[DID NOT ATTEND: June 2, 2023] Mike’s Dead / The Haunt / Crucial Device / Death Valley Dreams
The only reason I know about this show is because my friend Ryan Williams is in Death Valley Dreams. He’s a great guitar player who has been bouncing around with bands for a while. I’ve never actually seen him play live, and this was one where I thought I might be able to make the show.
But a Friday night show one very short notice (I found out two days ago) was really hard to secure. So it didn’t happen.
I have never heard of Mike’s Dead. His bio says:
Combining elements of legendary industrial/ hard rock groups such as Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails, & Limp Bizkit with modern trap/ electronic elements, American rapper & producer, Mike’s Dead, has paved his own lane as a multifaceted artist.
Had I gone to this show, I probably would have left during this set. Or, maybe he pulled it all together in a way I might have liked.
I have seen The Haunt open for The Hu and frankly I’m surprised that they weren’t the headliners. But maybe they’re not that famous. About that 2021 show, I wrote
The Haunt, formerly known as AnastasiaMax are from South Florida. The band consists of siblings, Anastasia Grace Haunt (lead vocals), and Maxamillion Haunt (vocals, guitar and production).
Anastasia has an amazing voice–really power and diversity. Max sang lead and harmony vocals and their voices sounded fantastic together. The set was great and I felt like they really won over the audience.
Crucial Device is a ‘synth-punk’ band formed in 2022 by Steve Saputelli, leader of the 90’s industrial-cyberpunk originators Punch Drunk. According to his bio, he is an active multi-instrumentalist and production enthusiast, he also built and performed with his own animatronic, signal controlled band members!
I’d totally want to see them if t here were animatronic players!
I only found out that Ryan was in Death Valley Dreams a few days ago. I hadn’t even heard of the band before that. Their bio (from before Ryan joined–I think he’s just a touring keyboard player at the moemnt) says
Death Valley Dreams combines haunting guitar textures, infectious melodies, dark and thought-provoking lyrics, pulsing grooves, and almost nostalgic-sounding synth atmospheres. As one fan described, “It’s as if The Cars got David Bowie to sing and played something that could have been on The Lost Boys soundtrack.” The sound is familiar yet fresh and unique.
That Cars/Bowie thing is pretty accurate actually.
I Just Read About That... 