Images: Zom Sawyer, Murderland, Go Bold April 1, 2016 at the Beauty Bar

So I know that all the loyal Punks in Vegas readers are familiar with the story of “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” but today, I’m here to tell you about the Brotherhood of the Traveling Guitar, which took place at the Beauty Bar earlier this month.

*This is where I Wikipedia search the plot of “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” after realizing I have no idea what that book is about*

Okay, so this is the story of one guitar that fit three bands’ guitarists perfectly, despite their differences in sound and playing style. We start with its owner, the charismatic singer/songwriter Brock Frabbiele and his new band Go Bold, a group which isn’t pronounced Gob Old as I originally predicted. Frabbiele is joined through love of music and Del Taco by Dave Bartlett (War Called Home) and Josh Estrada (In Fugue).

Go Bold sees Frabbiele’s previous solo songs reimagined from somber acoustic numbers to rolickin’ punk n roll tunes (think what Joey Cape’s Bad Loud was to that frontman’s solo discography). Following a soft debut last year with Pears, the band has really found their footing with this show. Not only are they playing tighter than before, but they’re able to change tempos on a whim, which Frabbiele had them demonstrate during “Rock Bottom.”

The guitar took a break during Murderland’s set, a band I think is best to describe as Teenage Bottlerocket meets Alkaline Trio. Or how about Dude Ranch-era Blink meets The Cramps? Basically, they’re a pop punk band that likes to drop in references to mortuaries, monsters and fetus eaters. Frontman Mike Murder asked the crowd to “Give it up for music!” It’s a moment that might have been cheesy, but he said it with such wild enthusiasm that everyone accepted it as a perfect thing to do.

Mike Murder is seemingly born to be a frontman, though I guess it’s just as possible that he got the gift via Faustian pact. Standing precariously on the edge of stage monitors, Murder pantomimed practically every word that came from his mouth, the hamminess acting as the perfect complement to the silliness of songs. I wish the crowd showed more interest in their set, but the band kept the energy high, with particular compliments to their drummer, who twirled the sticks between every hit, despite the fact that it was almost impossible to see him with the stage so cramped.

After clarifying that the night’s original headliners (Versus the World) wouldn’t be making the show due to family reasons, their replacements came out. Yes, you guessed it, it was a bevy of bikini babes, who performed a brief fashion show before locals Zom Sawyer took the stage. Like Go Bold, Zom also has a Vegas pedigree backing them, with members of Hard Pipe Hitters and The Sprockets in the lineup. And like Murderland, they have a slightly spooky theme going thanks to their name. It was synergy at its finest.

Zom Sawyer also had the assistance of one Frabbiele guitar, which returned to aid Jesse Magana, who played so fast and so hard that his own ax was practically stringless by the end of the first song. With the traveling guitar in hand, Magana rose like Marty McFly after his parent’s first kiss, shredding with reckless abandon through a set of songs that contained a bit of a late 90s alt rock feel, with a touch of punk thrown in for good measure.

Frontman Brodie Knight’s vocal style is a bit snotty and is perfectly suited for the punk side of things, which is where I felt the band shined brightest, such as the track “Graffiti,” which recalls bands like Blink and Unwritten Law.

Of course, the show completely ended here, due to the aforementioned cancellation of Versus the World.

And they lived happily ever af….but wait – there’s more!

Recovering his guitar from Jesse, Frabbiele passed it off once more. This time the 6 stringer went to Dan Palmer, the mustachioed frontman of hardcore punk band Death By Stereo, who was in the audience supporting the DJ set put on by bandmate Efrem Schulz. Soon, Frabbiele persuaded the rest of the LA band to take the stage for a short-yet-sweet Death by Stereo set that saw Schulz in the crowd and Palmer shredding while perched on the monitors, cigar in his mouth.

It was a perfect teaser for what was to come at the following day’s Extreme Thing Set.

-Emily Matview

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