Images: Mixtapes, Last Call, You Blew It!, Light Years, Next Generation Rising, Calmosa July 18, 2013 at the Eagle Aerie Hall

On July 18, Mixtapes, You Blew It! and Light Years all made their Las Vegas (well, Henderson) debut, supported by solid performances from locals Calmosa, Next Generation Rising, and of course, Last Call, who were on the west coast dates of this tour. The wait from the show’s announcement until the day it happened seemed excruciatingly long but the bands definitely lived up to my almost unreasonable expectations.

Unfortunately, I missed Calmosa but showed up just in time to see Next Generation Rising shred their way around the floor. These guys get better every time I see them. They played a longer set than I’d expect from from a show with this many bands on the bill, but nobody was complaining about the sweet solos, cool drum work and Blink-182 cover.

Light Years from Cleveland was next and I’m ashamed to admit this was my first time listening to them. They’re good. Real good. They capped things off with “Parking Lots,” which I’ve since watched their sweet music video for. Go check them out right now, before you end up like me, enjoying a polished set but not knowing any of the words. If you like pop punk in the vein of the latest The Wonder Years record, than you’re going to love these guys.

Truth be told, You Blew It! was the band I came to see and I still feel like they should have played about forty minutes longer. They opened with “Pinball House” and followed that up with “Medal of Honor,” two tracks that really show the best this band has to offer. Brooding melodies and punk rock choruses were on full display, and we were treated to a new song from their upcoming Evan Thomas Weiss (Into It. Over It.)-produced album. Going just by those three minutes, I can’t wait to listen to that new record. They wrapped up their far-too-short set with the singalong-inducing “Terry Vs. Tori.” It was as good as a set that didn’t include the smash hit “There’s Nothing I Love More Than Baseball” could possibly be.

Last Call and their legion of local fans were out in full force as they ripped through a loud, fast set with a full house looking on. Frontman Austin Jeffers being surrounded on all sides by screaming kids has become a common sight at local shows, and this was no different. Eager fans rushed the vocalist to sing along with tracks like “Bones” (which was dedicated to the fight for marriage equality) and longtime show staple “Disconnected.” Hopefully Last Call’s reception on the rest of the tour can approach the kind of love they get out here.

Coming all the way from Cincinnati were headliners Mixtapes, who after some funny crowd interaction and the obligatory Vegas heat references, ripped the floor up with one of the more energetic sets I’ve ever seen. It’s pretty tough to not like this band. Everything is lighthearted yet brutally honest, all accompanied by infectious punk rock jams. They played a mixed set, featuring new tracks like “Ross (Dirty Water)” and “Bad Parts” from their latest record, Ordinary Silence, and classics like “Moonglow” and “Cassettes” (the latter devolving into a spot-on cover of Korn’s “Blind”). Per audience request, they played an electric version of “Noon (Protest Song)” from their rarely-played-live How to Throw a Successful Party acoustic album. It was a perfect half-hour set to end a night of singing along with friends.

– Felipe Garcia

Photos by Emily Matview | https://www.flickr.com/photos/holdfastnow/

and Hunter Wallace | https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunter_wallace/