Periphery Brings Noise and Tears to the Roxian Theatre

October 29, 2026 · McKees Rocks, PA
Covered with Rock Ambassadors Media
photos - Jenna kinney
article - matt mains

Twelve years of listening. A Thursday night drive from Akron. One song that would leave me absolutely bawling.

We headed to the Roxian Theatre with our cameras ready as Periphery brought their A Pale White Dot tour to McKees Rocks. Periphery has been part of our lives for more than a decade, and to me, this band has some of the best musicians playing today. Getting to photograph one of your favorite bands is a privilege. Getting to sing those songs back at them is something else entirely.

But before we get to Periphery, we need to talk about the three acts that made arriving early absolutely essential.

Ando San got the room moving

The best way I can describe Ando San’s set? Thumpin’ and thuggin’. Progressive guitar work and rap met in grooves that made it impossible to stand still. There was plenty for the guitar nerds to appreciate, but you could feel it working without knowing a thing about technique. Ando San got the room moving and set a seriously high bar for musicianship right out of the gate.

Then Greyhaven got raw

Their bassist was a madman, tearing around the stage and throwing himself into the performance. Behind him, the drummer drove the band forward while the guitarist kicked ass in a Creed shirt. Yes, a Creed shirt. Respect.

Up front, the vocalist held the whole thing together. To my ears, Greyhaven sounded like Deftones colliding with He Is Legend. There was atmosphere, aggression, and the sense that things could come completely unglued at any moment. They were an absolute blast to watch and photograph.

Ne Obliviscaris gave us almost too much to take in

Shredding guitar solos, bass leads that demanded your attention, relentless double kick, phenomenal clean and harsh vocals, and then violin on top of it all. At times, it felt like Dream Theater at the Renaissance fair. And I mean that with the highest possible respect.

Choosing where to focus became part of the experience. A guitar passage would grab you, the bass would pull you somewhere else, and suddenly the violin would change the whole mood. Through every transition, the band stayed locked together. By the time they finished, the crowd was fired up and I was still trying to process what we’d just heard.

Periphery and the song that got me

“Scarlet” opened the set, followed by “Wildfire” and “Heaven on High.” After more than twelve years of listening to this band, hearing those three back to back felt almost unfair. We’d barely begun.

Then came “It’s Only Smiles.”

I bawled my eyes out.

This might be my favorite song ever written. Songs become attached to your life over time. You carry them through different years and find new meaning in the same words. Then you’re standing a few feet from the band while they play one of those songs, and all of it catches up with you.

Hearing the whole room sing those lyrics made it hit even harder. Knowing how personal the song is to Spencer, I wondered what it felt like to hear those words sung back to him. Whatever each of us brought into that room, we got to share the song for a few minutes.

The set rolled on through “Unlocking,” “Mr. God,” “Everyone Dies Alone,” and “Subhuman.” The final stretch brought “Dracul Gras,” “The Bad Thing,” and “Lune,” before the nearly 17-minute “Reptile” closed the night. Look at those four titles together and try to imagine having anything left in the tank afterward.

Spencer summed up the Roxian crowd best.

“This may be the smallest show we’ve played this tour but definitely the loudest!”

We drove from Akron excited to photograph Periphery. We left with three opening sets worth talking about and a singalong I’ll think about every time I hear “It’s Only Smiles.”