Images: Teenage Bottlerocket, The Bombpops, Guilty by Association and More July 3, 2015 at Beauty Bar

We kicked off Independence Day weekend with Bottlerockets and Bombpops – what a great way to celebrate ‘Merica.

Teenage Bottlerocket played last on a five band bill, coming out to a full – but not packed – group of sweaty and sufficiently inebriated fans to the tune of Black Eyed Peas’ “I’ve Got a Feeling.” After their masked mascot Clint, appearing for the very last time, finished hyping up the crowd with his TBR flag, the band burst onto stage with fan favorite “Skate or Die,” the opener to 2009’s They Came from the Shadows.

Whether you skate now or haven’t touched a board since 12th grade ended, it’s hard not to shout through grinned teeth “shut up and get rad, cause now it’s time to skate or die” along with Ray Carlie and crew, and the song sounded especially good as a palate cleanser to the Black Eyed Peas. (Though to be fair, anything sounds good next to the Black Eyed Peas. Anything.)

The song represents everything that makes TBR so great, namely the Ramones-influenced pop sensibilities mixed with juvenile lyrics sold by an earnest delivery. And that playful sound, which they’ve refined with through 6 albums now, has won them quite the varied fanbase.

Acolytes of all ages, from the elder statesmen in the Bad Religion shirts to the kids decked in Red City Radio apparel, were jumping over each other for a chance to sing along to that first song, and the same vibe carried over to “Bigger Than Kiss,” which takes aim at the perennial “favorite first band” of generations of kids, “Bloodbath at Burger King,” the ultimate “I hate my first job” jam and “They Call Me Steve,” the band’s latest single and ode to Minecraft.

How many other bands can get away with writing a song about Minecraft (the video game you know about because you’ve spent more than 6 seconds with someone under 14 in the past two years), and yet still be so loved by the bar scene crowd? Teenage Bottlerocket are the juvenile goofballs we all deserve, and desperately need.

However, it wasn’t all high energy, at least when it came to the crowd. The combo late start/muggy air left many of us feeling a bit less animated and unable to match the always energetic band. While Carlie was able to balance himself on the makeshift barrier for “Bullshit” or play drumstick catch with co-frontman Kody Templeton and drummer Brandon Carlie, or bassist/yoga enthusiast Miguel Chen thrashing about for every single song, the crowd struggled to sing along with a cover of Danzig’s “Mother.”

Despite the crowd lethargy during some parts, the band still indulged their proclaimed “second biggest fan” for a request of “Haunted House,” threw in a cover of Bad Religion’s “Henchmen” and extended the bridge to one of my favorite TBR songs “On My Own,” with Van Halen’s “Panama” and Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop,” the latter inciting a much more respectable singalong than the Danzig cover.

The Bombpops were in direct support, back from their European tour just in time to grace us with their second Vegas show of the year. The Bombpops are a band that definitely shares much of the same juvenile sensibilities as TBR. I mean, how many other bands would come out and introduce themselves of “The Slutty Cunts” and then go into a speech about how what we all have in common is our “sweaty cracks?”

The band also shares with TBR a love of pop, though more in that Millencolin/Lagwagon “EpiFat” vein than The Ramones. “Like I Care,” one of my favorite songs of the night, could be slotted right onto Punk-O-Rama 2 or Life in the Fat Lane and I don’t think anyone would be upset.

The band pushed past some technical difficulties to play more favorites like “Outta Hand” and “Crazy,” the latter earning the largest singalong of their set. I don’t think bassist Neil Wayne gets enough credit for how rad that song sounds live.

I was happy to hear “Can O’ Worms,” the track we filmed acoustically with them late last year, in all its full band glory. It was fun watching drummer Josh Lewis spin the sticks during the song like a pro. That song, as well as “Crazy,” have some great harmonies from front-women Poli Van Dam and Jen Razavi and of course, it’s always fun to watch them shred, even when Poli was deflecting a call for “more booty” from a drunken woman in the crowd.

On the local front, Franks and Deans kicked things off with their punked up takes on Rat Pack classics, though, no offense to the fine gentlemen, all eyes were on their dancer who checked inhibitions at the door for a highly impressive hula hoop number on the bar’s floor.

Mercy Music won over new fans (we saw people having their picture taken with frontman Brendan Scholz after the set) and proved their tenacity, playing through a revolving lineup of drummers and managing to still sound tight.

Guilty By Association started the first real pit of the night for “Walk Alone,” and also included a cover of Billy Joel’s “Still Rock ‘n Roll,” which they thankfully played in a manner far closer to the genre it purports to be about.

-Emily Matview

Photos by Anthony Constantine | https://www.facebook.com/anthonycphotography