Images: Lawrence Arms, Nothington, Great Apes February 16, 2014 at El Rey Theater (Los Angeles)

Every year at Punk Rock Bowling, you’re forced to make some tough choices. There are so many great bands playing club shows at the same time, and you’re bound to miss someone great. So last year, while our own Emily Matview covered the Lawrence Arms/Nothington show, I attended Strung Out/Guttermouth at Fremont Country Club. So when the Larry Arms announced a tour in support of Metropole, their first record in eight years, I vowed not to miss them again, and made the long trek to Los Angeles’ El Rey Theater.

The El Rey was already pretty full when openers Great Apes took the stage. Hailing from San Francisco, the punk rock quartet features members of The Ghost and Comadre. I’d never listened to them before this show but I immediately noticed a lot of similarities to Nothington (which is a very good thing). Among their short set was the catchy “Seventeen Years,” which I later found out was from their 2013 effort for Asian Man Records Thread, and I’ll definitely be checking out more of their stuff.

Next up was Nothington, another Bay area punk rock band who I was excited to see for the first time since their 2012 show in Las Vegas with Lagwagon and Cobra Skulls. They opened their set with “Far to Go” from Borrowed Time and quickly got the crowd moving. I’m a huge fan of dual vocals, and love the way Jay Northington’s gruff voice juxtaposes with Chris Matulich’s more clean style of singing. I wish they had played a few more songs off their recent compilation album Lost Along the Way, but their set was still great, regardless.

Finally up were the Lawrence Arms, starting off with Metropole opener “Chilean District.” The setlist put the focus mostly on Metropole and Oh! Calcutta!, with the biggest reaction of the night being for Calcutta! opener “The Devil’s Taking Names.” New songs like raucous “Drunk Tweets,” mellow “You are Here” and melodic “Seventeener” fit perfectly with older tracks “Ramblin’ Boys of Pleasure” and “Great Lakes / Great Escapes.” After taking a short break, the band came back and finished with “Are You There Margaret, It’s Me God,” and “100 Resolutions.” This was my first Lawrence Arms show, and I already can’t wait to see them again (hopefully in Vegas next time).

-Aaron Mattern | https://www.flickr.com/photos/akmofoto/