Images: La Sera, Moonboots, Babes and more March 10, 2016 at The Bunkhouse Saloon (Neon Reverb)

Neon Reverb chose to kick off its four-day bender of shows across Downtown Las Vegas, Thursday night at the Bunkhouse Saloon.  Where there’s a party, you can count on Professor Rex Dart to be setting the mood by spinning the best records in his collection, and he was already doing his thing by the time I got to the Bunkhouse.  On this night, festival goers would be seeing a stacked six band bill, with three of Vegas’ best musicians (Jackson Wilcox, Moonboots, Rusty Maples) paired up with three of the most buzzed about Los Angeles bands (The Aquadolls, Babes, La Sera).

Jackson Wilcox opened up the night’s festivities to a small but loyal crowd.  This was my first time experiencing Mr. Wilcox’s broody and passionate blend of perfectly sad songs.  Even without knowing much of Wilcox or his music, his performance made me a fan of this tall and slender singer-songwriter, whose flawless voice at times reminded me of Sea Change-era Beck.  The little-to-no audience banter didn’t matter much as Jackson held the crowd’s attention during his 25-minute set.  Festival’s like Neon Reverb are exciting for the little gems you can encounter for the first time, and this was definitely one of them.

People slowly gathered as the first out of towners of the night prepared to hit the stage.  Melissa Brooks fronts LA surf-rockers, The Aquadolls.  Being one of the first Southern-California bands on the ever-expanding Burger Records roster, the band has built a loyal following among the almost cult like “Burger Punks” following the labels every move.  This four-piece was probably the best dressed act of the night as they went into songs like “Rich Boys” and “High.”  Besides the energetic movements of Brooks, the rest of the band didn’t move much, but they do have their set down tight.  Accompanied by some electronic drums parts and pre-recorded samples, their melody-heavy pop tunes were a nice addition to the night.

A sizeable crowd was now pouring in as one of Vegas’ best new bands was up next.  Moonboots released a damn-catchy self-titled E.P. recently that I thoroughly enjoyed, and this was another band I would be seeing live for the first time.  Between vocalist, John Coulter, bouncing around the stage, to the ripping solos of lead guitarist, Clyde Barnett, there’s no way not to have fun at a Moonboots show.  Songs like “27 Club” and “Charlie” played very well among the audience.  They ended their set with, “Panama,” one of my favorite songs off their E.P., and left me excited for a full-length release from these guys.  The Weezer-vibe they exude is hard to deny, but that easily takes a backseat to the sheer fun you see both the audience and band having throughout their set.

Siblings Aaron, Zach, and Sarah Leigh, alongside their cousins Bryan Harris and Jeffrey Baird compose LA outfit, Babes.  They’re a tight-knit and highly talented (Sarah being a former child actor) family writing songs about the woes of heartbreak and love in synthy three-minute songs.  This night the band had a few too many drinks, but this being Vegas, the audience did as well, so it only added to the band’s groovy, 80s pop-influenced jams.  They had the crowd dancing at songs like “I’ve Got a Reason to Keep on Living” and “Lonely Forever” which normally would have anyone going through a breakup in tears.  The fun back-and-forth banter in between songs had the audience even more captivated by Babes’ set.  My favorite part was watching a very dangerous looking man covered in tattoos dancing throughout the set without a care in the world.  This wasn’t Babes first time in Las Vegas and I genuinely hope it isn’t their last, because they’re a band I won’t be missing anymore.

Up next was the band I was most stoked about seeing that night, La Sera.  Music for Listening to Music To is an insanely great album from start to finish, and while I was excited to hear some of the LA band’s older catalogue, either way I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed.  They had the biggest audience of the night, and started with “Break My Heart,” the single from 2012’s Sees the Light, and off the bat had a great reaction from the audience.  Frontwoman and bassist, Katy Goodman, has built a spectacular stage presence since her days playing in Vivian Girls.  Jumping up and down the entire time, and at times jumping into the audience, the band slayed through songs like “One True Love,” “High Notes,” and “Please Be My Third Eye” off their previous three releases.

Todd Wisenbaker’s guitar volume sometimes overshadowed Katy’s vocals, but that was totally okay because, as Babes’ singer Sarah Leigh drunkenly yelled into my ear while standing next to me, “this guy fucking rips!”  My thoughts exactly, Sarah.  Besides the jaw-dropping way Wisenbaker played guitar, he tried winning Vegas’ heart by wearing a button-up shirt with the words “Las Vegas” stitched atop both front pockets.  They successfully won over our hearts by the amazing set they played that night.

I don’t think I’ve ever met someone in town who doesn’t love Rusty Maples, and I honestly don’t plan to because I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.  Hot off a monthly residency at the Bunkhouse, they found themselves playing yet again very late on a Thursday night at… the Bunkhouse.  A fact that even singer, Blair Dewane pointed out.  That didn’t make much difference though, because through a die-hard following built on stellar releases and opening slots with some of the biggest indie bands today, they could play at 7 a.m. on a Monday and people would still be there.  On of my favorite things about Rusty Maples is how close their live shows sound to their recordings, and on this night, they were sounding incredible.   Blair’s voice was amazing when they played songs like “Long Walk” and “Rascal.” While the size of the audience diminished (unfortunately, even our photographer had to leave due to commitments), the energy in the room sure as hell didn’t, and the crowd kept dancing as Rusty Maples played one of the best sets I think I’ve ever seen them play.

-Alan Madrigal

Photos by Hunter Wallace | https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunter_wallace/