Images: Punks in Vegas 6 Year Bash feat. Mike Park, Maura Weaver, No Red Alice, Rayner June 24, 2017 at Evil Pie

Jun 30, 2017 Posted by Emily Matview In Images Tagged Maura Weaver, Mike Park, no red alice, Rayner Comments 2

We weren’t planning a 6-year show, but when Mike Park messaged me about setting up a show for him and Maura Weaver, how could I say no?

Park is one of my all-time favorite musicians. But more than that, I’ve always looked up to Mike as a person. The way he has run Asian Man Records for over 20 years, keeping things DIY and making sure his bands are well taken care of, as well as keeping prices fair for the fans, is really inspiring. When our website first started and no one knew who were, Mike always wrote back when we approached him about covering his bands (current and former).

With Weaver, reviewing her band Mixtapes for PunkNews was one of the things that stirred the idea of starting PIV. The duo played tracks from their recently released Ogikubo Station EP as well as cuts from their respective bands: “I’m In Love With A Girl Named Spike” in Park’s case (including a charming story of how he actually met the titular Spike while in tour with Skankin’ Pickle in Canada) and “Bad Parts” and “Moonglow” from Maura (thanks for playing my request!).

Post-set, Maura teamed up with Sal Giordano (No Red Alice) for a unique rendition of “Wagon Wheel” before passing the guitar over to Mike Park fan Robert Stokes for the final song of the night. Giordano was one of the openers for the show with his No Red Alice bandmate Chris Bitonti. Giordano has played more of our anniversary shows than anyone and took the reins on this one, booking the venue, providing the instruments and, of course, playing. The show wouldn’t have happened without him and his support over the years is greatly appreciated.

First up for the matinee show was 3/5 of Rayner, who were celebrating the release of their EP Disasters across the street at Beauty Bar the same night. The acoustic set was looser than the full band show, but just as much fun. The band joked often between songs while trying their best not to swear in front of the kids in the crowd. Like No Red Alice, the members of Rayner’s support over the years is greatly appreciated and it felt good to get them on our anniversary show.