The Templars – Old Firm Casuals – Pistol Grip – and The Forgotten – at The Bunk House – Las Vegas, NV

Following Nofx’s performance Saturday night was a traditional Oi! punk show at the Bunkhouse with The Forgotten, Pistol Grip, Old Firm Casuals, and The Templars. Doors opened as early as 10:30 p.m, resulting in the club show and festival overlapping for a brief amount of time. The Templars show sold out weeks beforehand

and with support from bands like Old Firm Casuals (which features Lars Frederikson of Rancid), it comes of no surprise that this club show sold out as fast as it did.

Throughout the night, the performing bands provided melodic tunes that exemplified the life and artistry of the working class punk, to which fans in the audience constantly paid tribute to by saluting the performing bands with Pabst Blue Ribbon up in the air. Men in the audience created circle pits, but when the pits were not in full motion, fists and Pabsts were raised all night to demonstrate support for each of the bands.

Pistol Grip performed for a lively crowd that did in fact constantly toast cheers to the band while they played on stage. Pistol Grip included fans into their performance by frequently allowing them the microphone and the ability to sing alongside the vocalist. Frederikson’s Old Firm Casuals on the other hand had a tough and serious dynamic within their Oi! sound and overall performance.

Many people shook to the beat of the band’s music and shouted out “Oi!” while the band played. Lastly, after a 15 minute delay, The Templars performed around 1:30 am and despite the delay, fans waited patiently and excitedly sang along to the band’s songs once they began to play. The Long Island natives delivered their classic sound and augmented the working class element of the night’s traditional skinhead atmosphere.

With only one more night of club shows left, the show at The Bunkhouse provided a satisfying hump in the three day roundup of Punk Rock Bowling’s club shows. Punks and skins united, partied, and enjoyed some good ol’ traditional sounds brought forth by the distinct bands that performed at this show. This notion can only adequately be met with a Pabst Blue Ribbon up in the air.

-Stephanie M.-
Big Wheel Senior Staff Reporter

                     More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 

 

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Punk Rock Bowling 2012 Music Festival – Las Vegas, NV

With doors opening at 3:30 p.m, the first band of the day was up by 4 p.m. Opening band The Dips performed for a small crowd yet performed at full force with the band's guitarist jumping down from the stage to play guitar in the pit. The Dips may not have had a large crowd present for their set, but the band offered a performance that did not lack energy and substance.

Las Vegas natives Holding Onto Sound were a personal favorite of this reporter as their music relayed progressive rock influences into their overall Punk rock set. The band's music was intricate, erratic, yet beautifully orchestrated into a chaotic disorder that made perfect sense.

   Video overview of The Dips - Holding Onto Sound - Far From Finished set

 

Far From Finished exploded onto the stage with the band's vocalist running back and forth and screaming into the microphone with infinite power. The band exemplified East Coast attitude as their tough and radical showmanship made everyone aware of their presence.
 

The Real McKenzies were an interesting take on the weekend's dose of Punk rock as the band's instrument choice and clothing attire distinguished them from the rest. Bagpipe player Gord Taylor prepped the band's performance by playing small bits of popular themes, such as that of Star Wars and Tetris. Vocalist Paul McKenzie was flamboyant and eccentric on stage, ultimately offering a vivacious performance for the audience.

The Briefs brought the spirit of 77 to the festival with their rock and roll inspired songs. The influence of 77 style Punk was reminiscent of The Buzzcocks, and it rang within their performance all through the band's stage presence, music, and even their clothing. The Briefs had an overall old school sound that didn't strictly stay confined within the perimeters of Punk, but rather tied in the the melodic and artsy influence of classic rock and roll.


   Video overview of Real McKenzies - The Briefs - English Beat set

 

Later, The English Beat carried forth the melodic vibe that The Briefs carried, but instead executed it with a reggae and ska personality. The reggae characteristic of The English Beat's music indeed mellowed out both the crowd and the evening as most people stood by and grooved instead. Furthermore, skanking and dancing took place in the pit during the entire set, and it was as though the earlier fast paced pits were set in slow motion.

By the time it was The Adicts' turn to hit the stage, the hot Las Vegas sun was already gone and the cold dusty wind of the desert began to flow through. Fiddle Dan was the first to come forth and while he serenaded the audience with "Ode to Joy," the rest of the band eventually made their way to the stage. Once Monkey arrived, the audience devolved into screaming maniacs and from that point on, the mania never ceased. As usual, the band's set amazed all with their theatrics and use of the entire world's supply of confetti and glitter.

   Video overview of The Adicts set



When it was Nofx's turn to play, the band opened up with a few playful jokes about The Adicts, causing the audience to laugh and moan in unison. The band's set at Punk Rock Bowling was a treat in that they performed their album "Punk in Drublic" in its entirety, with several extra songs from other albums included. During the band's set, vocalist Fat Mike constantly talked shit and made jokes, all in good fun, and even made a comical song specifically for Punk Rock Bowling. Lyrics to "Who's Gonna be the First to O.D at PRB?" included "Is it gonna be you? Is it gonna be me?" which made fans roar with laughter. The band played about an hour and fifteen minutes, ending with their newly made song about PRB, though it was the third time they had performed it during their set

   Video overview of NOFX set - Check out the crowd




Day one of the 2012 Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival wrapped up late into the night, and while the day show had ended, the second night of the club shows were already taking place. With the first day already over, Punk Rock Bowling party people had approximately two days left to demolish their livers and two days left to figure out who's gonna be the first to O.D. at PRB.

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 

-Stephanie M.-
Big Wheel Senior Staff Reporter

                    

 

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Matt Skiba – Laura Jane Grace – and Joey Balls – at The Beauty Bar – Las Vegas, NV

Saturday night's show at the Beauty Bar hosted "Matt Skiba and friends," This was a sleeper show, that had everyone wondering, "who will make an appearance" The rumor that had been circling was, that Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! (formerly known as Tom Gabel) would be opening. Via Twitter Matt Skiba announced that this rumor was indeed the truth!

Old Man Markley/Youth Brigade's Joey Balls started the show with an acoustic set attempting to entertain the crowd with jokes, silly renditions of pop songs, and even threw in OMM's "Guts & Teeth" . He did well for the first 30 minutes. I have to say he really took one for the team as the audience waited for a missing in action Matt Skiba.

At one point Shawn Stern of Youth Brigade approached the stage with a list of the bowling teams that made it to the second round of the games. Still trying his damndest to stall for his friends, Joey Balls read them off via a song and sang off the information to the audience.

As the hours passed and it was approaching 1 am (with no sign of Skiba) if everyone was thinking along the same lines as me, they were wishing they had stayed in an extra 3 hrs and taken a nap. Just as I was about to give hope up on ever seeing Matt or Laura, a guitar tech made it to the stage and started to prep for a set. By this time the venue was packed to capacity and people lined the alley, standing on dumpsters to catch a glimpse of the show.

Mike Wiebe, vocalist for the Riverboat Gamblers was the first to make it on stage. At first I thought he would be playing the bill. However as he started to talk and talk....and talk. It was apparent he would not be singing. While I'm sure he had thought out how he was going to introduce Laura Jane Grace, the long winded story about meeting and taking a picture with Bruce Springsteen while on tour with Against Me!, felt more like we were being taunted after already waiting 3 hrs for a performance, and it didn't seem to translate well to the concert goers. The restless crowd started to heckle and shout things like, "shut the fuck up, nobody cares!" While the heckling was rude, I couldn't blame them. They were saying what everyone in attendance was feeling. Not to mention people got super fucking drunk during their wait!

Finally Laura Jane Grace made it to the stage for one of the first appearances made since the announcement that Grace was "coming out" as a transgender. Grace opened with "Baby I'm an Anarchist", played fittingly, her new song "Transgender Dysphoria Blues" among other Against Me! hits, and closed her set with "Sink Florida Sink." Grace was well received by the crowd, and with the recent news of her gender change, the audience embraced her presence and demonstrated their support by singing along and crowd surfing through the entirety of her 25 minute set.

   Video of Laura Jane Grace

When Matt Skiba finally appeared around 1:45 a.m, he performed several Alkaline Trio songs including "Blue in the Face" and was met with a strong response when he performed "Hell Yes." At one point a very large breasted woman threw her red bra on stage to show her adoration. After a short 20 minute set, Skiba ended with "Good Fucking Bye," 

At the end of his time, the audience chanted for an encore, but Matt Skiba wasn't having it and came back on stage to say, "No, really, no...... good fucking bye!" With that, the show was over and everyone started making their way back to the casinos and bars on Freemont street to fill their night with more debauchery.

Joey, Matt, and Laura's performances were great while they were actually performing, however, I got the feeling everyone felt a little short changed for the lengthy wait and short sets. Sorry Joey...I know you did your best, you rock! Regardless of the circumstances, seeing Laura Jane Grace perform was still truly a highlight of of the Punk Rock Bowling weekend!

 

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 

-J.Moncrief-
Big Wheel Staff  Reporter

 

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No Use For A Name – Good Riddance – Dead To Me – and The Bomb Pops – at The Country Saloon – Las Vegas, NV

Saturday May 26, the first day of the festival and the second night of the club shows.  Playing at the Country Saloon that night was almost a full line-up of Fat Wreck Chords bands.  Playing was The Bombpops, Dead to Me, Good Riddance, and No Use for a Name.
It was only a matter of minutes before the venue filled up.

The Bombpops took the stage first.  The four piece band is fronted by two girls, both playing guitar.  They played a short 8 song set, including songs from their “Stole the T.V.” EP.  The Bombpops’ fast and catchy pop-punk songs seemed to be  enjoyed by everyone watching.

Up next was Dead to Me.  They opened with one of their newer songs, but immediately went into playing like the songs “Splendid Isolation”, “A Day without a War”, and “Something New”.  More and more people came in as Dead to me got deeper into their set.  Slowly but surely, a small pit opened up, mostly with guys kind of just bumping into each other and singing their hearts out.  They ended their set with “By the Throat”. 

It was time for the band almost everyone was waiting for, Good Riddance.  Aside from their secret show that took place about a month ago, Good Riddance hadn’t played in 5 years.  The lights dimmed and it got quiet.  The CD intro from the album “A Comprehensive Guide to Modern Rebellion” began playing as the guys from G.R. came out on stage.  Their timing was perfect, so once the intro was over, they opened with “Weight of the World” and the madness began.

Good Riddance didn't waste any time talking between songs, but instead went into song after song, pumping the crowd up even more each song.  The pit never ended once it started.  Beers were getting knocked out of hands and spilling in the pit.  Sometimes when one person would fall, a sea of other fell on top of them, creating a dog pile of bodies.  They played “Made to Be Broken”, “Indoctrination”, “Letters Home”, and “A Credit to His Gender”, just to name a few.  They did a good job of mixing it up and playing a little off of every album.

Most people had gotten tired or were there mainly for G.R.  It wasn’t as packed as it had been, but there were still a lot of people in time for No Use for a Name. NUFAN was a fun band to watch. They started their set off with “Not Your Savior”. 

Dedicated Fat Wreck Chords/NUFAN fans were having a blast singing along and dancing to the songs played.  They played more songs like “Dumb Reminders”, Coming Too Close”, “International You Day” and “On the Outside”.  NUFAN gave it their all and played a good show, but sadly it came to an end.  The night was no longer young and most called it a night after the show.

 

-Corrina P.-

Big Wheel Senior Staff Reporter

                     More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 

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Punk Rock Bowling 2012 – Bowling Team Photos

Here are your 2012 Punk Rock Bowling team photos. The staff made a best effort to get a photo of every team and out of the over 250 registered teams we managed to capture most of them. Beyond the ones that we are missing, checkout below to find your team, your friend's team or just to look at the bowlers from this years tournament.

 

Big Wheel Magazine is the only source you will find all the team photos - thanks for the support

2012 Punk Rock Bowling Champions Hookers & Blow - $3200	Tina's Nightmare 2nd Place - $2400	Modern Action Squad 3rd Place - $1600

* * * Don't see your team photo here? Go check out the MAIN gallery HERE




Big Wheel Staff


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Pool Party with DJ Lawless – Gold Spike Hotel – Las Vegas, NV

On such a gorgeous day one could only ask for so much to help kick off an amazing weekend at Punk Rock Bowling, Sunshine, Drinks, Beautiful women and great music. Sadly, on this day, the latter was nowhere to be seen or heard.

After much anticipation from the crowd that had already been gathered before Dj Lawless was scheduled to spin,now was beginning to be met with feelings of wonderment as to where the music was?. The patient and high spirited group of sun bathers made due, doing only what could be expected when in Vegas, Drink! eagerly bidding their time as the first hour came and went they conversed amongst one another sharing stories of shows past, bands seen and of course, Jello shots. As the clouds dispersed the temperature rose the alcohol and tan lines began to make their presence known to all not still asking themselves "Where the Dj was?".

Three hours after the set was to begin the pool party still had no music and far less people to interact with. And just like that, like the cavalry coming over the hill two Texans came to the rescue, Edward & David From Corpus Christi Texas decided to take it upon themselves to not only keep the party alive but start the actual party itself. Hauling in their own personal gear unplugging a water fountain and setting up a cabinet, speaker and the music on their phone. First being met with a sarcastic cheer from the pool go-ers quickly turned into free drinks and handshakes. The spirit of unity and the festival was on display today poolside at the Golden Spike Casino, Thanks to the quick thinking of a few Texans the drinking and bellyflop contests finally had its soundtrack.

-Gio Van Damn-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

                     More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 

 

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