Images: Pulley, TheCore., Happy Campers, War Called Home January, 11 2014 at Backstage Bar and Billiards

If you grew up in the 90s and owned a set of Pig wheels and Independent trucks, it’s a safe bet to say you listened to Pulley. Formed in the late 90s by ex-Ten Foot Pole frontman Scott Radinsky, Pulley soundtracked their fair share of late night grind-sessions and most recently for me, they were a highlight of last year’s Punk Rock Bowling festival, playing the awards show after party with Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and The Bombpops at the Fremont Country Club.  Fast forward to January 2014, and I was even more excited to see the band play a headlining show, this time at the Fremont Country Club’s more intimate next door neighbor Backstage Bar and Billiards.

The band kicked off their set with “Working Class Whore,” the brash opening cut from @ !* and got people bouncing around and singing along like we were kids again. Not wasting any time, they sped through a huge portion of their catalog, including crowd favorite “Runaway,” which originally appears on their 2001 LP Together Again for the First Time but is probably better known for its inclusion on the 2006 Punk O Rama comp, and “Cashed In” from Punk-O-Rama 2/Esteem Driven Engine kept things going hard.

It was easy to tell from the face-splitting grin on his face that Radinsky really enjoyed the Vegas crowd, many of whom weren’t able to get into the PRB show (it sold out in less than a minute) and were eager to climb on the barricade and help him sing. Drummer Chris Dalley, who plays with Pulley guitarist Jim Blowers in the Implants, sounded particularly tight, despite just filling in for the band.

Opening the show were local punks Happy Campers, TheCore. and War Called Home,  and it was obvious these bands were excited to be playing along with Pulley, especially TheCore.’s Brock Frabbiele, better known as the biggest Pulley fan we know. I can’t remember seeing another show with such a large portion of the barricade space lined by the opening musicians, which is a testament to the influence a band from 287 miles away has had on our local scene.

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