Viva Ska Vegas started a day early with a kickoff party featuring some ska (Murder Majesty), some ska-influenced punk (The Flatliners) and some not-at-all ska (The Heartsounds) at the Aruba Hotel.
It’s been quite a few years since I last saw The Flatliners and I was pleasantly surprised by how much the popularity of the Canadian quartet has increased. The Aruba was filled near maximum capacity and threatened to pour into the streets with the largest circle pit I’ve seen at the venue. Songs like “Carry the Banner” “Monumental” (which the guys graciously dedicated to the Punks in Vegas team, leaving me to blush) and “Shithawks” had everyone pumping their fists and singing along.
Punk rockers Heartsounds have also increased in popularity since their last show in Vegas. Unfortunately, that means the crowd went from 8 people watching them at the Beauty Bar in 2010 to about 20 people watching them now at the Aruba. I really don’t understand why they haven’t caught on more out here. Few, if any, young bands in Vegas play this brand of Strung Out-esq skatepunk with copious amounts of shredding and fantastic harmonies the way Heartsounds do. I can only hope that word of mouth keeps spreading and that they come back on a show that is closer to their style (I can imagine some purist ska fans were a little leary of them).
While not the first band of the day (that honor went to Everyone Meltdown, Save the Swim Team and Hard Pipe Hitters) Murder Majesty was the first band I caught due to filming Stripped Down Sessions with The Flatliners. If you’ve been going to punk shows at all in Las Vegas then you know these ska punks and there isn’t much I can say about them that hasn’t already been said. These guys always put on a fun show and this day was no exception.
-Emily Matview
Photos by Emily Matview | https://www.flickr.com/photos/holdfastnow/
and Tyler Newton | http://500px.com/spottedlens
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