Images: Divers, Dark Black, Hidden Levels, Good Grief September 6, 2015 at Wild Blue Yonder

Portland indie/punk band Divers made their Vegas debut this past weekend, though the members themselves aren’t exactly strangers, as members of Divers spent time in Vegas bands like Organic. That pedigree, along with a fantastic new album, brought out a great crowd of old dudes, little kids and the betweeners, filling the Wild Blue Yonder’s dining room, foyer, staircase and upper banister with music fans ready for some good tunes.

With less than a week to promote the gig, which happened in large part due to the band’s appearance at San Diego’s Awesomefest a day earlier, everyone involved should be super proud of the turn out. The band themselves certainly seemed stoked, with frontman Harrison Rapp singing through a grin as fans sang back lyrics to “Blood Song” and “Wild Calling.”

The members of Divers were most at home while thrashing about the few square feet left to themselves, long hair flailing everywhere to the tune of their timeless sound. With Springsteen-style storytelling and rambunctious energy seemingly born from a love of Paul Westerberg, Divers has certainly struck a chord in Vegas.

While Divers’ set was certainly deserving of the hype, it would be unfair to not place much of the show’s success with the current locals who rounded out the bill. Dark Black was the show’s hosts and final act, and their post-punk style holds up to the standard set by ¾ of the band’s previous group Caravels.

Hidden Levels showcased a winning indie pop sound that’s more hooky than the members’ previous band, Twin Brother.

Kicking off the show, Good Grief found members of God’s America grafting their the fast-and-short song structure to a lo-fi, Mean Jeans style pop punk sound to great effect.

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