Friday night April 21st as I arrived in Silver Spring MD it was a rainy and somewhat dreary day, great weather if you were a duck. That wouldn’t faze me as I pulled into the parking deck and walked up the brick soaked side-walk heading toward The Fillmore it was if the Gods and the Universe all at once realized hey there is a Metal show here tonight. Then as I turned the corner in neon lights on The Fillmore’s marque it read PERIPHERY: Sonic Unrest Tour II, the Angels began to sing and the sky opened up giving way to the glorious sun and the fans began to line the side-walk in front of The Fillmore as they waited to enter.
There was a high level of anticipation as we the fans entered The Fillmore waiting for our chance to lay our eyes upon the hometown boys from Washington DC….Periphery. As the fans, myself included raced to the front of the stage to get the perfect spot, we all had the same thought what gift would Periphery give us in the form of their music spanning the past 6 years.
As we all settled in and got comfy we were introduced to the stellar supporting cast the Periphery had brought with them. First up was Infinity Shred who treated us to a melodic instrument driven masterpiece that opened the minds and spirits of everyone in The Fillmore. As we all returned to our conscious reality we had just enough time to catch our breath as Norma Jean took the stage. Norma Jean grabbed us all up in this ferocious bear hug and took us on one amazing hellious metal core roller-coaster ride. As I looked around at everyone catching their breath I realized the evening was just getting started.
Indianapolis’s own The Contortionist showed us just why they were the supporting act for the evening. With their progressive metal style they grabbed us in the palm of their hands and raised us up letting each of us bask in the lyrics and music that we were presented.
As if the evening couldn’t get any better Periphery hit the stage. With a unanimous roar the crowd responded. From the first track of their set “A Black Minute” from the album Juggernaut : Alpha the crowd embraced Periphery taking them in and signing along. As a fan I watched in amazement. Periphery had transformed The Fillmore into their own playground, and we the fans were invited to come along for the fun. As I photographer I saw a band give to its fans 100% without thought and hesitation. Throughout their set which included tracks like Stranger Things (Juggernaut: Omega) Masamune (Periphery II) Marigold (Periphery III: Select Difficulty), Flatline (Periphery III: Select Difficulty) and The Price Is Wrong (Periphery III: Select Difficulty) Periphery encapsulated their best material and this was the gift they gave to us the fans.
