Punks in Vegas | Five Things I Learned from the Punk Rock Bowling Club Shows May 26-27, 2018 at the Bunkhouse Saloon (Punk Rock Bowling)

A little FEST goes a long way

I took it easy with the club shows this year (and the festival in general), but two of the three late-night gigs I attended were at The Bunkhouse Saloon. These shows formed a sort of “FEST Junior” this year, boasting sets from bands you’d normally see play the annual music celebration in Gainesville: Nothington, Strike Anywhere and 2018 FEST headliners Lagwagon. I like punk rock of all kinds, but my tastes definitely lean heavily towards the gruffer style of pop punk that permeates that other festival, so it was fitting that I started my night watching Dillinger Four, who wrote the definitive FEST anthem “Gainesville.” “And it feels like summer in October,” sung by guitarist and co-frontman Erik Funk, makes me yearn for Halloween weekend. And it also reminds me that even with the sun down, it’s definitely feeling like summer here in Vegas right now, especially while perched in front of the the venue’s temporary outdoor stage.

Dillinger Four sets come with free beer

As mentioned, I started off my late night shows with Dillinger Four, having headed over to the venue shortly after watching Rise Against play a happily RPM heavy set on the mainstage.

The Minneapolis band was almost finished with their opening song, “Noble Stabbings!!” when one member of the pit decided to offer up his beer for free… but with a catch. The inaugural recipient of the unofficial “Not All Heroes Wear Capes” award drenched the shirt and hat of myself and a friend in his drunken attempt to find our mouths, all while the band sang “In spite of the things you’ve done / you’re left with an army of one.” I looked like I jumped clothes first into the Golden Nugget pool, but I felt as great as the band sounded (which was pretty awesome). Yep, it’s Punk Rock Bowling 2018!

The opposite of new is a good thing

Both of Dead to Me’s new songs, “Fear is the New Bliss” and “Would it Kill You” made it into the band’s setlist, which got me amply excited for their long-awaited new album American Son of Cholo. But what was even more exciting was when co-frontman Jack Dalrymple announced that the next song would be “the opposite of a new song.” No, it wasn’t a Dead to Me deep cut, it was “All the Way,” a song by his old band One Man Army. The song comes from their 2004 split with Alkaline Trio, which was released on Punk Rock Bowling founders the Stern brothers’ BYO Records, making it the perfect fit for the night.

Farmers can rock, too

For me, the biggest surprise of the 2018 Punk Rock Bowling roster wasn’t the atypical headliners (for the record, Rise Against and At the Drive In were both energetic and fun) but that Cobra Skulls was going to play their first show in nearly five years. I kept my place up front at the Bunkhouse’s indoor stage after watching Nothington’s gloriously gruff set to see the punk rock trio’s return- and it was worth it. Frontman Devin Peralta wore a face-splitting grin as he and his band were welcomed by a packed bar singing along to old favorites like “Faith is a Cobra,” “Thicker Than Water,” and “Cobralectric.” So why hasn’t Cobra Skulls been active these past few years? Peralta is a farmer now! Hopefully, after the reception they got at this show, he finds a way to get away a few times a year for more shows.

Accept no substitutions… unless that substitute is from The Flatliners

I last saw Hot Water Music at FEST in Florida last year, the first show with Chris Cresswell of The Flatliners filling in for longtime guitarist/co-frontman Chris Wollard, who was suffering from anxiety. As someone who suffers from pretty severe anxiety and depression, I completely understood Wollard’s absence, but that show was… rough. Understandably so, since it seemed like Cresswell was asked to fill in at the last minute (plus I was a substitute teacher for years, so my sympathy is boundless). Things have changed over the last 7 months, and while I still miss Wollard, Cresswell sounded fantastic on HWM classics like “A Flight And A Crash” and “Trusty Chords.” The band is really gelling well. My only complaint? Why couldn’t we also get a Flatliners set!

-Emily Matview

Lagwagon, Dillinger Four, Good Riddance and more photos by Anthony Constantine | https://www.facebook.com/anthonycphotography