Images: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Pulley, The Bombpops May 26, 2013 at the Fremont County Club (Punk Rock Bowling)

Closing out the club shows of Punk Rock Bowling 2013 was the show I was most excited for, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. I was very lucky to get a ticket to this, as it sold out in about 5 minutes, leaving a lot of disappointed fans staring at their computers in disbelief.

I only managed to catch a few songs from Oceanside, California-based The Bombpops due to the time-constraints that come with transitioning from the day festival into the night (unless you want to leave the day show without seeing Bad Religion you are bound to miss a part of your club show of choice and really, who’s going to miss Bad Religion?). But what I heard was great, aggressive-yet-fun pop punk which recalls 90s era Epitaph and Fat. I plan to check out more from the female-fronted punk rock trio in the future.

Next up were Simi Valley CA’s Pulley. I’m a little ashamed to admit that I’ve somehow never seen these guys before. Considering their current and former members are associated with Strung Out, No Use For a Name and Face to Face (and fronted by former Ten Foot Pole vocalist Scott Radinsky), they fit right into my musical sweet spot. I’ll definitely be listening to more of them now and hopefully catching them live again.

Last up and almost an hour and a half late, was punk rock supergroup Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.  Although, as usual, there was a frustrating amount of talking between songs, they actually sounded well-rehearsed and frontman Spike Slawson sounded exceptional right out of the gate.  He has such a killer voice, it’s a shame he doesn’t front more bands full-time (according to a recent interview there’s more Re-Volts coming soon, woot!).

Mid-way through the set, Fat Mike tagged in NOFX guitarist Eric Melvin to play bass for him. Among Me First favorites like “Danny’s Song,” “Rocket Man” and “I Believe I Can Fly” they also managed to debut a new cover of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” which is sure to become a Me First classic.  Even though they can get drunk and sloppy at times, their set always feels like a big party with your friends and I will never tire of seeing them.

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