Punk Rock Ruined My Life

Friday, May 30, 2014

2014-05-24 Punk Rock Bowling

Day 2 - Saturday, May 24, 2014

We slept in until 11am or so after a great evening the night before. We headed over to the Plaza Casino intent on grabbing something to eat and going to the pool party show. Fucking ended up with McDonald’s and not getting allowed in the show because it was filled over capacity already (pool was on the 5th floor btw). Well, if we couldn’t see Peter and the Test Tube Babies then (in place of The Queers who must have cancelled), we would just have to wait until later that evening.

It was about 4:30pm by the time we got to the venue for the first day of the outdoor portion of the festival. We decided to skip The Gashers and Black Market Syndicate. The heat was starting to pick up for the weekend as it was pushing 100°. Ben, don't wear black shirts when it is that hot. You are from Vegas and should know better like Earthdog ;).

Our first band we watch was The Generators. I was pleasantly surprised by them and enjoyed the set. Their live performance seems to have a better sound and more energy than their recorded material. Here are some songs I remember them playing.

Summer of Unrest

Sound Off the Alarms

Dead at 16

Wrong Side of the Tracks

Devils Brigade fronted by Rancid bass player extraordinaire, Matt Freeman, were next. DJ Bonebrake from X was banging the drum kit. They started off the set with “I’m Moving Through” and a few songs later played “Vampire Girl”. Since those were the only two songs I really liked by them, we decided to head for shade under the tent. Unfortunately for us as I read yesterday, we missed their cover of the Dead Kennedys “Police Truck”.

I was extremely excited to see the next band, Peter and the Test Tube Babies. It was one of the few bands at the festival I wanted to watch who I have never seen perform live before. Holy shit! They did not disappoint other than the fact that I wish they would have played for another 30 minutes. Gotta love Peter’s beer belly too. Great set with most of their hits.

Moped Lads

Run Like Hell

The Jinx

Never Made It

My Unlucky Day

Up Yer Bum

The Spirit of Keith Moon

Maniac

Banned from the Pubs

Blown Out Again

Get the fuck out! I finally got to see Mensi, the self proclaimed Charlton Heston of punk rock, and the Angelic Upstarts. This set ended up being my favorite of the entire weekend as you will see in another post when I rank my favorite performances for the weekend. It was a surreal experience for me. I still can’t believe I got to see them play live. They over delivered! I remember first buying their greatest hits collection Angel Dust and then buying their 12in EP Machine Gun Kelly at Music Madness on Front St in Catasauqua, PA. Now, almost 30 years later, I get to hear them play “Machine Gun Kelly” and most of Angel Dust live. I give their set more “Yeah!”’s than the fuckhead singer from the Dwarves says during his set!!!! Here are the tracks that I recall them playing not necessarily in this order.

Teenage Warning

Liddle Towers

I’m An Upstart

Leave Me Alone

Never ‘Ad Nothin’

Police Oppression

Two Million Voices

You’re Nicked

Kids on the Streets

Last Night Another Soldier

Woman in Disguise

Solidarity

Machine Gun Kelly

Anti-Nazi

Fortunately for me, The Slackers were up next. While they may play a good round of Third Wave ska, it didn’t fit in for me that night. I needed a beer and a seat to rest my feet. I also needed “The Rebel”!

Then I heard “We are the league!” Animal and his gang were on stage belting out tunes from their first LP. BTW, I just ordered that same LP re-recorded with the modern day band and with the first set of original lyrics that were banned in the UK many moons ago. Looking forward to what it sounds like. If it is anything like their set, I will be smiling. This is the 3rd time that I have seen The League and it was probably the most energetic set I have seen. It may have been because I was pretty loaded at the 2000 Tons of TNT fest a few years ago when they came on stage too. Unfortunately for them, they had to play after Peter and Mensi otherwise this set would have been a topper. The only disappointment for me was they did not play “Fucked Up and Wasted”, but they played almost all of the first LP. Here is the setlist.

The old guys (though they decline to age per their own declaration), Cock Sparrer, were up next. These guys have been going at it for over 40 years. Had I not seen them 2x at Riot Fest a few years ago, I am sure this would have been my highlight of the weekend. Regardless, I loved watching them belt out the hit tunes. In traditional Oi! style, they were the band that had the crowd singing along more than any other. In fact, on a few occasions, the crowd sang acapella while the band soak it up in glory. What a great way to end the first night of the outdoor festival!

After the set, we headed over to the Fremont Country Club. The Night Birds had just hit the stage when we got in the door. I was quite surprised by the energy of their performance. This was another band that I liked better live than their studio recordings. I also like their cover of the Simpletones “I Like Drugs”.

In between sets, I was surprised by a tap on the shoulder from Oddgrowth. I didn’t recognize him with his Rip van Winkle beard. I hadn’t seen him in almost ten years since we attended the secret Naked Raygun show at the Subterranean in Chicago during Riot Fest. What a pleasant surprise! And then, I finally got to meet Wretch! I think I was introduced to Erin too, but I can’t remember anymore it was so loud. I really wish I got to spend more time with them. Nonetheless, it was great to see each of them!

By now, my feet were killing me. I tried to find a seat at the back of the club to rest them, but no luck.

I watched a few tunes by The Briefs. After “Destroy the USA”, I decided that I had enough. I told Edog I was headed back to the hotel room. Unfortunately for me, I missed a great set by ALL based on all other accounts. That sucked! but I was not going to miss the Descendents the next night because I couldn’t stand.

Besides, I saw Peter and the Test Tube Babies, the Anglelic Upstarts, the Anti-Nowhere League, and Cock Sparrer that night. Only adding the Cockney Rejects and the UK Subs may have been better! I could have left Vegas after that night and my money would have been well spent.

Here is Earthdog's account of the day (welcome to Fremont St. my friend!).

DAY 2: KISS AND STEVIE WONDER No, not at PRB silly! Just part of the freaks brigade that lined the street as we walked to the first day of the festival. The dudes playing KISS also didn’t have enough clothes on. Let us not speak of this ever again. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little writing that sentence. Stevie Wonder was there looking for hand-outs too, at least he had a decent red suit on. We had tried to get to the pool party at the Plaza to see Peter and the Test Tube Babies (who were filling in for The Queers who had cancelled), but security was not letting anyone else in. Tough cookies, we would catch them at the festival later today. We arrived at the site around 4:30. Just in time to catch The Generators, one of the few bands here I had not seen before. I dug their sound, the put on a tight show. I only caught about half of Devil’s Brigade set. It was cool to see DJ Bonebrake from X on drums. Exene was also seen walking out of the VIP section; she was DJing later today at one of the clubs. I grabbed a chili cheese dog: AKA “The Rebel” on Lewdd’s advice. He was right once again. Next were Peter and the Test Tube Babies. I thought they were a bit more energetic this time versus when I saw them in Boston a couple years back. Cool set and the crowd was getting into it. Angelic Upstarts were next. I wasn’t as familiar with their music, but I still enjoyed it. Although some crowd members were getting tired of the lead singer talking about how good looking he is (look at a picture online for a laugh), Lewdd thought this was one of the best sets so far. Check please… We came back later on for Anti-Nowhere League-who delivered the goods as always. “I Hate People”-indeed! Finally it was Cock Sparrer to wrap up the first day of the festival. Excellent set by this band as well. They keep getting better each time I see them. Now it was off to the club show at Fremont Country Club. We caught Night Birds first. Beyond amazing seeing them again. They rocked and I picked up one of their CD’s at the merch table. The Briefs were also getting the crowd moving, got a couple of CD’s by them as well. ALL came on around 1:15 and I think played to around 2:30. Chad Price was on vocals and it was phenomenal set. Also got to chat briefly with some other friends of Lewdd: Erin, Wretch, and Todd. Good times but when it was all over but I was beat. Time for some shut-eye.

2014-05-23 Punk Rock Bowling

Day 1 - Friday, May 23, 2004

After a rather uneventful plane ride from Milwaukee, I landed in Las Vegas. Took the tram for a quick ride to baggage claim, and met up with Earthdog. Before you knew it, we were out the door, into a taxi, and on our way to the Golden Nugget. Check-in was pretty quick. Gettin’ in our room not so quick. Apparently, if a green and red light comes on when you slide the card in, you are supposed to turn the handle up instead of down to get in the door. Who the fuck made that up?

Off to Claim Jumpers within the hotel for some dinner - chopped steak smothered in mushrooms, peppers, onions, and gravy with a side of green beans for me. Oh, and two margaritas on the rocks with no salt (high blood pressure ;) ). After a brief walk, we spotted Jeff Pezzati, the lead singer of Naked Raygun, playing black jack. I think he scared the rest of the table away as it was only him and some women at the other side and end of the table.

The venue was a few blocks down the street - Las Vegas Country Saloon. I had been there before. Nice, small hall. Beers were only of the 24oz variety and were $10.75-$12.00 each. Holy shit! Punk Rock Bowling hit it big time. Time for the venues to rake in some cash. I did have quite a few Newcastle’s regardless of the price. After all, I was at PRB!

We were one of the first in the venue, and were able to grab a table on the left side of the stage. I was practicing trying to save the feet from standing no more than I had to this weekend. You’ll hear later that it did not work out as well as planned. My buddy, Ben, from Vegas showed up and rocked out with us for the first of four days and nights. It was good to see him again.

Up first from Germany were Church of Confidence. I enjoyed their set, and thought they probably should have played after the next band. They played a cover of The Germs / Zero Boys’ “Civilization’s Dying”, and closed the set out with a song about their hometown, “(Whatever Happened To) West Berlin”.

Next up was a young band, Radkey. The guitar player / singer had deep vocals ala Danzig. The bass player had a tall affro and a cheesy mustache ala Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott. They had a lot of energy, but I don’t recall much originality or musicianship. I did run into a guy with good musicianship later that nite - lead guitar player for Chicago’s My Big Beautiful. I think it was around this time I went to chat a little with Riot Mike of Riot Fest fame. I was glad to hear from him that Pierre Kezdy of Naked Raygun was doing fine.

Earthdog was pumped to see his 2nd bass player idol, CJ Ramone (of course, Dee Dee is his #1 idol). Joining CJ on guitar was Steve Soto of Agent Orange and Adolescents fame. I actually enjoyed the set mixed with original songs and Ramones hits. CJ spoke about his song “Three Angels” which was written about our 3 long lost pals - Joey, Johnny, and Dee Dee. He also played “I Want to Be Your Boyfriend” a song he said the Ramones were not allowed to play while he was in the band due to the Johnny stealing Joey’s girlfriend debacle that nearly tore up the band. Here are the songs that I remember CJ playing.

Strength to Endure

Three Angels

I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend

California Sun

RAMONES

Judy Is a Punk

What We Gonna Do Now?

I saw Pezzati sitting on the side of the stage before Naked Raygun came out. I went over to remind him that the mic had a chord unlike the one at Riot Fest one year when some prima donna lead singer made them remove the wireless mic and replace it with a chord. Inside joke between me and him although I’m not sure he remembers me.

It seems like it has been several years since I have seen them play. Probably the Thanksgiving Eve show at the Metro a few years back. Big Red of The Methadones was on bass again for Pierre. I’m not sure if this is permanent or not. I would be OK if it was because he does a great job thunking the strings. Raygun played songs from the beginning of their career, “Hot Atomics”, through their most recent singles from a few years ago, “Mein Iron Maiden”. I’m glad they played “Wonder Beer”. The highlight of the night was when CJ Ramone joined them on stage to sing vocals to the band playing “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg”. Unfuckingbelievable!!! Here are the songs I remember being played that night, but not in order of appearance.

Rat Patrol

Metastasis

I Don’t Know

Home of the Brave

The Strip

Backlash Jack

Peacemaker

New Dreams

Treason

Wonder Beer

Home

Tojo

Bonzo Goes to Bitburg with CJ Ramone

Mein Iron Maiden

Hip Swingin

Just for Me

Surf Combat

Hot Atomics

Of course, I was hungry at 2:30am after a night of drinking beer, so I hit Claim Jumper again for a club sandwich before heading to the room to hit the pillow. A great night was had by all!! The only downside was Naked Raygun did not have any fat guy size XXL t-shirts so no merch for me that night. I made up for it later though.

Here is Earthdog's side of the story.

DAY 1: THE ARRIVAL The countdown was over! After months of planning and anticipation, I would finally be going to my first PRB Festival. Joining me on this adventure was Lewdd, a grizzled festival veteran who had already attended this event twice. This certainly would help later on as we bounced from venue to venue like a worn out pinball. But let’s get right to the action. Vegas is a long way from my home base of Boston, so I was mentally prepared for the long flights ahead. Luckily there were no crying babies behind me so I managed to get some shut-eye. That is until the flight attendant said “is there a doctor in the house?” Apparently a female passenger on the plane was having some trouble. Luckily there was a doctor-right in my row! He was able to assist her and she was able to get to her seat. I’m glad she was OK but the only thought going through my mind was “if this plane has to land in Colorado due to a medical emergency-I will go postal!” Just kidding of course. Eventually I got to the Vegas airport a bit before my concert pal Lewdd did. So I got to watch all the cheesy promo clips of shows happening this Memorial Day weekend at other venues. Guns N Roses, Meatloaf, and Celine Dion. The stars were truly aligned by the gods today as I would not be attending shows by any of these jive-ass artists. Lewdd and I met at the baggage claim and then it was off to the Golden Nugget! We checked in, got a quick bite at the in-house restaurant, and then it was off to the first show. The Country Saloon was our club pick for the night. We also met up with Ben, another fellow music fan who is from the area and would hang with us throughout the weekend. First up was Church of Confidence. I had not heard of these guys before but eventually they won me over. A bit of 70’s style punk with some 80’s flash was the order of the day. Next came Radkey. A bunch of young dudes who kicked up some dust on stage. At times, it sounded a bit too much like the Misfits. And the bassist/singer looked a helluva lot like Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy. In fact, someone called out for “The Boys are Back in Town” during a lull in the music. Lewdd thought someone wanted to hear a Bus Boys cover! But soon enough, CJ Ramone came onstage. He had a new band from the last time I saw him. I didn’t catch everyone’s name (I was too busy holding a beer versus a notepad), but the drummer was from D Generation and one of the guitarist’s was Steve Soto (Adolescents). CJ did a nice mix of stuff from his recent record-Reconquista and Ramones classics. “Strength to Endure” was a highlight. Great set by this bass playing legend-look for a possible new release later this summer. Finally, the band I had not seen 2010 hit the stage. Naked Raygun! They crushed it, playing all the hits. They even brought CJ back on stage to sing ‘Bonzo Goes to Bitburg!” I picked up a shirt by Raygun on the way out. A perfect nightcap to my first night in Vegas.

Friday, May 23, 2014

2014 Punk Rock Bowling

Heading to the airport soon. Can't wait to get to Vegas for the festival. Earthdog is arriving about an hour before me and we will meet up at the airport for the weekend. Meeting Ben, Aquaman, Wretch, and maybe Shary too. Should be a great time. I hope the 101° forecast for Monday is not correct. Full write up with pics and videos probably next weekend.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Riot Fest's 10th Anniversary in Chicago

Looks like there are some great bands to see at the 10th Anniversary of Riot Fest in Chicago. Also, a bunch of crap bands too. Maybe I can tell them which bands to play at which stage to make it worthwhile to go. I hate it when they have all of the good bands I like playing at the same time.