On September 6, 2024, Polaris performed on their North America tour at The Senate in Columbia, SC, with special guests Nerv, Thousand Below, and Blessthefall! This show was one of the most toxic shows I've been to, with a security guard trying to intimidate me in the photo pit when the mistake was on him not being safe himself. Everyone at the barricade told me that he was being a "hater" all night and throwing crowd surfers which is not okay because they rely on the security guards to safely get them over the barricade. The bands did amazing, the security guards need to do better.
Opening the show was Nerv! I've seen Nerv perform several times and every time I see them, they never disappoint. I recently photographed this band while they were on tour with Asking Alexandria, The Word Alive, and Memphis May Fire. Nerv consists of Dillon Jones (Vocals), Scott Buchanan (Guitar), Tyler Clark (Drums), and Jordan Grokett (Guitar). The set was very dark, so it was hard to get a lot of photos, but their performance was phenomenal. They performed songs such as "Low," "Bad Nature," and "Fake" which are all my favorites! Throughout their set, I was standing in the crowd near my friend Hailey and she was singing her heart out to the songs at the barricade. I love seeing my friends at shows having the time of their lives. Every time I see this band, I always focus on Tyler because he's a very talented drummer and he's ALWAYS smiling! I can't wait to see what else this band does in 2025!
Keep Up With Nerv Online: Website / Instagram / Facebook
Next up was Thousand Below! I've been a fan of Thousand Below since 2017 when they released the album "The Love You Let Too Close" with my favorite songs being "Sinking Me," "Sleepless," and "Follow Me Home." I also love the song "171 xo" from the album "Gone In Your Wake" that was released in 2019!
James Deberg (Vocals) was so hypnotizing throughout their whole performance because I didn't know a man can sound like that. His vocals were so captivating and every song that was performed made me want their set to be longer and longer. Thousand Below formed in 2016 in San Diego, California also consisting of Josh Thomas (Guitar/Back Vocals), Josh Billimoria (Bass), and Max Santoro (Drums). The band performed songs such as "Shake," "Silent Season," and, my favorite, "Tradition" As I was walking through the crowd, I saw this man in a powerchair and he told me that he wished he could mosh again, but due to a recent spinal cord injury, he has to watch the show from the corner. I told him at least he is here still having the time of his life and that one day after recovery he can go right back into moshing! He told me "Thousand Below has been my favorite for so long and I wish I could crowd surf to them. One day!"
Blessthefall was next and I fangirled so hard because I've been listening to this band since 2007 when "His Last Walk" was released. I saw them last year I believe when they did their headlining tour with Caskets and Kingdom of Giants. I drove seven hours to Baltimore, Maryland, to just to see them perform. I forgot the last time I saw this band perform and I know it was at Vans Warped Tour. This band made my teenage years so much better and this is when music was at its prime. Especially with other bands such as Suicide Silence, Attack Attack!, The Amity Affliction, Miss May I, and so many more.
This band was on my bucket list to photograph and now I can officially add them to my portfolio! They had the best performance of the whole night and Beau is insanely talented even after all these years. Last night felt like Vans Warped Tour all over again. He engages so much with the crowd with standing at the barricade and giving everyone high fives and he stopped during song changes to talk to the younger audience which one of them were 5-8 years old and the other was 11. And you can see the excitement the band had to see these young kids at their first show basically. The band performed songs such as "Wake The Dead," "Hollow Bodies," "DRAG ME UNDER," and ending with "Hey Baby, Here's That Song You Wanted"
It was time for Polaris and I was not expecting how crazy their performance was! From beginning to end, their performance was filled with explosive energy, besides the fact that a security guard tried fighting me in the photo pit because he FELL on me, the set was amazing! It was really sad to see how attendees at the barricade during their set were being intimidated by this security guard and you can sense the guy didn't want to be there, so he was taking his anger out on everyone. This security guard left a sour taste in my mouth because no MAN will ever try to intimidate me when I was following the rules and he just wanted to take his anger out on those around him. If you don't like the job of being a security guard and handling crowd surfers; Don't do it! You easily hurt someone by being very rough and aggressive. This venue needs to do better.
Due to that incident it was hard to move around the photo pit for photos to prevent anymore agitation from the aggressive security guard. Once I left the photo pit, I automatically went into the mosh pit and I am so glad a dude saw that I was struggling and helped me get through the pit safely! He watched over me for a few minutes so I could take some crowd shots! Forever grateful for him! The band performed songs such as "Hypermania," "Overflow," and "All In Vain." The vocalist stated to the crowd, "I need to see more crowd surfers! COME ON UP!" And when he said that, I saw at least four crowd surfers at once go in the air! I haven't listened to this band that much, but after this live performance, I knew I had to add them to my playlist!
This show was one for the books! I got to finally photograph a bucket list band and besides the awful encounter with the security guard, my night was made! Plus, I photographed alongside two of my friends and made a new friend that night! This is what shows are all about. Making friends while doing something you love and enjoy!
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