Images: Pears, Direct Hit, Rayner, Hard Pipe Hitters August 18, 2016 at the Beauty Bar

Despite the fact that playing music in the rain can make even the dweebiest of rock stars look cool (I’m looking at you, Bush and your 1996 MTV Spring Break performance of “Glycerine”) it’s actually not that fun to have your gear shorted out.

Pears, who has played Vegas so often over the last few years that a friend recently confessed he thought they were local, were put on a rain delay just two songs into their headlining set at the Beauty Bar last week. What bands really need is an umbrella-toting Fonzworth Bentley to their Puff Daddy, because gear is expensive and water and electricity aren’t the best of friends.

When the rain thankfully subsided just fifteen minutes later, the New Orleans punk rock band quickly got back to doing what they do best. That is, shredding through fast jams while frontman Zack Quinn gesticulates wildly across the tight Beauty Bar stage. Quinn was somehow simultaneously channeling Pale Man, Michael Jackson and Henry Rollins all at once and it was awesome on songs like “Forever Sad,” “Sycophant,” “Victim to Be,” “Snowflake” and “Green Star.”  The set itself was definitely the shortest I’ve seen the band play, which may have been due to the rain delay, a smaller and mellower crowd than their previous Vegas shows (which might have to do with this being a work night) or some evil forces outside of our control.

Direct Hit, who is both label and tourmates of Pears, had a much more interactive crowd this time around. It warms my heart to see the Wisconsin pop punk band, who is quite possibly the only band to ever open up for Blink 182 and play the Beauty Bar in the same month, have so many people singing along to old favorites like “Snickers or Reese’s,” “Werewolf Shame” and “Buried Alive.” Even more exciting was seeing the response to songs from the band’s just-released Wasted Mind. From the “whoa ohs” on set opener “Hospital for Heroes,” to the “Then we’ll sail as high as we wanna go / None of you can tell us no” bridge of “Artificial Confidence” to the entirety of “Villain Alcoholic,” it’s clear that the new album has been received with open arms from the band’s growing fanbase.

Direct Hit sounded as tight as ever, especially on songs where frontman Nick Woods shared vocal duties with guitarist Devon Kay and bassist Steve Maury. Fill in drummer Chris Gaylor (of All American Rejects fame, also a recent Blink opening act) also did a great job, especially considering how quickly he had to learn the set (“You’re going to make it someday” joked Woods). As the set went on, Kay was able to try out his standup which was funny, but maybe not quite ready for a set at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club but really, who is? (The answer: not even Brad Garrett!) Pears guitarist Brian Pretus took over guitar duties from Woods for set ender “We’re Fucked,” allowing him to embrace his inner hardcore kid and scream the song’s nihilistic lyrics at the eager crowd.

Opening the show were locals Rayner and Hard Pipe Hitters, with Rayner’s brand of pop punk perfectly suited for Direct Hit and Hard Pipe’s aggression making them a perfect match for Pears. Rayner included some new songs but the highlight of their set was a faithful cover of Teenage Bottlerocket’s “Skate or Die.” Unfortunately, the power of that song dislocated drummer Sergio Cervantes’s arm and their set had to be cut short. Hard Pipe had fans right up front to sing along, and they were gracious openers, taking time to give love to Rayner, the headliners (which they dubbed “Direct Pears”), and the Beauty Bar staff, dedicating “Drink Until We Die” to the employees making sure fans had a drink in each hand.

-Emily Matview

Photos by Anthony Constantine | https://www.facebook.com/anthonycphotography