Images: Being as an Ocean, Capsize May 7, 2014 at the Eagle Aerie Hall

Whenever I’m shooting a show I always try my best to capture its atmosphere. But I also want the shots to look interesting, and that can be hard to pull off at the Eagle Hall, with its barren, beige walls and floors. Luckily, none of that was a problem at the May 7th Being As An Ocean show. The tour, which also features BAAO’s California hardcore peers Capsize, was originally schedule for the much larger Southern Nevada Sports Centre due to the anticipated high turnout but that venue’s (hopefully temporary) shutdown meant an overabundance of enthusiastic fans filled my frame – and the venue – allowing for great shots and great fun.

Work takes over my life, and May 7th proved no different, so I arrived at the venue having missed the locals, right as Capsize were about to take the stage, or more precisely the floor at the front of the venue. I knew right away that the show was going to be insane by the already huge crowd. I generally feel that I have a comfortable gage on the Las Vegas music scene, but nights like these make me question my grasp. There were some familiar faces, but many kids that I’ve never seen at a show, and even old friends from high school that I would’ve never expected to run into at a show. Capsize had a much larger number of fans for them than I initially anticipated, and lead singer Daniel Wand took the stage with an expression that told me he was ready to conquer this set, but also not quite sure how he was going to keep the crowd from swarming his band when they kicked into “Unwanted” off of their 2013 EP Live a Burden, Die a Curse. The night was filled with songs from their newest EP such as “I’ll Take The Blame and Face First,” which earned them the spot for the largest pit of the night during their set. Although the record is still freshly out, just two weeks old, many already knew the lyrics. The band has a promising future, having recently signed to Equal Vision records, and they’re on the road to record their first full length.

Looking to the back of the venue I saw the walls lined with Being As An Ocean shirts. In fact, I’m pretty sure Hot Topic doesn’t even keep as many shirts in stock as were there that night, but it was a good indicator of how much the band has grown in popularity since I shot them with Senses Fail last year. Unlike the Senses Fail show, this time the band was playing the kind of intimate venue that encourages crowd interaction and gives bands like this the opportunity to shine. BAAO has always come off as incredibly down to earth, so when I arrived to Eagle Hall, I wasn’t surprised to see half of the band in the parking lot chatting with fans. As I got to the stage, lead singer Joel Quartuccio was engaged in some focused, peaceful kneeling, but as the opening notes to “Nothing, Save the Power They’re Given” struck, he jumped up to join the fans that were going crazy.

To say that everyone was going nuts would be an understatement. Their sophomore album How We Both Wondrously Perish dropped the day before the show, following up their wildly popular, and self-recorded Dear G-d… album that charted them at number 27 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers. Despite the record hitting the shelves the day before, it didn’t stop several fans from screaming along to every line as they performed. They powered through their set with songs old and new, and everyone went crazy for “The Hardest Part Is Forgetting Those You Swore You Would Never Forget” (a Fall Out Boy-esque title, don’t you think?)

While not everyone knew the words to every song, what the crowd did share was unbridled passion for the music, with fans leaping, pushing and generally stuck in states of perpetual motion during the duration of the show. It became clear very early on that Joel wouldn’t be able to stand in front of the crowd, as he was in the same situation as The Story So Far frontman Parker Cannon found himself in last March – constantly having audience members falling on top of him. He ended up going into the center of the crowd each song, only to be swallowed up by the sea of diehard fans. He eventually made his way next to the monitor to stand upon a box, which he stage dove off of after several lines, which lead to screams of unprepared fans attempting to catch him. Joel wasn’t the only member whose energy impressed me. Their drummer at the fresh age of 17 was taught under the watchful eye of none other than former Underoath (and current Paramore) drummer Aaron Gillespie, and it really showed. He was a burst of controlled energy, hitting every note on point. As Joel did the spoken word pieces, the crowd held onto every word, repeating it alongside him. Joel told one fan that he was finally really proud of their new album, stating that ”It finally sounds like us.” He also expressed being impressed by the Vegas scene, and reminded us how important it is to stick together as music fans.

Both bands thanked the local bands that played, which is not something that you always hear. Being As An Ocean thanked Keepsake especially, pointing out that they’re their favorite Las Vegas band, and to keep up the good work. Being As An Ocean will always be a must-see for me, and this night just solidified that even further.

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