Taking my cue from Caleb

Caleb Shomo from Beartooth performing Saturday at the Schottenstein Center.

Saturday night, I experienced a one-of-a-kind rock show at the Schottenstein Center on Ohio State’s campus in Columbus.

Columbus-based band Beartooth was headlining an arena tour for the first time in its 12-year existence, along with supporting acts Dayseeker, Sleep Theory and Boundaries.

Being big fans, my friends and I had bought tickets for the show pretty much the first day they became available. I expected some great performances, but even I underestimated just how impressive the experience was going to be.

I knew Beartooth was popular in Columbus, but I wasn’t quite prepared for the overwhelming exuberance of the band’s fans. They were lined up all the way down Lane Avenue just to get into the arena and while I was interested in getting a T-shirt, the merchandise area had the longest line I’ve ever seen for any band at any show.

While stage crew was busy setting up drum kits and ensuring microphones and guitars were tuned and at the proper volume, music was played of some popular older songs by various bands in between sets. One of my favorite moments of the night was when Creed’s “One Last Breath” played over the loudspeakers. The crowd started quietly singing along to the verses, then everyone altogether belted out the chorus, “Hold me now, I’m 6 feet from the edge and I’m thinking …. maybe 6 feet, ain’t so far down!”

It was magical.

Being an arena show, there were thousands of assigned seats in the venue, but I like my music up close and personal so we had bought general admission tickets on the ground floor, where we could get up near the stage. That means dodging crowd surfers as well as watching out for the occasional impromptu mosh pit as rock fans proved their love of music by recklessly crashing into one another.

But in another magical moment, co-headliner Dayseeker slowed things down and covered the hit ballad “My Immortal” by Evanescence. When I looked over to the area where the mosh pitters were typically pounding each other to a pulp, people instead were slow dancing in circles.

It was surprisingly sweet.

When it came time for the main event, Beartooth pulled out all the stops. They opened with confetti cannons, pyrotechnics and lead singer Caleb Shomo even brought out a flamethrower at one point.

Shomo is extremely open about his struggles with mental illness, addiction and depression in interviews and in his songwriting. That’s what caused him to leave his initial band Attack Attack! in 2012 before forming Beartooth, which took his songwriting in a different creative direction.

Some of his lyrics that stand out to me include, “What’s the point of existence with this incurable sickness?” or “One life, one decision. Make sure it ends with you still living.” The phrase “One life, one decision” has become a motto of sorts and is used as a running theme of the band’s shows.

About three-fourths of the way through Beartooth’s set, Caleb left the stage and appeared in the back of the venue on the B stage to perform a pair of acoustic songs by himself. One of my friends was familiar with the band’s set lists, so he knew this was going to happen and we were prepared, bolting for the back of the venue in time to be right next to the B stage to the point where we could have reached out and touched Caleb if we really wanted to.

While I was excited to see him perform the songs up close and personal, what stood out to me most was when he pointed out his family who was in attendance for the show. Shomo’s wife and father were right behind him while he performed his acoustic songs and they reacted to the crowd chanting his name. They both had this incredible look of love and pride on their faces. I’m not sure if it was the inner journalist in me, but I was drawn to their experience and their feelings just as much as I was the live performance that was right in front of my face.

It also kind of hit me that Caleb Shomo expresses himself similarly to me. I might not experience the extremes of emotions that he has, but I write about whatever is on my mind each week, whatever is making me feel most strongly with this weekly column. It may not become a hit song, but I’ve had a few “classics” that the readers have particularly enjoyed, some columns that struck a chord with specific readers almost like a favorite song.

I think there’s something important about being vulnerable with writing. It helps the reader become more engaged and oftentimes, there is shared experience that can help people relate to one another more closely. I might not have been pushed to the edge quite like Caleb has, but I’ve experienced a wide variety of feelings with these weekly columns, from anger, shame, glee, celebration, disappointment and more often than not lately, a feeling of accomplishment.

Shomo’s work has been a bit more up tempo and positive lately as he’s become more successful, more grateful and he’s made some positive changes in his life. I’m hoping in 2025, I can take a page out of his book and celebrate my victories as well.