Joey Cape’s Bad Loud, Cory Branan, Dude City June 6, 2011 at The Bunkhouse Saloon

Bad Loud, the latest project from Lagwagn frontman Joey Cape came through Vegas last night, drawing more than a handful of skatepunk fans eager to check out the latest project from the guy who brought us classics like “May 16” and “Violins.” This project came about as a way to transform Cape’s solo work into something a bit more rocking and the band pulls it off to great success. Those expecting a Lagwagon clone might be surprised to find that this group actually shares more in common with Cape’s other “Bad” band –Bad Astronaut. They have a 90s indie rock vibe in the vein of Superchunk and every single one of the revamped songs sounded great, even on the slowly dying Bunkhouse soundsystem.

In direct support for this show was singer/songwriter Cory Branan. I’m a big fan of Branan’s and was honestly more excited for his set than the headliner’s and I can happily say he delivered. Branan peppered his set with classics like “Tall Green Grass,” new songs like “Survivor Blues” (which he recorded for our Stripped Down Sessions series before the show) and a whole lot of charm. Branan’s anecdotes between songs were almost as good as the songs himself. He’s a great storyteller and we combines that with a catchy song – such as with “Go Named Go” – he really shines.

Locals Dude City opened but unfortunately I spent most of their set trying to fix a faulty flash – a problem that plagued me the entire show and resulted in darker than usual photos. Hopefully I’ll be able to catchy DC again soon and give their set the proper attention.

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