1. In metal circles, Astronoid’s unique sound has become known as “dream thrash." It's a perfect moniker for the Lowell, Massachusetts, band's recorded material, but live, an even better descriptor might be “space shred.” The airiness of vocalist Brett Boland’s voice is transportive and leads perfectly into lead guitarist’s Casey Aylward’s solos, which dazzle to a different degree when played right in front of your face.
2. The first single off 2022 album Radiant Eyes provides the best example of Astronoid’s soaring, subtle metal, and Boland really means the first line, “I just feel so tired,” when he belts it out on this night. He shares later in the set that the band’s van was robbed earlier in the day, and thanks the late-arriving but decent-sized crowd for “bearing with us” after the group spent all day dealing with the aftermath. “We had a beautiful light show programmed for you,” Boland bemoans. But Astronoid was just fine without it. Let’s hope the band can return to town soon for more than a 30-minute support slot‚—and that its van gets left alone next time.
3. Cave In, the seminal Methuen, Masschusetts, post-hardcore/metal group, is doing its most extensive touring this year since the tragic 2018 death of bassist Caleb Scofield. Scofield’s replacement, longtime collaborator/Converge bassist Nate Newton, has spoken of honoring his late longtime friend and channeling Scofield’s energy through his own performances with Cave In. He succeeds on both accounts in Las Vegas. Placed center stage between founding members Stephen Brodsky and Adam McGrath, and right in front of original drummer John Robert-Conners, Newton in many ways drives the 75-minute set. He’s the lead vocalist on a number of songs and addresses the crowd as much as the often-chatty Brodsky.
4. Newton tells the crowd that the band is “extremely proud” of new album Heavy Pendulum, even though that probably could have gone without saying, given the conviction Cave In shows in playing through a large portion of the record. This is no greatest-hits set; the band focuses mostly on the new material, in order of its tracklisting, no less, with other songs from Cave In's catalog interspersed. The setup allows the range of Heavy Pendulum to come through, and gives a better understanding of how everything, from a sludgy stomper like “Blinded by a Blaze” to a meandering Led Zeppelin-esque epic like “Wavering Angel,” fits within the broader discography. Listening to Heavy Pendulum will be a lot more exciting going forward, after hearing most of it live.
5. Near the end of the set, Brodsky asks the audience for help in determining the last time Cave In played Las Vegas. The consensus seems to be 2002 with Converge and/or Between the Buried and Me at the Huntridge Theater. Newton notes that was way too long ago and declares this night “a lovely experience.” Let’s hope there’s not another 20-year wait between local Cave In shows.
