13th Annual Punk Rock Bowling Tournament in Las Vegas for 2011

Welcome to the home for coverage of Punk Rock Bowling 2011

Punk Rock Bowling 2011 will take place in Las Vegas on May 26, May 27, May 28, May 29
Just like last year, this will be the place to go on the web for all the coverage of Punk Rock Bowling 2011 as it is happening. Be on the look out for video and photos as well as updates through out the days of the event via the Big Wheel Facebook and Twitter.



Bookmark  www.bigwheelmagazine.com/punkrockbowling  NOW so that you will be ready for all the details on this years Punk Rock Bowling leading up to the event as well as when the event is unfolding in real time.

Here is some of the coverage from Punk Rock Bowling 2010
On Sunday the semi final came down to The Gutter Sharks vs The Pin Ladens and Hookers & Blow vs Northeast Records. After a brutal back and forth fight, the championship round would see The Pin Ladens squaring off against Northeast Records. This was a seriously great match with the score bouncing back and fourth, drama, posturing and psyching out -This was anyone's game. As the final pins were falling, The Pin Ladens, headed up by Fat Mike of NOFX was ruled the victors of the 2010 Punk Rock Bowling Tournament with an 844 and Northeast Records finishing with an 801.
               *** NEW photo gallery of the final rounds added  HERE ***       NEW videos added below
Final standings of the top 10 teams:
1.  The Pin Ladens - 844  /  2.  Northeast Records - 801  /  3.  Hookers and Blow - 722
4.  Gutter Sharks - 678  /  5.  Hell's Kitchen - 734  /  6.  Nuts Bags - 718
7.  The Irregulars - 676  /  8.  Team Collision - 593  /  9.  I Just Got Here - 728  /  10. My Spare - 722

(Photo: Winners of the 2010 Punk Rock Bowling Tournament)
 

Our coverage of the 2010 Punk Rock Bowling event is in no way over, this is just a small taste.
Tons of coverage coming with over 7000 photos to go through and hours of video, check back for more.

Punk Rock Bowling 2010 – Day 3 – Las Vegas, NV - May 9, 2010

As Sunday dawned on Las Vegas, several people woke up lost inside the Sunset Station Hotel, others woke up confused, and a few lucky ones were able to greet the morning safely and comfortably in their hotel room, having made it back into their rooms successfully the night before. The last day of Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival had finally arrived and would ultimately end the event’s 3 day run, and name the 2010 Punk Rock Bowling winning team. The final day maintained Read more

Punk Rock Bowling 2010 – Day 2 – Las Vegas, NV - May 8, 2010

Saturday morning began like any other day in Las Vegas: people playing the slot machines, drunks trying to make it in one piece to their hotel rooms, and hungover individuals waking up and asking themselves, "What happened last night?" What made this Saturday different from other typical Saturdays in Las Vegas though, was that the first day of the Punk Rock Bowling tournaments would finally commence and take place the entire day. Read more

• Punk Rock Bowling 2010 – Revival Tour – at Sunset Station – Las Vegas, NV
  

Punk Rock Bowling 2010 – Day 1 – Las Vegas, NV - May 7, 2010

Las Vegas, Nevada is a region infamous for casinos, gambling, strip clubs, showgirls, and many other activities and events which are not typically found or encountered in your hometown. This weekend Las Vegas was home to an annual event that combines both bowling and Punk rock: an event perfectly named Punk Rock Bowling. Presented by BYO Records, the 12th annual affair takes place this weekend in fabulous Las Vegas Read more

You can check out a few of the photos HERE till they are all loaded.


We do recognize that there are some sound issues and video quality challenges at times with all of the videos. We are using some older equipment that has seemed to just stopped working consistently while our film team was covering the bowling event -we do the best we can with what we have. Perhaps if you have access to more up to date video cameras and equipment that you would like to donate or you may be a Punk that has enjoyed some success in life and want to help us out, touch base with us HERE.

Find all the reports you missed HERE

• 2010 Punk Rock Bowling – Video Report – DRI  *
  
• 2010 Punk Rock Bowling – Scores – Bowling action with Nut Bagz
  
• 2010 Punk Rock Bowling – Video Report – Flogging Molly
  
• 2010 Punk Rock Bowling – Report 4 – The Bowling
  
• Punk Rock Bowling 2010 – Revival Tour – at Sunset Station – Las Vegas, NV
• 2010 Punk Rock Bowling – Report 3 – Fucked Up – NOFX
• 2010 Punk Rock Bowling – Video Report – NOFX from the backstage
  
• 2010 Punk Rock Bowling – Report 2 – Youth Brigade
• 2010 Punk Rock Bowling – Report 1 – The Start
• Punk Rock Bowling 2010 – Drive out to Las Vegas

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International Pillow Fight Day 2010 – at Pershing Square – Los Angeles, CA

While part of the population was out Saturday at the Apple store to get their new iPad, the other half were on their way to downtown LA for some fun with friends and total strangers. This was the International Pillow Fight day that takes place every year all over the world where this loosely organized event is staged in cities all over the globe. The people at NewMindSpace who inspired this and other like event are all about using the urban landscape as a playground. Getting there early and scooping out things around downtown LA it was hard to tell that anything was about to go down at Pershing Square with the mix of people cruising around. After all, people walking around in a costume carrying a pillow or even a group of three people with pillows is not that abnormal for downtown.

Even with 15 minutes to go before the official start at 3pm there were not too many people there yet, but every 5 minutes more and more people started to fill Pershing Square. Now with 5 minutes to go, our photographer was fully embedded in the midst of the crowd that had seemingly swelled in just 10 minutes to what could be estimated at 600+ people.

From looking around it was pretty clear that there was no one really in charge, if there was no one could really tell. As the minutes clicked down to 3 o’clock sharp the anticipation could be felt in the air as people were stretching their arms, making sure that their glasses and other loose items were secured in their pockets and some were positioning themselves to beat the day lights out of certain people that only a pillow could deliver. This years event was certainly a lot larger than last years event and the pillow fight was moved to the grass instead of by the fountain as before.

Then at 3 a loud yell went out and the pillow fight was on!

After the first 10 minutes of relentless mayhem group pillow fighting like a scene out of the movie Braveheart, a bunch of one on one pillow fights broke out all over. Some of the pillow fighting also saw gangs of pillow fighters targeting certain people all in the name of fun.

Random people throughout the crowd were fighting with couch cushions that in all likelihood were liberated off couches along the streets of downtown. 30 minutes into the event the fighting was still continuing and the grassy area of Pershing Square was now full covered with pillow feathers. The feathers were flying everywhere all over the square, so much so that it looked snow.

Being right in the middle of this if was impossible to not inhale the feathers and stuffing that consumed the air. With many pillows now beaten to a pulp many of the participants started to refill their empty pillow cases with the feathers that covered the ground so they could get back into the fray.

Part of the fun was just seeing the reaction of passersbys that stumbled on to the hundreds of people pillow fighting that from a far may have look more ominous. On closer examination they could see that this was an old fashioned adolescent pillow fight that was taken out of the bedroom and put into a public space. During the event there really was no police presence to speak of, or really needed, only 2 cops could be seen at the far end of the park who very unconcerned about the overall event.

After about an hour things started to die down and the crowd that assembled for the 2010 Pillow Fight were slow dispersing to local bars, eaterys, the metro and the surrounding parking lots. A handful of participants stayed behind to help clean up all the feathers which is quite a big task, so props to them for being stand out people for helping return the space to it's former state.

Stay in touch with theses websites on going out to next years pillow fight no matter where you are in the world.  www.pillowfightday.com   www.newmindspace.com   www.pillowfightlosangeles.com


The over 90 photos in the gallery tell the story better than words, so go check them all out HERE

 

Alex Chilton – In Memoriam

I’m going to keep this short. A corpse doesn’t value words – he doesn’t need ‘em. But we, the living, have gotta say something. Alex Chilton, at 59 years, is dead. And at this point, I’m not even sure what that means. I’ve spent a lifetime falling in and out of love to the sound of his voice, as so many weird souls and weary rock refugees have. But I’m not going to pretend that I know what his death means.

It’s not the end of an era – because no era could contain what he did. He was the white boy with the voice of a Motown crooner in The Box Tops. He was the man who, with the help of Jody Stephens and Chris Bell, essentially invented what we now call power pop. He was the voice that whimpered “Thirteen” and the animal that snarled “Rock Hard”.  He was insane, he was sublime, he was beautiful, and he was bigger than a time stamp or a record. So we can’t say the day is done.

It’s not the beginning of a legend – because the substance of Chilton’s work is too heartfelt and personal to be something called a legend. Legends have big dicks and bigger egos. Chilton was just the man with the guitar and the strange, nonchalant voice. He was the man whose perfectly chosen notes outdid Paul Westerberg and Freedy Johnston in a Twin Cities basement – and that’s lore straight from my old man. He was the dour, shy guy from Live in London, bashfully announcing a little song called “The Letter”. He wasn’t a legend, he was more than that. He was a real human being.

And it’s not a massive passing like Strummer’s or Cash’s or whatever. I’ve been pouring my heart out in bars for the past couple days to punk rockers and others of all stripes, and they look at me blankly when I say the name. You won’t see kids with “R.I.P. Alex Chilton” as their Facebook status. Maybe a couple ‘Mats fans remember the name from Pleased to Meet Me. Maybe. Old hands and the young minds they molded have a bit of Chilton tattooed on their brains, but there ain’t gonna be no fanfare. So don’t look for it.

So like I said, I don’t know what this means. I don’t know why he died at a relatively young age. I don’t know what “our generation” has to learn from Alex Chilton, other than how to write a song. I don’t know shit about rock n’ roll and I don’t think he would claim to know a damn thing either. What I do know is that I’m listening to “Hey, Little Child” and I’m crying. Because I’m running out of heroes.

That’s all I’ve got. God bless a good man.


-Lou W
Big Wheel Contributor

 

 

 

 

 

Big Wheel Magazine Top 9 Records of 2009

2009 is coming to a close, so now, the time has come for us to present Big Wheel Magazine's Top 9 Albums of 2009. Why 9? Why not! Alot of input from you the visitors as well as our staff went into the assembling this list.

The list is made up of albums that were released throughout 2009 and there were a lot of excellent records that were released this year. So without any further stalling for time...in no particular order...Big Wheel Magazine's Top 9 Albums of 2009!

 

Dark Ages - Vicious Lie

Dark Ages are the rare kind of band who will get attention for their passion alone. They may not be the most polished band around and the music that they play is pretty straight forward hardcore punk rock without too many curve balls thrown, but this band is pissed off and just listening to them will make your blood boil too. "Vicious Lie" harks back to early political hardcore bands like M.D.C. and Corrosion of Conformity, with songs railing against Fundamentalist Christians like "Forced Reality," "No Escape," and "What Do You Believe?" Other songs take on themes of destruction like "Radioactive States Of America" and "Release On 95A." All in all these are six songs of anger played at lightning speed with an intensity that is unmatched by Dark Ages' peers.  www.myspace.com/darkageskc

 

 
Government Warning - Paranoid Mess

Government Warning has done it again! What I can always depend on these guys to deliver is a well rounded hardcore record. As a fan of hardcore and punk rock I always like to listen to a band who can switch it up a bit and not just blast through a set or record of songs. “Paranoid Mess” has some real gems nestled within this record, and though these guys are from Richmond, VA, I hear a lot of west coast punk influences in their songs. Its difficult for me to choose which songs are the best ones on this album, perhaps because they are all building blocks that amount to a well defined and colorful album. “Urban Warfield”, “Paranoid Mess”, “Blurred Yellow Line” and “Enough is Enough” are four great examples of the great musicianship and talent that this band posses. Listening to these guys, it is hard to imagine them ever producing anything less than a phenomenal record.  www.myspace.com/governmentwarningrva

 

NOFX - Coaster

NOFX marked the band's 25th anniversary earlier this year, and shortly after, released their 11th full-length studio album, Coaster. Coaster is a significant release of 2009 for various reasons, but the most important being the musical direction NOFX took for the album. The album stays true to its punk rock roots by maintaining fast paced anthems like "We Called it America", but intermingles that sound with melodic and intricate structures that augments the force and nature of each song. Lyrically and musically, NOFX delivers thematic concerns they're familiar with conveying: politics, religion, lesbians, and alcohol. Yet with a fierce and changing sound that Coaster has introduced us to, NOFX manages to re-introduce to us these topics as if we've never experienced them before, or at least experienced it THEIR way. The artwork for Coaster is as explicit as its lyrics, demonstrating compact discs being used as coasters for alcoholic drinks, ultimately making a reference to the direction music is taking and what it has truly become. NOFX's Coaster is complex, humorous, challenging to all opinions, and an album that will astound your musical senses. Coaster marks a high point for their 25 year legacy.  www.myspace.com/nofx

 

Cat Party - S/T LP

If you were a Big Wheel reader around this time last year you may recall that Cat Party was on this list last year also. No, we didn’t get lazy and just pull a band from last years list, this Southern California band really did make this list two years in a row! We actually wrestled with ourselves and debated about weather it was legit to have a band make this list two years in a row. Well, a baseball team can win the world series two years in a row, Clark Gable was in academy award winning movies two years in a row in 1934 and 1935, so if a band deliverers an exceptional record why shouldn’t they have the honor of making a best record list two years in a row. Cat Party has delivered and what an exceptional album it is. Released by Flat Black Records, Cat Party’s new record picked up where their 7 inch hinted they were going. With songs like “Tar and Feathers”, “Further into the Ordinary” and “Product of the Eighties”, Cat Party is going to have their own large shoes for their next album. With the release of this, their first full length album, Cat Party has left an indelible mark on the music scene.  www.myspace.com/birdsofpreymusic

 

Art Brut - Art Brut vs. Satan

This UK based band's new album that was released in April titled, "Art Brut vs Satan" contains 18 tracks that will be like no record you have heard before. What is so unique about this album and band in general is that the music is so catchy and at the same time it can't really be described or fully compared to something else, which is the attraction that is Art Brut. The song "The Replacements" is a truly genius about how the character in the song just discovered The Replacements and how great they are and then wondering if they are for real. This record is very playful and quirky with lyrics that are sung / spoken. Throughout the record you may think you hear an influence of this or that here and there and then as you continue to listen you find those assumptions going out the window. This is a record that can be played over and over -forever.  myspace.com/artbrut

 

Cobra Skulls - American Rubicon

It's hard to classify the Cobra Skulls as anything other than "awesome". These hard working boys from Reno have played with everyone from The Briggs to Anti Nowhere League, and their music is definitely punk, but shows influences of pretty much everything. The end result is the sort of infectious punk rock that goes straight to your brain stem, and twists your insides until you dance, fists in the air. This summer The Cobra Skulls released their highly anticipated new album "American Rubicon" which is packed with anthemic songs about the war, drinking, population control, and riding the bus. Throughout it all they never lose their sense of humour, and these are the songs that get you out of bed in the morning to flip on the record player.   www.myspace.com/cobraskulls

 

Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand

The Black Lips established a sound-sloppy, quick and dirty, punk-inspired garage rock - that they have never really deviated from. 200 Million Thousand is a lot snottier than ever and people dug it! Dirty guitars and howling vocals that are less concerned with being in tune than just being heard. It's this aesthetic that is carried through the album as a whole which in our opinion made this one of the tops of the year.  www.myspace.com/theblacklips

 

Sonic Youth - The Eternal

Sonic Youth has been pumping out albums for almost 30 years, but 2009 brought us another great album “The Eternal”. This disc, their first on The Matador label, could be one of their most complete works to date. It seems as if they have finally harnessed the noise rock sounds they created in the 80’s. The album plays out in many different ways making a something for everyone thing. There are the under 3 minute songs like Scared Trickster, a Kim Gordon vocal with a just over the top noise solo to prepare you for the rest of the album, or Thunderclap which goes from a lo/fi garage punk into the pangy guitar mutes SY is known for, are perfect bursts of what the group can do. The album ends with an almost 10 minute track Massage the History, which starts off as a slow dreamy journey, complete with acoustics and the airy vocals of Kim and Thurston. Even if you have had doubts on SY in the past, maybe because they were too nosy or it just was too weird for you, I promise there is something in this album you will like. I recommend sticking on headphones, turning off the lights, partaking in your sin of choice, and then closing your eyes.  www.myspace.com/sonicyouth
 

Fallujah 71  -  Waiting on World War III

This record falls under the category of how did the record labels out there screw up and not sign this band? A young band of 3 kids out of Los Angeles called Fallujah 71 gave those that love the 80's Punk vibe a release that really stood out. Their debut release "Waiting on World War III" quickly caught the ear of seasoned Punks, while at the same time building a strong audience of current generation Punks who were eager to get behind this band in a big way. The guitar work and overall production on this record is very good while still keeping the sound credible. Since their release in early 2009, Fallujah 71 has kept steamrolling the scene all over southern California.   www.myspace.com/fallujah71

Bad Reaction farewell gig with Gestapo Khazi – Gross Negligence – Knives – No Spectators – Unity Church Basement – Long Beach, CA – December 12, 2009

It was a rain filled night in Long Beach for Bad Reaction's last show at the Unity Church with No Spectators, Time Bombs, Knives, Gross Negligence, and Gestapo Khazi. With traffic from the rain on the way out to Long Beach it seemed like I was going to miss No Spectators, but upon getting there I saw that they didn't start yet and were still bringing in drums and such.

 

 

So starting a little late is No Spectators first up. Ditch started out by saying when he got to Southern California the two bands that really got his attention we Tippers Gore and Bad Reaction and how he would miss Bad Reaction. No Spectators played a great set, and playing a Minor Threat cover.

It was my first time seeing Time Bombs and i didn't really know what to expect. I had heard that they were extremely loud and seeing them roll in full stack amps i knew what people were talking about. The blasted in to the first song, I really couldn't understand what was going on musically and vocally, it just sounded like a lot of noise. Lots of fast riffs and screaming. A few kids were pitting to them and it seemed to end just as quickly as it started.

Up next was a band that everyone was excited to see, Knives ( First show; ex Tippers Gore ). So with all the usual heckling about playing old Tippers Gore songs they started playing they new tunes. They sounded a little like Tippers Gore but a lot more punk and not as straight forward hardcore like the late Tippers Gore was. One song that i liked was called "Shotgun Religion". I just wish i could have heard more of the vocals, they were pretty good for their first show. Check them out www.myspace.com/knivesband.

Gross Negligence was up and you could tell they were a crowd favorite. They had a whole bunch of kids singing along with unlimited amounts of enthusiasm. They played a somewhat short set and left with kids yelling and chanting for one more song, but one more wasn't in the cards.

Gestapo Khazi was next, a small crowd gathered to see what they were all about. They have a surfy, rock n roll, Punk, and somewhat rockabilly sound that mostly everyone was enjoying. They covered a Boy's Next Door song " Somebody's Watching Me ". They ended their set and everyone was excited to see Bad Reaction come up next.

Kash the singer for Bad Reaction is moving to New York, so this is the last time they are playing for a long time but they are not breaking up, they wanted to me sure everyone knew they weren't going to break up. Kash thanked everyone for coming out and supporting Bad Reaction thought the years and then they broke in their first song "Bad Reaction".

Everyone rushed the stage jumping over each other to sing along. I noticed that everyone in the band except Kash was wearing a "I heart LA "shirt which was a nice touch. Later on in their set they played "Pay to Cum" by Bad Brains which was one of their more hectic songs. Further along in their set someone brought up the idea of doing a wall of death, so everyone lined up on both sides of the dance floor and when the song started everyone ran full speed at each other creating a huge pit. I thought it was hilarious thing to do in such a small building. They played a bunch more songs then they stopped so the bass player could explain why this was their last show, he ended by saying "Even though Kash is leaving for New York. I live in Hollywood." and they went straight into one of their best songs of the night "I Live In Hollywood" that re-energized the crowd that was gathered in front of band. They ended with their best songs like "Plastic World ", "Hate My Job", "Gatorade", "Dare To be Dull".

They ended their set after those songs and they gave the crowd an encore after some cheering. It was a great way to say good bye. I hope to see them play again soon, hopefully they don't go too long without playing. The whole band hung out for while and got pictures with everyone and said their good byes.

No two bands sounded alike at this show, I wish more show were that way. It was a great show to say good bye to a great band. You can find Videos from all the bands from show here. www.youtube.com/user/kstreaesa.
VIDEO of the show can be see below

 

-Matt C. / Dead Man Photo-
Big Wheel photographer / Music Scene Reporter

 

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 
                                          Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews
 

 

DEVO – at The Fonda Theater – Hollywood, CA

In a time when you see things that are very generic, pre-packaged, done before / updated, it's very refreshing that an original band like DEVO exist. Tonight kicks off 2 nights of sold out shows with this band that started in the late 70’s and in 2009 they remain just as iconic today. This round of shows that dots the US and Canada to mark the re-issue of albums, “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!” and “Freedom of Choice” that remain huge favorites today.

 

Each of the 2 nights they would play the 2 albums in their entirety. One on each night with the show tonight featuring the “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!” album played from start to finish.

A little back drop on this album as sourced so eloquently from Wikipedia, according to an essay by Jerry Casale included on the Complete Truth About De-evolution DVD, the cover of their debut album is based on an image of the famous professional golfer Juan "Chi Chi" Rodriguez that they had found on a golf strap. According to Casale, David Burnam, the manager of business affairs at their label Warner Bros. Records, decided the image could not be used because "he was a golf fan and felt we were making fun of Chi Chi." The band offered to contact Rodriguez personally but were faced with time constraints, due to the forthcoming production of their album. The head of the label's art department, Rick Serini, recommended an artist who could airbrush and alter the face in the picture, while Mark Mothersbaugh offered up a picture he'd procured from a local newspaper that morphed the faces of United States presidents John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. These ideas were morphed with the original "Chi Chi" Rodriguez image to create the cover of the album.

As a footnote to the story, the band did manage to get Rodriguez's permission to use the original photo. Since the "morphed" album sleeves were already in production by that time, Serini claimed it would cost the band $2,500 to halt production and reinstate the image originally intended by the band, which forced the band to keep the morphed version. According to Casale, "we were able to come out with something that by the corporate interference and misunderstanding of the business side of Warner Bros. Records, actually unwittingly produced something far more DEVO than the original [image]."

DEVO was way ahead of their time. If you were a fan of this band back at their inception you knew you paid the price at times for saying you were a fan. However the consolation to that is the same people that gave you shit for being into DEVO, where is their music and the bands they proclaimed as more supreme? The easy answer is: Nowhere and certainly not selling out a large venue like The Fonda Theater 2 nights back to back, haa haa to you lame jocks from the 80’s.

Opening the show was Reggie Watts who can be found at www.reggiewatts.com or www.myspace.com/reggiewatts. Not sure how to describe the music he was performing that may be a cross between rapping to comedy to some very wild tones going back an fourth. Full propers to Reggie for opening the show because all that can be said is that he was the one chosen by DEVO to open the show.

Certainly one of the fun aspects of this show was the sense of community. Every person around could be heard talking about their keystone DEVO album and what it meant to them and the stories were endless.

The VIDEO and photos enclosed with this report speak for them self of the show you missed. Log on to the DEVO website and stay up to date on all things DEVO  www.clubdevo.com

Set list
Side one
1. Uncontrollable Urge
2. Satisfaction
3. Praying Hand
4. Space Junk
5. Mongoloid
6. Jocko Homo
Side two
1. Too Much Paranoias
2. Gut Feeling
3. Come Back Jonee
4. Sloppy
5. Shrivel Up

Encore:
Smart Partol - Mr. DNA
Gates Of Steel
 

 

-J. Moncrief-
Big Wheel Music Scene Reporter

 

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 
                                          Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews
 

 

Complete coverage of the second night:
DEVO – at The Fonda Theater – Hollywood, CA – November 4, 2009

Devo’s second consecutive night playing at the Fonda was dedicated to playing their epic "Freedom Of Choice" album from start to finish. Though there were children and adults of all ages present, most of the audience was made up of people over the age of thirty five. This was one show where nobody seemed to be concerned about being "That Guy" as Devo shirts were everywhere Read the story »

 

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