Drivin' Rain to play at Meltdown

Drivin' Rain is only one of the heavy-hitting rock bands that will be featured this Saturday at the Main Street Meltdown concert.

Organized by a group of local rockers, the show will serve as a showcase for heavy music in the Cape Girardeau area, with five different bands playing different styles from hard jam to heavy metal.

The 18-and-up show starts at 7 p.m. at the old Muddsuckers building on the corner of Main Street and Independence Street. Opening will be Rock Solid, followed by Steerjockey, Memphis-based Adios Gringo, Drivin' Rain and Emaciation.

Co-organizer Kirby Ray (also a member of Emaciation) said the show is a way together local bands with heavy sounds.

"I'd say that we're trying to get some of the best hard rock bands in the area," said Ray.

Finding venues to play has been hard for hard rock and heavy metal groups in the past, said Ray, due to the stigma of violence attached to their aggressive sounds. Even though it's getting easier for those bands to get shows in clubs, multi-band concerts like the Meltdown give those bands a chance to come together and showcase their sounds.

"People want to see the best bands in one show, four or five or six at a time," said Ray.

Organizers hope shows like this will help build a scene in Cape Girardeau that has already been experiencing a slow, sometimes painfully slow, growth.

"I've always thought Cape was a prime location for shows since it's halfway between St. Louis and Memphis," said Timexx Nasty, Drivin' Rain frontman and show co-organizer. "Now local bands are starting to find their focus and find a niche."