Images: Seahaven, Twin Cities, For You My Lady, I Am Vertical July 15, 2015 at Eagle Hall

Eagle Aerie Hall was packed with kids before the first band even started at last week’s Seahaven show, not surprising knowing their draw, along with the local love for Twin Cities.

The show kicked off with a band I was seeing for the first time, I Am Vertical. The locals’ alt rock flavor won over the Eagle Hall crowd, earning attention in a place that all too often finds music lovers distracted and talking over the band. My only complaint is that their stage presence was still firmly in the “uncomfortable” stage, but that’s sure to improve with more shows.

I Am Vertical was quickly followed by fellow local For You, My Lady, an indie/emo band that I caught for the first time earlier this year. They’re a pleasure to watch, and somehow pull the crowd’s attention while not being phased by the ensuing fanfare.

Between For You, My Lady’s final notes and the next set, the already full venue became a wall of fans. A passerby might assume the headliners were up, but it was time for local favorites Twin Cities. Frontman and Eagle Aerie sound guy Macario Guitierrez’s infectious voice pulls more and more fans each time, making them a Vegas staple and impressing me more each time they take the stage.

As nine o’clock rolled around, it was time for Torrance, CA’s Seahaven. Their set began with a dreamy sound check, pulling different instrumental parts from their junior album Reverie Lagoon: Music For Escapism Only. As with their last show here, songs from Reverie Lagoon didn’t go over exceptionally well. While more faces in the crowd sang along to the newer songs than last year, many fans still stood stagnant, except for “Sleep Alone” off of the Silhouette Skin 7″, which many fans were excited to hear. Reverie features dreamy tones, but misses some of what fans enjoy most from previous releases, the bursts of energy frontman Kyle Soto provides.

Their set had a calm and intimate feeling but fan favorites “Ghost,” and “Flesh” got the crowd moving. To add interest to one of their slowest songs, Seahaven played with the instrumentals on “Honeybee,“ which kept me engrossed through the entirety. Fans were treated to Ricardo Perez’s “Shaking Like A Leaf” excerpt through the speakers, just as the album has carries it, and though the band mentioned that their monitors had stopped working towards the end of the hour long set, it didn’t seem to phase them.

As Seahaven closed with the last notes of “Goodnight” from Winter Forever, followed by defending feedback, fans were left standing silently, enveloped in the moment.

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