Images: Last Call, Forever Came Calling, Heart to Heart & more April 19, 2013 at the Eagle Aerie Hall (Road to Mixtape tour)

Las Vegas was host to a slew of big-draw concerts on April 19, including The Postal Service at the Cosmopolitan, Caravels’ hometown release show for their Lacuna LP and Dropkick Murphys at the House of Blues. It’s a welcome burden; fans are forced to choose what ticket to pay for and you hope that small, intimate shows don’t lose kids to bigger name tours and venues. Thankfully, when the Road to Mixtape Tour with Last Call, Forever Came Calling and Heart to Heart stopped in Henderson, there were plenty of excited pop punk fans in attendance.

For once, the show got started at the time suggested on the flier and the highlight of the lengthy local package (Narrowed, Guts, Tuesday After School and Next Generation Rising) was NGR’s impressive set featuring a fill-in guitarist who played as if he’d been in the band the whole time. NGR has made noise recently with performances at the House of Blues and the Hard Rock Hotel’s Vinyl, not to mention a few local radio spins. Keep an eye out for these kids. No pun intended, but they do definitely seem to be on the rise.

I’ve seen Heart to Heart and Forever Came Calling a few times before and they always have energetic, standout live shows. You really get the feeling that these bands take pride in their performances and one of the bright spots of the night was hearing Forever Came Calling’s “Ides” live. Frontman Joe Candelaria can sure as hell write lyrics, and this track from Contender is a perfect example.

Local legends Last Call finished out the hometown show with a rousing set that included singer Austin Jeffers proposing to his girlfriend Lyndsey Pfeiffer on stage (she said yes). It was a moment many won’t forget and one that I feel is a perfect example of why smaller, more intimate shows are always the way to go, even if some bigger name tours might be passing through town.

– Felipe Garcia

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