Images: Tusk & Hide trunk show with Bobby Meader, Nick Shelton, Brendan Scholz and more June 13, 2015 at R+D Hipster Emporium

Hair braiding, beard care, teepees, hipster wear and…Punks in Vegas?

Last Saturday, we helped sponsor a trunk show at the R+D Hipster Emporium for local beard care company Tusk & Hide – and though at first glance it seemed like a strange fit for us, it turned out to be the most fun we’ve had at a show in quite some time. Jesse Michaels once shouted “More than just another crowd / We need a gathering instead,” and this was a gathering in every sense of the word.

The list of musical guests should be familiar to avid PIV readers. The lineup was composed of Bobby Meader of Bobby Meader Music, Brendan Scholz of Mercy Music and Nick Shelton of Eliza Battle.

Brendan took his mic check duties seriously, putting out a call for “rich white people, come give us your money.” Once everyone was sure the mic was working properly (based on the confused faces of the Kona Grill diners) Bobby warmed up the already very warm 100+ degree outdoor show crowd. The small audience acted as backing vocalists, jovially singing along to tracks like “Cheers to That,” “Fine” and “Patty Mayonnaise.”

By 6 p.m., Brendan and Nick had finished their sets, the sun still showed no signs of mercy, and Tusk and Hide founder Dane Mentzer had thanked everyone for coming out. Voices raw, feet sore and skin baked, it seemed like time to call it a night.

But there was still beer and guacamole left, and no one seemed quite ready to leave, so Sal Giordano was cheered into an impromptu set. Under his No Red Alice guise, Sal played an acoustic rendition of TheCore’s “ThunderMakers” and a cover of Darius Rucker’s cover of “Wagon Wheel,” at least, according to the somewhat inebriated crowd.

The next performer from the crowd was Jesse Pino, who we wrangled into Boca Park based on the promise of sweet, delicious Sambalatte. But the singer/songwriter is left handed and didn’t bring a guitar, so how would that work? Actually, he did a pretty good job playing upside down for a song, and then Brendan was back, strumming Pino’s “Have Another” and “The Burn” from the comfort of a western-themed Lovesac.

And then, there were no singers left. That is, until Ian Shane Tyler, formerly of Red Light School District, happened to pass through the parking lot in his van, and he too was convinced to play a set. Ian covered Radiohead’s “Karma Police” before being joined by Brendan for 3/5 of Weezer’s Blue Album, the entire crowd joining together to sing Rivers’ words.

When Ian had enough, Brendan took back the guitar and played through crowd requests for Fastball’s “The Way” and Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger.”

By 8 o’clock, it was really time for us to head on out, though Nick was getting ready to start his second set of the night, after receiving an impossible-to-refuse monetary offer from a newly won fan. He played through Eliza Battle jams “Lucy” and “Cheers to That,” and we all walked away sweaty, smelly, and very happy.

Special thanks to R+D Hipster Emporium who were the most gracious of hosts (beer AND guacamole), Square Salon, and to Tusk & Hide founder Dane Mentzer, for being an awesome dude and for keeping all the beards in town super smoothe.

-Ashleigh Thompson

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