Images: Last Call, Heart to Heart, The Mighty Fine, Rivalries, Wear Your Heart October 8, 2011 at The Box Office

Last Call is gearing up to head back out on tour, but they wouldn’t leave their hometown fans hanging. Before packing up the merch and hitting the road, they played The Box Office last Saturday night with two of California’s finest – melodic punks Heart to Heart, supporting their new 7” Deathproof, and punk rockers The Mighty Fine, whose latest LP In Revival came out in August. Locals Rivalries and Wear Your Heart rounded out the excellent bill and got things off to a great start.

Though the crowd wasn’t spilling over, those who attended were extremely passionate from the very beginning, which started with the debut performance of local pop punks Wear Your Heart. Amidst some promising originals in their short set was a cover of the New Found Glory classic “My Friends Over You,” eliciting a flurry of jumps and communal singing. Rivalries were up next, their music slower and more deliberate than their peers that night, recalling bands like The Dangerous Summer and later Starting Line. And Speaking of Starting Line, Rivalries became the second band of the night to dig through the Drive-Thru catalog for a cover song, playing a version of Startling Line’s “Best of Me” that had the entire crowd shouting along.

This was our first time seeing Heart to Heart and The Mighty Fine, and we certainly weren’t disappointed. The Mighty Fine’s style of punk rock was refreshing, energetic and slightly reminiscent of Against Me! and Dead to Me. Frontman Brook Thompson has a lot of charisma on stage, and his jokes and stories entertained the crowd throughout their rousing set. Unfortunately a big portion on the crowd left during their set to pick up band merch, really missing out on a great set.

Heart to Heart got fists in the air, the most passionate of fans pressed right up against the stage to sing along with vocalist Nick Zoppo, who performed a sort of punk rock burlesque show, stripping from a button-down, to an “Enjoy Weed” t-shirt, before finally going topless. And as always, Last Call put on an amazing show, so much so that we were hoarse the next day from screaming along with every word. We wish them luck on tour and eagerly await their return.

-Emily Matview

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

and Tyler Newton | http://500px.com/spottedlens