Las Vegas local favorites The Nocturnal Affair, comprised of Brendan Shane (vocals), Andy Ingraham (guitar), Dru Lappin (guitar), Michael James (bass), and Raistlin “RJ” Hamman (drums) have just wrapped up their tour with the Helsinki vampires, The 69 Eyes and MXMS.
At the beginning of May, the band returned home to one of Vegas’ best venues, Count’s Vamp’d, as a stop on their tour and more than proved that you don’t have to be an Imagine Dragons or a version of The Killers to make it out of our neon dust bowl.
It seemed like all of Las Vegas had come out to support these guys. For me, who has not only been a fan of the music, but a friend of the guys for a number of years, it was amazing to see the progression of their success. It made it a little bit difficult to photograph because I wanted to soak in everything that was going on in the venue, but I didn’t want to lose the moments that could be captured with my Canon.
The Nocturnal Affair were greeted by the crowd with screams of adoration and excitement as they broke into their first track of the night.
Among the mess of hair from both guitarists and the bassist, vocalist Brendan Shane hid under a short sleeved hoodie. His voice is powerful, dark, and ominous. It pulls you in and you don’t know whether to dance, stand with your mouth open in awe, or cry. Toss him behind the keyboard, and you have a double threat of a musician.
Guitarists Andy Ingraham and Dru Lappin are a force that you shouldn’t even bother wreckoning with, because you’re going to fucking lose. Watching these two is just about as entertaining as watching Adrian Smith and Dave Murray (if you don’t know who those are, shame on you, and also burn the t-shirt you probably have hanging in your closet because you don’t deserve it). The two play off of each other’s harmonies like a dance. Granted, a dance similar to moshing, but dancing regardless.
Holding down the rhythm section, RJ Hamman and Michael James are just as entertaining to watch as they are to hear. The heavy hitting drums and the deep basslines make you move, and at this show, they were so heavy in the mix that you could literally feel them redirecting your heartbeat. Hamman is like a mini version of Tommy Lee behind the kit, twirling his sticks and making faces out at the crowd, while never missing a beat. Then there’s James who is basically Thor with a bass instead of Mjolnir (the hammer).
Playing songs of theirs such as “Just Run” and “Quiver”, the set was punch after punch of high energy and spookiness, but it was the band’s cover of “Terrible Lie” by Nine Inch Nails that took the cake for me. Towards the end of their set the band invited a couple of fellow tour buddies on stage to help sing along with the vocals during the chorus, and it was just one fun party. Fans from the crowd took this time as an opportunity to adorn the band with red roses, which I am sure was a welcome home that the guys did not expect.
The Nocturnal Affair may have just finished up their tour, but I am sure this isn’t the last you will be seeing of them. Find them on Facebook, follow them on Instagram, but most importantly, if you have a local band in your area, support them. It’s support that has helped fueled the success that The Nocturnal Affair is having, and we all want to see more of it.
PHOTO CREDIT: All photos by Stephy Hayward for ©ZRockR Magazine, All Rights Reserved.
how do win the guitar