Images: Polar Bear Club, Citizen, Diamond Youth, Sainthood Reps, TheCore. November 30, 2013 at the Eagle Aerie Hall

Polar Bear Club made Vegas a frequent stop in their early days, most notably playing the now-defunct Jillian’s on their first west coast tour for Sometimes Things Just Disappear in 2008 along with Broadway Calls, The Swellers and Crime in Stereo. Five years, two record labels and three more full lengths later, PBC finally headlined a show in our area again, this time atop a powerhouse bill featuring Citizen, Diamond Youth, Sainthood Reps and locals TheCore. and Amoride.

My day job often makes it impossible for me to get to these early shows on time so unfortunately, I had to miss Amoride. Surprisingly though, even getting there midway through TheCore.’s set, the makeshift dirt parking area was already packed as far down as the road went, something I haven’t seen since The Story So Far played the venue back in March. People just don’t show up to shows on time unless it’s that rare case of a band about to explode, which is definitely true of Michigan-based emo band Citizen. You could tell the crowd was ready to let loose but unfortunately it didn’t happen during TheCore. Outside of their cover of Bouncing Souls’ “True Believers,” crossed arms and blank stares made up most of the set, which is unfortunate since they put on such a great show. It was kind of nice seeing them play an all-ages show, but the age gap and style disparity probably contributed to the less than stellar crowd reaction.

Founded by Brand New touring guitarist Derrick Sherman, Long Island’s Sainthood Reps play a brand of moody, atmospheric emo and post-hardcore not that far removed from later day Brand New. Like Citizen, they have a healthy amount of grunge influence to their songs, with an angry, brooding feel, and they had a few people in the crowd singing along. Diamond Youth, on the other hand, had a much poppier, dancier way about them. If Sainthood Reps grew up idolizing the moody 90s alt sound of Nirvana and Sonic Youth, Diamond Youth fed off the Weezer-esq, fun side of things. Like Sainthood Reps, Diamond Youth boasts members from other bands including hardcore outfits Terror and Trapped Under Ice, which you would never guess listening to their bouncy tracks. I only saw a few people singing along and I actually heard a few complaints, but I dug them a lot and have been listening to their Orange LP ever since.

After Diamond Youth’s set, a piece of cardboard was slapped atop the merch area announcing the death of actor Paul Walker. Before anyone had time to check their smartphones and confirm the story, a fight broke out, apparently due to (gasp) someone getting bumped. The brawl turned bloody quickly, with members of TheCore. valiantly stepping in to get things back under control and promoter Patrick “Pulsar” Trout going far beyond his job description to wipe the blood off the floor.

Citizen played Vegas for the first time this past summer on the Warped Tour, but due to the random band order, ended up playing against pop punk powerhouses The Wonder Years and had only paltry attendance. So vocalist Mat Kerekes announced that he considered this show to be his band’s first in Nevada and then launched into Youth’s grunge-laden “Roam the Room.” If you haven’t heard Citizen yet, think of Daylight and Title Fight, that highly grunge-influenced style of emo and post hardcore that is like the child of The Pixies and Sunny Day Real Estate. At this point, wall to wall Citizen fans, who outnumbered those of the night’s headliner by quite a bit, bellowed forward onto the vocalist – a bittersweet moment showing him how much his band’s music means to them but also smashing him up against the symbols, leaving him to split his time between sharing the mic and dodging the drum sticks. The only chill moment was when they played a new song, the rest of the time the crowd of young fans were pushing, crawling and climbing over each other to sing along to tracks like “The Summer,” “The Night I Drove Alone” and “Drown.”

Citizen’s set was awesome but my excitement was definitely dulled when I turned to see the greater part of the crowd heading toward the doors after they played. I’m a huge fan of Polar Bear Club and their new album, Death Chorus, has grown on me immensely since its release last month. Jimmy Stadt has always been one of my favorite frontmen, being so full of energy, funny stories and a look of genuine love for what he’s doing. Years of singing with a Chuck Ragan-esq rasp has taken its toll on him, but his new, clean style of singing still sounds great and I was excited to hear Death Chorus opener “Blood Balloons,” a track that’s poppier than most past PBC material and a whole lot of fun to sing along to. Chasing Hamburg single “Living Saints” got by far the biggest reaction of any song in their set. It’s got such a great combination of infectious hooks and aggression, making it the perfect song to sing along with Stadt and crew, and everyone still in attendance did – with fists in the air for the refrain of “hey, heys.”

-Emily Matview

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

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