Words and Photos by Desirea Corbett
Ohio-based Caleb Shomo proved that he could command a crowd on Tuesday night when his band Beartooth opened for Bad Omens at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Rather than an ordinary opening act, Beartooth could have easily been the main attraction, judging by their confidence on the stage.
From the very beginning, Shomo walked with swagger through a thick red haze right to the front of the stage. He immediately launched into the band’s first song “Might Love Myself” amid the roar of the audience. He stopped after the first verse to scream, “If your feeling good say Fuck yeah, say Hell yeah! Have the best night of your fucking lives! We are Beartooth and we love you.” It was pretty clear from the crowd’s reaction that the feeling was mutual. There was a group at the front of the barricade throwing their hair back and forth while singing along to every word. The back of the crowd had a circle pit and of course many people crowd surfing across the entirety of the GA pit. In all seriousness, the distance traveled by these crowd surfers was impressive.
Beartooth went on to play “In Between,” from the album Disgusting, and then “Doubt Me” from their 2023 album Surface. A few songs later, just before they performed “Lines,” Caleb pointed and shouted into the audience, “Are you having a good time in the fucking pit? Prove it! Right Fucking now, prove it! Jump! Jump! Everybody fucking jump!” The crowd instantly complied and the pit began pulsating, echoing Caleb’s jumps on the stage.
Then, Shomo went off the stage and came back a few moments later to sing Beartooth’s newly released song, “Free.” At this point, he had freed himself from his shirt and unleashed the lion- a full-torso tattoo of a lions head. The new song perfectly showcases Caleb’s incredible vocal range, transitioning from beautiful falsetto notes to guttural screams. It was clear that this was already a favorite as many of the fans were singing along.
Another highlight came just as they started playing “You Never Know” when Caleb told the crowd, “We’re just here to warm you up but I don’t give a fuck. I want you covered in sweat.” As he said this, you could see a girl surfing across the crowd with colorful LED lights blinking all over her shoes and shirt. This was hadly opening band energy. Caleb mastered the room, constantly engaging the audience, making the crowd put their hands up in the air and making sure the entire stadium was feeling the energy.
After closing Beartooth’s set with “Riptide” from their 2023 album Surface, Caleb took a moment at the tip of the stage with the spotlight shining on him and smoke billowing around him to sweep his hands up to the sky. Like an orchestra conductor he urged the audience to get silent and then scream in unison. It was an ethereal moment that proved Beartooth is on their way to even greater success — if the roar of the crowd was any indication, that future may arrive sooner rather than later.
Loudspeaker Collective 