Images: Punk Rock BBQ feat. Happy Campers, Burning Agrestic, Unfair Fight & more June 15, 2013 at the Bunkhouse Saloon

It was recently announced that beloved downtown venue the Bunkhouse Saloon would soon be closing for renovations and a change in ownership.  Although slated to reopen in September with live music still in the plans, it will remain to be seen if they’ll fit the punk rock niche they’ve filled so well.  The Bunkhouse will always be particularly sentimental for me, having gotten to see many of my favorite bands in such an intimate setting (Dead to Me, Riverboat Gamblers, Swinging Utters, Cobra Skulls, Off With Their Heads and Guttermouth, to name a few.)

On Saturday June 15, a bunch of local punks got together to celebrate, and see them off properly with a BBQ. It was a dual stage (inside and out back) so there was non-stop music from 8 p.m. til 2 a.m.  Chris Reject of the Grocery Store Rejects kicked off the night, followed by the People’s Whiskey, Mersa, and Lambs to Lions.

Newcomers War Called Home used the show as a release for their new EP Origins.  I was excited to check these guys out, and was really into their fast 90s-era punk.  Then came Vegas veterans The Happy Campers, followed by Burning Agrestic.  I was quite impressed with the energy that Burning Agrestic instantly brought to the place, and I’m excited to see more from them. Unfair Fight and Ambush Americana followed, with Surrounded by Thieves closing out the night on a high note.

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