Images: Black Flag, Cinema, Cinema, The Quitters May 18, 2014 at Hard Rock Live

I’ve never actually written a show review before, and my familiarity with Black Flag is pretty sparse outside of Damaged and My War, so when Tyler asked me to review the show he was photographing, I was a little worried about being able to speak to fervent fans of the entire Black Flag catalogue. I studied up on some of their newer stuff before the show, but luckily, I found out that I didn’t have to be an expert to have a good time.

If Greg Ginn ever gets tired of playing material he wrote thirty years ago, he certainly doesn’t show it. Probably due to the reinvigoration that comes with new members, Black Flag played and moved about the stage with an energy more akin to a band just starting to break into their prime, rather than one with (on and off) more than thirty years in the music scene. While I’m a Rollins fan myself, current vocalist Mike Vallely is great, and easily matches the anger and energy of Rollins during his vocal tenure on those early records. Tyler Smith’s groovy bass lines, Brandon Pertzborn’s driving drum solos, and Ginn’s use of the theremin made for many really awesome solo performances throughout the set, which covered their discography and seemed to leave the age-spanning crowd happy.

Openers Cinema, Cinema brought a heavy, melodic, instrumental sound that I really wasn’t expecting at a punk show. Hailing from Brooklyn, their guitarist used a variety of effects pedals to create a wall of sound and reverb that was very easy to get lost in. The bluesy guitar work and focus on feedback and effects made me think of stoner doom groups like Sleep or the Sword. They had a lot of energy, and to my surprise, ended up being my favorite performance of the night.

On local support, The Quitters mixed the speed of old school punk with interesting melodic elements. One personal criticism that I’ve had with some old school punk bands is that while the songs may be fast paced and carry a strong message, the boundaries of the style makes the music start to feel bland and samey. This was not the case with The Quitters; the speed and the anger were still there, but there was a variety and a skill to their playing that kept the set interesting. Their set marked the first time that I’ve ever seen a drummer shatter his drum sticks in the middle of the song. I’ll definitely be checking these guys out again, and it’s nice to see that while we may not have many quality venues here in Vegas, we seem to have quite a few quality bands.

Speaking of quality venues, I’ve only been to Hard Rock Live twice since moving to Vegas, once for Motion City Soundtrack back in 2011 and once for Deerhunter late last year, but I really like it there. Admission and drinks are relatively affordable, especially for a venue on the Las Vegas Strip. Security isn’t too overbearing; there was a barrier at the front of the stage to keep the crowd back and a zero-tolerance policy for stage diving and thrown objects, but they let the crowd mosh freely which was nice. Whoever does sound there is really great, things never get overpowering or muddling. All-in-all, it was a pretty fantastic night and I’m glad I got the opportunity to be there.

-Steve Sisk

Photos by Tyler Newton | http://500px.com/spottedlens