Images: Seahaven, Characters, Twin Cities, Off Trends July 13, 2014 Eagle Aerie Hall

Seahaven returned to Vegas on July 13, headlining a show packed with locals. Off Trends was up first, and having missed them when they opened for Second to Last back in February, it was nice to finally see the relatively new Vegas band perform live. They played a new song off of their debut EP Close to Home, which drops this Friday. They already have a decent stage presence, which I’m sure will develop into something really great over time.

Next up was Twin Cities, with frontman Macario Gutierrez seamlessly working double duty as sound man and musician. It was a treat to see them perform two new untitled songs, which kept things interesting and made me excited to see what’s next from these guys. They had Nick Strater of Alaska fill in on drums again, who works so well within the three piece, I hope to one day see him as a permanent member. Several fans sang along to every older song, and it’s great to see their hard work recognized, because Twin Cities is easily one of my favorite local bands.

Pop punk trio Characters was playing direct support this time, and if you somehow haven’t caught these guys (if that’s even possible), you better soon! 2/3 of the members will be going away to college this fall, but not before their long-awaited full length is released. They played a math rock-influenced interlude that I’ve come to really enjoy after hearing it when they opened for Man Overboard, and they brought the same high energy I see at all of their shows.

Technical difficulties delayed Seahaven’s start. As Macario worked with frontman Kyle Soto to fix gear issues, the band’s crew member/merch guy entertained the anxious crowd with some stand-up comedy. Many jokes received more groans than laughs, and even some heckling. Luckily the issues were a minor setback, only forcing the band to cut one song, “Love to Burn” off of their junior album Reverie Lagoon: Music For Escapism Only, which of course is a bummer.

I haven’t gotten too excited about any recent shows, but having missed Seahaven when they came through on the 2012 Sticks and Stones 10 year tour with New Found Glory, and with the excitement over their new record, I couldn’t wait to see them. While Reverie Lagoon is such a departure from their past works, it’s so infectious; I can’t help but keep it on repeat during my commute. This band isn’t necessarily consistent in their sound, but they’re consistently putting out records that keep me coming back for more. Their instrumental intro was the perfect way to ease into opening track “Goodnight” off of their 2011 sophomore album Winter Forever.

The set bounced between tracks off of Reverie Lagoon and Winter Forever with “Plague” from their debut album Ghost thrown in for a good measure. Fans went crazy for all of the old tracks, and “Silhouette (Latin Skin)” and “Sleep Alone” off of the new 7”, but remained surprisingly silent through other tracks off of Reverie Lagoon. I’ve spoken to many that are as much of a fan of the newest release as I am, so it was unexpected to see so many fans not receiving the album as well as I had hoped. At one point Soto called out fans in the front for their excessive use of flash, taking a photo of them reminding them that “it’s fucking bright, isn’t it?” and posting the photo on twitter later that night.

As “It’s Over” faded out, Soto began ripping every string from his guitar, one by one, and turned all of the knobs up, leaving no question that they weren’t going to encore with fan favorite “Honeybee.” The crowd stood in silence at the abrupt end to the evening, and I’m just hoping that whatever particular issue Soto was having that night, they still make room for Vegas on their next tour.

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