The Shapeshifter Tour: Part 2 Lands At The Portal At AREA15 On December 11th

All Photos By Rocky Kessenger/Through The Metal Lens

Some shows you attend for coverage.

Some you attend because the lineup makes sense.

And then there are nights like this where the music, the people you’re standing next to, and the bands onstage line up in a way that feels intentional.

This stop of The Shapeshifter Tour: Part 2 fell into that last category.

Memphis May Fire headlined a package built around emotional weight and modern metalcore’s evolving sound. But for us, this night carried extra gravity. Memphis May Fire is Trudy’s favorite band, and that shaped how we experienced the evening from how we listened to the openers to how every lyric in the headlining set landed. This review is co-authored for that reason. Two perspectives. One shared floor. One room moving together.

The Portal at AREA15 continues to prove itself as one of Las Vegas’ better rooms for this style of show. Tight sightlines controlled low end, and just enough space for pits to open without losing crowd density. By the time the doors settled and the lights dropped, the place was ready to be worked through band by band.

If Not For Me opened the night with the confidence of a band that knows exactly where they are in their trajectory.

Hailing from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the band has been steadily carving out space in the melodic metalcore world, blending emotional lyricism with breakdowns that don’t feel bolted on for effect. That balance was obvious immediately. From the first song, there were head nods across the front rows especially from people who clearly knew the material already.

This wasn’t background noise. There wasn’t much talking around us. People were watching. Listening.

During “Stand,” the crowd felt measured, almost respectful. When “Move” hit, bodies started to respond. Song three pulled the energy down briefly just enough to reset then snapped the room right back up, keeping momentum intact rather than letting it stall.

Lighting came mostly from above, leaving some dead space visually, but the performance carried the weight. “Say It to My Face” became the turning point. The crowd woke up more fully, and the band leaned into that response, engaging more directly and feeding off the room.

When they mentioned it was their first time playing Las Vegas, the reaction was genuine. No canned speech. Just appreciation. That energy peaked during “Blameless,” which landed with repeated, heavy finishes the crowd clearly wanted. It was loud. It was earned.

For an opening slot, this was exactly what was needed; to be disciplined, emotional, and forward moving. If Not For Me didn’t try to steal the night. They built the foundation.

Nevertel wasted no time shifting the temperature in the room.

Formed in Tampa, Florida, the band has built its reputation on genre fusion metalcore structures layered with hip-hop cadences, electronic drops, and modern rock hooks. That blend filled The Portal quickly.

They came out one by one, letting the intro breathe before everything locked in. The drums and guitar hit first, driving the room forward. By the end of the opening song, the crowd was already doing the wave. That momentum carried straight into “Break the Silence,” where the band encouraged participation and got it immediately.

Song three was the heaviest moment of the night so far. That’s when the first circle pit opened. Clean. Controlled. No chaos; just movement.

The Raul was impossible to miss. Constant motion. No standing still. Clearly the spark that kept the crowd engaged physically. The pit grew. The beats stayed heavy. The drums were relentless.

Nevertel didn’t spend much time talking between songs short commands to move, to jump, to push the energy but the connection still landed. They worked the stage intentionally; moving corner to corner, making eye contact. Someone next to us commented that it felt like they were singing to people, not just at them.

“Icon” didn’t make the set, but the crowd didn’t disengage. Flashlights came out for “Some Things.” When Raul grabbed his guitar, the energy jumped again. “Criminal” closed the set with the entire room bouncing.

This was a set built on motion. And it worked.

Rain City Drive brought a different kind of weight to the emotional center of the night.

Formed in Florida and fronted by Matt McAndrew, the band bridges post-hardcore, alternative rock, and modern pop sensibilities without losing edge. That balance translated well live.

Their instrumental intro set the tone immediately. Heavy energy from the start. The second song brought bold, colorful lighting that filled the space more completely than earlier sets. The crowd settled into a groove that felt unified rather than reactive.

Rain City Drive consistently checked in pulling people into sing-along moments, hands up, bouncing in place. By this point, the venue was nearly full, and you could feel the difference in how the sound carried.

A new song slowed the room slightly. People listened more than they moved at first, like they were feeling it out. But when the chorus hit, the hesitation disappeared. The following song erased any doubt the entire crowd had joined us, and suddenly the whole place felt like it was breathing together.

This was connection through melody rather than force. And it landed.

Memphis May Fire

By the time Memphis May Fire took the stage, the room was ready and so were we. After finishing my shooting run, I put the cameras away and came back to the floor. The rest of the set wasn’t about coverage. It was about standing next to Trudy, helping her catch notes when I could, even though she was far too busy singing along to slow down for them. This is her favorite band, and watching that joy up close changed how the set landed for me.

Memphis May Fire came out with full control of the room. Side monitors lit up and stayed active throughout the show, reinforcing every moment visually without overpowering the performance. Songs from the new album carried more weight live, building with each track and filling the space in a way that felt intentional rather than overproduced.

Before “Misery,” Matty Mullins paused and told the crowd, “I wrote this song to remind you to never ever stop believing.” It wasn’t a throwaway line. Standing there next to Trudy, it hit exactly the way it was meant to. That message belief, resilience, forward motionhas always been part of what gives this band its staying power.

Matty worked the crowd constantly; fully present and fully invested. Kellen McGregor spent much of the set right in front of us, dropping picks while playing, clearly hoping they’d find their way into the crowd. One did thanks to security grabbing it and passing it over to me. Later, during the encore, I caught a drumstick from Jake Garland and handed it straight to Trudy. The reaction you would have thought I’d just given her a signed poster or something priceless. That moment alone made the night.

But one of the most meaningful moments didn’t involve us at all.

All night, there was a female security guard posted just above us, eyes locked on the pit, doing exactly what she was there to do, watching for anyone who needed help. Earlier in the night she mentioned she couldn’t take pictures because she was working, but that didn’t stop her from quietly singing along now and then. It was obvious she loved this band.

At one point, her supervisor came by to check on the security team. He noticed a guitar pick on the ground, picked it up, looked at her, and without making a show of it, walked over and handed it to her. No announcement. No moment for attention. Just a small act of awareness.

As someone who leads people for a living, that stuck with me. Seeing a leader recognize what mattered to someone on their team and take a moment to make their night better that did something to this old ass heart.

Memphis May Fire closed the night with a three-song encore, and there was no drop in energy. Heads were still rocking. The room was still loud. “Blood & Water” hit exactly the way it needed to tight, heavy, and emotional.

For Trudy, it was everything she hoped this night would be.

For me, it was a reminder that while the music brings us into these rooms, it’s the human moments that make us carry them with us when the lights come up.

IF NOT FOR ME

NEVERTEL

RAIN CITY DRIVE

MEMPHIS MAY FIRE