Images: Punks in Vegas 7 Year Bash feat. Quiet Slang, Jesse Pino and the Vitals Signs, The Quitters June 28, 2018 at The Bunkhouse Saloon

Last year, I talked about how our birthday bash wasn’t something I planned; it just sort of fell into my lap and felt right to do. This year was a completely different story.

I knew I wanted Beach Slang involved, as the sincere Philadelphia punk rockers had basically provided the soundtrack of my life over the past few years. I tried to make it happen as a “post-credits scene” to the tour they had with Dashboard Confessional, which ended in Los Angeles. The stars (aka schedules) didn’t align for that, but fortunately they did during the tour for Everything Matters But No One Is Listening – the debut full-length from Beach Slang’s chamber pop-influenced offshoot Quiet Slang. A stripped down version of Beach Slang was an even better fit for a site known for filming “Stripped Down Sessions.”

Shortly after confirming Beach Slang, our good pals Jesse Pino and the Vital Signs and The Quitters were added to the show. Pino played a solo set for our first anniversary show, and the timing felt right to bring him back, this time backed by his band the Vital Signs. It’s been nice to see how his songs have progressed from solo acoustic to full band. As for The Quitters? It’s kind of crazy that they hadn’t been on one of our shows yet, considering our long history of covering their gigs. I was happy to finally have them on a PIV show, and it felt extra special since they played a rare, all-acoustic set.

Still, things weren’t easy. Our first venue fell through and for a minute, it didn’t seem like we’d be able to recover. Time was short and all the usual spots were booked. Thankfully, Mike Henry and the fine folks at The Bunkhouse Saloon were able to accommodate us, putting together an outdoor stage so we could run our show in the lead up to the Cold Cave show happening inside (another big thanks to Ryan and Ruben for letting us squeeze this in before their show). Ultimately, it felt right to have the show at Bunkhouse, as we had filmed our acoustic session with ‘Slang frontman James Alex at the same venue during the band’s first stop in Vegas.

Alex and bandmate Charlie Lowe closed out the night with a set of reimagined Beach Slang favorites, including “Filthy Luck,” “Warpaint,” and “Spin the Dial,” as well as a cover of Big Star’s “Thirteen.” The set included a visual slideshow as well, giving the project a nice art rock touch (luckily, the sun had ducked behind the mountains by the time they took stage). Playing as a duo, Quiet Slang replicated the string arrangements from the album through the use of backing tracks, which sounded great- and they didn’t have to squeeze an orchestra in the van, so that’s a plus.

Thank you to Quiet Slang, Jesse Pino and the Vital Signs, and The Quitters. Thank you to Mike, Ryan, Ruben, and everyone else at The Bunkhouse Saloon. Thank you to everyone who donated to our clothing drive and Quiet Slang! Thank you to my friends and all the PIV volunteers who keep this website full of content. There wouldn’t be any PIV without them. And thank you to everyone that has supported us in anyway over the last 7 years. Here’s to many more!

-Emily Matview

Photos by Aaron Mattern and Samantha Carbonaro | https://www.flickr.com/photos/akmofoto/