Images: Issues, Crown the Empire, One Ok Rock, Night Verses March 23, 2016 at Vinyl Las Vegas

On March 23, Las Vegas was treated to a stop of the 2016 Monster Outbreak Tour featuring Issues, Crown the Empire, One Ok Rock and Night Verses. The room filled up quickly as fans poured in right at 6 p.m. to catch their favorite acts.

First up for the night was Night Verses. I caught these guys back in 2013 so I had some idea what to expect, but this performance blew that one out of the water. The band brought high energy right away, keeping banter slim as they sped through their short set time, which included selections from 2013’s “Lift Your Existence,” and two brand new songs. Their second LP is coming out (hopefully) soon, and based on what I heard on this night, this is a band you don’t want to sleep on.

Next up was One Ok Rock. This is the second show in a row that I’ve covered featuring a band from Japan who I was unfamiliar with, but was instantly impressed. The band members came out on stage one by one, each receiving cheers louder than the last, and once vocalist Takahiro Moriuchi stepped on stage, the room erupted. These guys were getting a headliner-style welcome, and I quickly realized why they had such a following. Quite simply, they rocked. Opening with the first three songs from their debut record, the 4 piece had all their fans up front jumping and singing along to “3xxxv5,” “Take Me to the Top,” and “Cryout.” The rest of the set was comprised of other songs from the band’s record 35xxxv, ending on their popular single “Mighty Long Fall.”

Every time the guys in Crown The Empire come through Las Vegas, they seem to have a bigger fanbase. The “runaways” as they’re called, took over a majority of the room as they sang along with Andy and Dave, throwing their hands up into the air with each crescendo. Early into the set the crowd was treated to newer songs “Prisoners of War” and “Cross Our Bones” that were released on the deluxe reissue of 2014’s The Resistance, and coming fresh off their performance at Self Help Fest where they debuted it, the band surprised the crowd with “Zero,” a brand new unreleased song which will be on their forthcoming album.

Issues kicked off their headlining set with the 2012 single “Love Sex Riot” which surprised me because it’s not often that I see bands begin the night with a single from their first EP. The dual vocal dynamic of Michael Bohn and Tyler Carter works so well and the performance was top notch. With an acoustic melody of “The Worst of Them” and “Princeton Avenue” to break up the setlist, it was a nice change of pace, and the band even worked in two brand new songs “The Realest” and “Blue Wall” from their upcoming record, Headspace. Both songs were received well by fans, evident by some singing along. The main set ended on “Disappear” and the guys came back out for an encore of their two most popular hits, “Mad at Myself” and “Hooligans.”

-Tylor Thuirer | https://www.instagram.com/thuirer/