Images: Punk Rock Bowling Day One feat. Cock Sparrer, Anti-Nowhere League & more May 24, 2014 at Fremont East

Even though I attend Punk Rock Bowling every year I don’t always shoot it. There are so many good bands to see and good friends to hang with that it can be a bit overwhelming. But when Steven asked me to cover the first day for him since he’d be at a wedding, I was excited to get the chance to photograph some legendary bands and hear some new ones for the first time. As excited as someone can be when it’s 100+ degrees out!

I got out onto the pavement just in time to catch the first band, local punk rockers The Gashers, who I hadn’t seen live before. The SquidHat Records signees have a pretty awesome old school punk rock vibe, which seemed to win over the few dozen other punctual punks. They’ve got some uniquely solid harmonies, and as a bass player myself, I always love seeing a bassist that feels comfortable soloing and grooving with the band. These guys can only get better and I look forward to catching them in a more intimate setting around town.

Houston street punk band Blackmarket Syndicate was next on the bill and they were awesome. Clearly influenced by street punk bands like Street Dogs and early Rancid, I love the speed and dual vocals this band offers. They’ve got energetic stage presence and songs made to be anthemic sing alongs. If you get the chance, check these guys out – I know I will next time they come through.

LA-based punk ‘n roll 5 piece The Generators were the most impressive band all day for me. The amount of energy these guys put into their set is unreal, especially under the hot Vegas sun. Their style kept everybody moving and dancing, with classic riffs and great guitar tones keeping me captivated throughout the all-too-short set. They seemed very, very influenced by Bad Religion, which makes sense since they share a name with one of Bad Religion’s best albums. If you don’t believe me on how good these dudes are, head over to your music streaming place of choice and check out the track “Point of No Return.”

After a quick water break, I was right back up front to see a living bass legend in person. Devil’s Brigade is an awesome punk rock/psychobilly side project from Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong, both of Rancid and Operation Ivy and also features DJ Bonebrake from the most awesome band out of LA – X. Even though Armstrong was spotted around the festival he didn’t perform with the band this time, leaving someone from The Huns to play guitar. Freeman usually plays with a double bass live, but he just played his 77’ Precision Bass instead which has been with him since the very beginning of Operation Ivy days. Freeman doesn’t get much vocal time in his other bands so it was awesome to hear his “swallowed a bag of rocks” style of vocals so much. They also pulled off a very good cover of the Dead Kennedys Song “Police Truck!”

I know a lot of people were stoked to see Peter and the Test Tube Babies but I had actually never listened to them, so I went into their set with virgin ears. So my first reaction upon hearing the British punks live is “WOW!” They’re like a heavier, 80s Sex Pistols. The dudes may be old but had so much energy to give on stage. I can only hope to have that much energy when I’m half their age. The crowd loved these guys too, which is perfect for all the sing alongs, complete with every first pumped in the air. Don’t sleep on these guys like I did and check out “Easter Bank Holiday 83” asap!

The stage provided convenient shade from the slowly setting sun by the time Angelic Upstarts took to the stage, and a slight breeze felt better than just about anything else all day. This, combined with the reckless attitudes of the band kicked off a monstrous circle pit behind me. These guys were so old school, you could tell they influenced a whole generation and I could immediately tell guys like Dropkick Murphys and Agnostic Front must have rocked out to their entire discography when they were discovering punk. Lead singer Mensi is such a unique frontman, reciting poetic lyrics before songs and then telling the audience how good looking he was throughout the set like a WWE heel. Again these guys were a big surprise for me and I liked them a ton. Check out there live record simply titled Angelic Upstarts: Live because live is how these guys need to be heard.

The sun was finally gone and the mood changed from aggressive to relaxed for the next band, New York’s The Slackers. The guys play some nice chill reggae ska, and it was my first time seeing them, though I remember digging these guys on the old Give ‘em the Boot comps. Such good grooves and stage presence. They had everyone dancing, or at least as close as you can call dancing when everyone is slammed up against each other in the crowd. They were perfect for the bill, breaking up the aggressive oi and street punk all day with some nice ska.

Of course the mood took another 180 with an epic set from the fiery The Anti-Nowhere League. This was the rowdiest I had seen the crowd all night, with tons of sing alongs and circle pits. This is another aggressive, brash, anti-authoritative band that obviously influenced a whole lot of bands I listen to today.

I was exhausted, dehydrated and still going strong when the night finally came to a close with returning headliners Cock Sparrer. The ever-popular London act formed in 1972 and for the original members to still be performing with each other after 40 years is incredible. They are still super tight and rocking and I love how these dudes look so unbelievably stoked to be playing together so far into their career. I was late in getting into these guys, having only checked them out after being impressed by their last PRB show and now I was prepared to join in on sing alongs for “What it’s like to be Old” and “Teenage Heart.”

Tomorrow: Steven’s coverage of day two! More rad bands! The few, the proud, the Descendents!

-Tyler Newton | http://500px.com/spottedlens