide. However, their eight song set would only touch on three of em. The first thing that grabbed my attention was that there were two drum kits. Dave’s main rig and a smaller one offering additional percussion by Miggy Sanchez. Luv that.
The remaining members took their respective places, lead guitarist Jes De Hoyos, bassist Lazaro Pina and rhythm guitarist Salvadore Dominguez. Singer Tommy Roulette burst onto the stage, oozing with barely contained energy. “Get those fukin hands up! Get those fukin arms up!” The whole pit obliged, for about twenty seconds. We got the first of four tunes plucked from Revolution Revolucion with “If You Still Hate Me”.
I couldn’t hear Tommy when he used his normal singing voice but I could hear him clearly when he talked or screamed. He sounded fine but there was a technical issue with the audio quality of the vocals. Two from One Nation Underground were next with “This Is War” and “What You Deserve”. The crowd had thinned a bit and there wasn’t much motion. Tommy addressed the fans, “We feelin alive or what? The party’s just gettin started!” “I Am Loco” led to a track from Confession, “Te Amo…I Hate You”.
OG Dave Chavarri cranked out a quick but decent drum jam. Tommy once again tried to inspire the crowd, “I see a lot of people standin around. Let’s open this up Connecticut, let’s see some movement!!” The pit responded by loosely moshing about. The set wrapped with “God Save Us” and “How Can I Live”. Turns out Ill Nino (Spanish for Ill Child) had just debuted vocalist Tommy
Roulette five days earlier in Cleveland, OH. No wonder the fans were a bit subdued, they were sizing up the rookie. The kid performed well and gave it his all, so if you’re an Ill Nino fan, give him a chance.
POWERMAN 5000
I caught up with our gracious host, lead guitarist of Powerman 5000, Dan Schiz, earlier in the night. As I walked toward him I thought to myself, Wow, that guy could pass for Ed Sheeran from a distance. He was subdued and quiet but very kind, made sure Holly Roy Photography and I had everything we needed and were having a good time.
I shared with him that I spotted the talent in Powerman 5000 at first sight back in my youth. And that sighting was when they opened for KISS on the reunion Alive/Worldwide Tour in 1997 at the now defunct New Haven Coliseum. I called the local radio station relentlessly demanding they play them more. Dan was like “Holy shit”. I asked Dan what he was currently listening to and was surprised that the answer was Seal’s second album. We chatted about all styles of music as we’re both very diverse fans. I inquired if they always leave their biggest hit, “When Worlds Collide”, for the last song. “Yes”. Didja ever consider sandwiching it in the middle of the set? “No.”
Powerman 5000 was established in 1991 by founder and singer Spider One (Michael Cummings) outta Boston. They have released eleven studio albums and would touch on six of em in their twelve song set. Several Powerman 5000 songs have been featured in video game and film soundtracks as well as the WWE.
Interestingly enough, and a nod to their musical diversity, the lead in song for PM5K was 1962’s “Show Me The Way To Get Out Of This World” by Ella Fitzgerald, in its entirety. The three guitarists, Dan Schiz on lead, Taylor Haycraft on rhythm and Murv3 (Murv Douglas) with his five string bass, took the stage with green lasers shooting at us outta the neck of their axes. DJ Rattan (Rattan Cayabyab) helmed the drum kit as frontman and vocalist Spider One immediately grabbed our attention with “Hey Hartford Connecticut! Are you ready?!? Let’s go!!”
We got three off the bat from Tonight The Stars Revolt! with “Supernova Goes Pop”, the title track, and “Nobody’s Real”. Dan was quiet no more as his Powerman 5000 persona took hold and he fed off the crowd. All members donned these skeleton ribcage vests and jumped around like a synchronized aerobics class – all night long.
The sound quality was on point, I could hear it all crystal clear. A track from New Wave was next with “Footsteps and Voices, followed by two cuts from Somewhere On The Other Side Of Nowhere, “Super Villain” and “Horror Show”. Spider spoke to us “Somebody make some fukin noise out there! Put your hands up like this!” We obliged by putting our hands up for about fifteen seconds, but the pit kept bouncing to the incoming beats of two from The Noble Rot, “Black Lipstick” and “Play God Or Play Dead”.
Murv3 is very entertaining with his extra string and his robotic but funky moves. There were no mosh pits yet, but the diehards were there and they knew the songs word for word. “What a great night! What a great crowd! Thanks for coming out tonight! Hey Hartford, whaddaya say we turn it up louder! Hartford Connecticut it’s time to “Invade, Destroy, Repeat”! A slice of Builders Of The Future.
“Does anyone remember the year 2000? Coupla people? I know there’s some old people here tonight, make some noise! If you’re twenty-seven, Fuck Off!” Spider calls out a mom that brought her kids. “I remember your Mom” Spider tells the kids. “LOL, Just kidding!” We got “Bombshell” off Anyone for Doomsday? and a circle pit busted out.
The band exited the stage momentarily before the crowd clamored for “One more song!” and the green haired drummer led the fans in an impressive choir like crowd chant. The quintet reemerged and Spider addressed us, “What a great night! What a great crowd! Thanks for everything, for coming out and supporting the tour. I’m so sick of myself talking. Radio is over, record labels are dead, but here we are!” The aerobics instructors/musicians wrapped it up with “How To Be Human” and, last but not least, their biggest hit, “When Worlds Collide”. I get it Dan,
The crowd did exude the most energy to that song. Do you remember PM5K? They haven’t missed a beat, I highly recommend checking out their live show, it was a fast paced non-stop industrial nu-metal gig with an awesome vibe and sound. Didja know that frontman Spider One is the younger brother of musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie? Spider is a film director himself, as shown in the 2024 horror film “Little Bites”, which was executively produced by Cher. Spider just announced the film is nominated for a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Limited Release Movie. He’s really psyched about it,. Give em a listen!
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