Images: Tumbledown, Mike Herrera (acoustic), Sprockets (acoustic), The Objex (acoustic) February 14th, 2012 at the King’s Room in the Rio

The King’s Room at the Rio played host this Valentine’s Day to a venerable pop punk veteran, MXPX’s Mike Herrera, and his country-tinged band Tumbledown. Along to celebrate the special day were two pairs of local bands gone acoustic – Sprockets and The Objex.

First up were Felony Melony and J Nastee, vocalist and guitarist for sex- aden punk rockers The Objex. The duo announced that it was their first time performing acoustically and honestly, I wasn’t sure their style would translate well to that setting. But to my surprise, the transition was quite successful. The charisma and confidence of frontwoman Felony Melony, who was obviously having a great time, made their set a joy to watch. I hope they do more sets like this in the future.

The changeover between bands was quick, and next up were Brodie Knight Vans & Brave Dave from Sprockets. Sprockets was a band I was completely unfamiliar with before this show, but after a little research, I found that the Vegas alternative pop rock band has a connection with Mike Herrera – the frontman having produced the band’s Medicated Empty LP. As an acoustic duo the band was much more subdued than their stage predecessors, though their more relaxed presence really showcased a great, raspy vocal performance from Knight Vans. The two got their biggest response when they invited Herrera on stage for a stripped down version of the MXPX song “Heard that Sound.”

Herrera took over from there, first playing a too-brief acoustic set that included the MXPX classic “Let It Happen” before bringing out the guys in Tumbledown. The crowd, while small, did grow a bit in size when the band took the stage, playing in a style that is growing increasingly popular as similar bands like Old Man Marley and Larry and His Flask gain momentum. Fans of the latter should definitely check out Tumbledown.

The crowd danced and sang along as they played tracks like “Arrested in El Paso” “Let’s Drink” and new single “Great Big World,” and the group enjoyed themselves enough to take requests and throw in a few covers to the mix. Among them was Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues,” Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” (with Felony Melony on lead vocals) and two MXPX songs – “Secret Weapon” and “Move to Bremerton.” The band said they would try and be back soon and hopefully that happens, because they brought a great energy with them and I’d love to see more shows like this.

-Emily Matview | https://www.flickr.com/photos/holdfastnow/

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