Periphery - The Wildfire Tour 2023 (Show #1)

Periphery - Bobby Talamine (c) 2023

Periphery - Bobby Talamine (c) 2023

Writing and Photography by Bobby Talamine
Edited by Fiza Javid
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The Bottom Lounge Chicago
Sunday - November 12, 2023

The fierce and honest Periphery, from Washington D.C., back on the road (thank god), and going about things a bit unorthodox.
First off- they're also fighters.
That needs to be said.

As complex as all get out, heavy on sustained melody, along with power pack drumming, followed by hellaciously good singing, up or down, high or low, courtesy of Spencer Sotolo.

And on top of all that, seconded, they are again fighters.
The unorthodox part- intimate venues throughout this tour. Two night stands at each stop (except for a few dates), with a different setlist each night.

It's also more personal, that being each individual band member has a chance throughout the set to explain honestly a certain song that's meaningful to them, that brings back a floodgate of memories that pertains to the specialness of that individual song, and more importantly, where their headspace was at during the fruition and cultivation of that particular song.

So yes, all of this is different and unique compared to your typical metal show, with a full on bludgeoning from beginning to end.

I like how they consistently take risks, especially such as this tour, let alone in complex musicianship that asks and demands you to know your prospective instruments bloody damn well.

So with songs such as opener "Ragnarok" or further down with "Zagreus", or "Reptile"- could there be mistakes (although I didn't witness any) if your mind wanders and you're not completely focused on the complexity of said songs?

I assume so- since again, complex everything is the order of the day.

But that's the endearing part of a band where every band member is capable of writing solid songs to bring to the table, or have mighty riffs in their head that need further exploration, let alone also writing material that can come across wildly different and out of the ordinary.

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Periphery - Bobby Talamine (c) 2023

Periphery - Bobby Talamine (c) 2023

Periphery - Bobby Talamine (c) 2023

Periphery - Bobby Talamine (c) 2023

Periphery - Bobby Talamine (c) 2023

Periphery - Bobby Talamine (c) 2023

Periphery - Bobby Talamine (c) 2023

Amazing, when you think of it, holding to their truths, believing emphatically in what they do, what they've created.
Hence the two night stands on this tour.

Won't be able to witness night number two at the Bottom Lounge unfortunately because of prior commitments- however- night number one at the Bottom Lounge:  Polyrhythmic madness never sounded so good.
13 songs of sonic pummeling- crowd knows it- band certainly knows it.

Besides the songs mentioned, more of a back catalog opening night, with only a couple songs from their latest release- "Periphery Number Five: Djent is Not a Genre". No matter- the sold out crowd was thirsty for the older stuff anyways- you could tell just by the heat coming off the main floor going into "Make Total Destroy", let alone the banshee wails from the Periphery faithful, and also the metal tech guys who constantly stated out loud how fucking awesome they still sound.

These guys- Spencer Sotelo, guitarists Misha Mansoor, Mark Holcomb and Jake Bowen, along with drummer Matt Halpern, just continue to evolve into an unstoppable and througouly punishing and bludgeoning force.

Their whole set, down to their last song "Dracul Gras"- like a constant punch to the face, played to impressive might, poor PA at the Bottom Lounge be damned.
Their must be a team huddle on this, with local sound engineers, and how far can they go without everything snapping and giving in to the onslaught.
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Yeah- that kinda loud of a night face melt.
So yes-
Periphery, memorable as all get out.

Highly recommend the remaining dates on this short and intimate tour, however all that remains is night number two at the Bottom Lounge, and to end the tour in Baltimore, which unfortunately are also both sold out.
But if there's a will, there's a way as they always say.

Bobby Talamine - JBTV Music Television Chicago

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Periphery, Wildfire Tour 2023, Mark Holcomb, Jake Bowen, Spencer Sotelo, Misha Mansoor, Matt Halpern, Fiza Javid, Bobby Talamine, JBTV Music Television