Hot Flash Heat Wave, Mind's Eye - 9/13/25 - Fresno, CA - Strummer's

Hot Flash Heat Wave brought psychedelic reverb-ed out surf rock with punk-esque drums and some jam band elements. The vocals sounded like they were hooked up to the reverb pedal too and buried underneath the rest of the band, which gave them a shoegazey sound. A lot of their songs had extended jams, and they did a great job of building up the jam, staying within the melody, and reaching a very pleasing crescendo wtih good soaring guitar solos. Some songs reminded me a lot of Explosions in the Sky, which is a very good thing. Despite the more subdued nature of the music, they gave a high energy performance. The end their set was a real treat, with a 4-5 song medley including Sum 41 and Rage, finishing with Killing in the Name.

The vocalist for Mind's Eye, Vince, joined them for a song, but his voice was not a great fit.

Mind’s Eye was up next, and, as has become customary at Strummer's, they sounded pretty similar to the opening act. The five person group is also from California. They were like a shoegazy psych socal surf punk band with a ton of reverb and buried vocals. Vince sounded much better in his native environment and makes a tremendous frontman. These guys were great on stage. They brought positive vibes and were consciously engaging with crowd. Their sounds ranged from something with a dance beat that could have been taken from In Rainbows to one that evoked thoughts of Where is My Mind.