Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival (PRB) made its triumphant return to Las Vegas Memorial Day weekend. In addition to the kickoff parties, the pool parties, and the much-anticipated late night club shows, the heart and soul of PRB has always been the three-day festival.
A dozen bands spread over two stags (PRB Main Stage and the Monster Energy Street Party Stage), bringing together both established punk, ska, and reggae legends with the new bands carrying the torch.
The Iron Roses are relatively new to the scene, having just released their first self-titled album last year, but they have a familiar face or two (lead vocalist Nathan Gray has been the singer for BoySetsFire for the past three decades).
The overall sound reminds me of some of the early Against Me albums, but instead of angst and a fist, The Iron Roses promote positivity and a smile. Gray, along with co-lead vocalist Becky Fontaine, opened with “Screaming for a Change” and closed with “Raising Hell, Raising Hope.”
Bad Cop/Bad Cop came out to a retro “Charlie’s Angels” theme song and kicked things off with “Retrograde” followed by “I’m Done.”
Guitarist Alex Windsor announced this was her first Punk Rock Bowling, while singer-guitarist Stacey Dee said one of her last times here she popped a hemorrhoid. So, everyone has a different PRB experience all their own. Dee later said they are working on a new album that should be out in October.
I have a theory that bands with just two members tend to play louder, harder, and faster than other bands, almost as if they are trying to make up for only having two members. That’s certainly the case with Washington D.C.’s Teen Mortgage. They opened with “Doctor,” with heavy reverb and feedback, what some might have called grunge in the ‘90s.
Lead singer and guitarist James Guile said, “That first song was about having a job. This next song is about getting stoned at that job.” They also played a new, unreleased song called “Ride.”
Lagwagon took the main stage and kicked into “Island of Shame.” Not only did Lagwagon play a show at 1 a.m. the following night, but that same evening 3/5 of their members played a show with RKL until 2 a.m. And still, they ripped through “Violins,” “After You My Friend,” and “Falling Apart.”
Fat Wreck Chords co-owner Erin Burkett came out to sing her part in “E Dagger,” a song written for, and about her. Front-man Joey Cape announced, “This is our last song – it’s always our last song” and finished with “May 16,” a date that has become synonymous with the band.
Billy Bragg took the main stage and told a story about being 20 years old and seeing The Clash at Rock Against Racism in England. He then played “All You Fascists Are Bound to Lose,” a cover by Woody Guthrie.
The British punk folk singer had a powerful set full of political and ideological wisdom in between songs. He sang “Help Save the Youth of America,” whose message seems more prevalent now than ever. He finished with “The Milkman of Human Kindness” and the anthem, “A New England.”
Gorilla Biscuits are part of the founding members of New York hardcore scene and they brought one of the most energetic and inspired sets of the day. Front-man Anthony “Civ” Civarelli dedicated “Big Mouth” to fellow NY hardcore lead singer Eddie Sutton of the band Leeway, who sadly passed away just a month ago.
They had time for a cover of “Minor Threat” before Civ, a longtime straightedge vegan said, “I went through today knowing I didn’t fucking kill a living thing. For those of you who’d like to get enlightened, this song’s called ‘Cats and Dogs.’”
It never fails to shock me just how many songs Descendents can squeeze into their set. Sure, some of their songs are on a bit of the short side (“All” clocks in at six seconds, “I Like Food” just under 20 seconds) but even still, the fact that they can put up over 30 songs in about an hour-long festival headlining set is pretty damn impressive.
The largest crowd of the day gathered around as a huge ovation went up when they hit the stage and went into “Feel This,” “Hope,” and “Silly Girl” seamlessly as a huge pit opened up, swallowing a large portion of the crowd.
Their set was a nice travel through the band’s vast discography, even including “Nightage,” and they finished their regular set with “Suburban Home” and “Smile.” They came back for an encore of “Good Good Things” and to my surprise, “Catalina,” which I’ve never seen them close with.
Sunday, May 26
Of the few times I’ve seen Philadelphia’s Catbite, this might have been my favorite performance as they rocked the Street Party Stage Sunday afternoon. The ska punk five-piece opened with the fun “Creepin” before moving into the slow-skanking “Bad Influence.” Brittany Luna’s vocals really shined on their cover of the Zutons/Amy Winehouse “Valerie” turning it into a sultry, ska-lounge melody. The band turned things up for a high-energy performance of “Scratch Me Up” as fans followed Luna’s lead to raise their “paws” in the air during the song’s chorus.
NIIS is a band I’ve been hearing about for a few years, especially amongst the L.A. scene, where they hail. Their music can be described as a mix of punk, hardcore, and noise rock. They had a great set filled with raw energy, highlighted by lead singer Mimi Doe’s screeching, howling vocals.
For me, one of the weekend’s highlights was Destroy Boys’ set. I’m continually impressed more every time I see them. For “Beg for the Torture,” vocalist Alexia Roditis asked for an all-girls pit.
Guitarist Violet Mayugba handed her guitar to their tech that played, while she and Roditis ripped through the song, owning every single inch of that stage.
Mayugba later ditched her guitar again to sing the 60-second “Muzzle.” They played a cover of The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” and “I Threw Glass at My Friend’s Eyes and Now I’m on Probation.”
Next up on the main stage was England’s Subhumans, the legendary punk band originating from the ‘80s. A brutal 40-minute set that saw a particularly rowdy circle pit, they opened with “Apathy” and “Drugs of Youth.”
Before launching into “99%” vocalist Dick Lucas said the song was about the vast majority of people who represented the least amount of wealth. He said “Too Fat, Too Thin” was about media and culture trying to tell you what to be and how to look and “fuck anyone who would exploit people based on their looks.”
For my money, the set of the festival went to Starcrawler. Lead singer Arrow de Wilde uses not only her powerful vocals, but her makeup and outfit as well as onstage mannerisms to an almost-theatrical performance. ”
They played “I Love LA” and their rendition of the Ramones’ “Pet Sematary.” They closed with an insane performance of “Bet My Brains” which saw guitarist Henri Cash climbing one of the stage’s side poles and continuing to play while about 20 feet above the stage. As the song went on, Cash then climbed into the crowd, guitar still plugged in, and continued to wail to a fiery finish, breaking every single string on his guitar.
For a band that I first discovered in high school, it’s cool to see Rocket from the Crypt getting their dues. The San Diego legends played the main stage and brought a really fun set. John Reis, aka the Swami, is a really funny and entertaining front man. He joked that they were the punkest band there because “we are wearing black wool from head to toe in the desert.” “Get Down” featured a pretty nice solo from Reis, while “Bring Us Bullets” had a nasty sax solo from Paul O’Beirne.
People have been anxiously awaiting The Chats ever since their video for “Smoko” went viral. The Australian trio had what many described as one of the sickest pits all weekend, with people getting clobbered left and right set against a fast-paced setlist featuring “Billy Backwash’s Day,” “6L GTR,” and “Emperor of the Beach.”
Fast, rowdy, no-nonsense punk from Down Under is how I can best describe their set. Playing and singing at breakneck speed, they closed the aforementioned “Smoko” and “Pub Feed.”
As the lights turned down for Sunday’s headliners, a video began playing showing footage from the 1979 film showing Devo’s sleazy manager, Rod Roote. It then cuts to Rod who introduces his “spuds.”
Devo came out with a larger-than-life performance of sight and sound. They opened with “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man)” and “Peek-A-Boo!” while various videos played in the background, syncing up perfectly with the music and lyrics. The lights went dark and Bob Mothersbaugh began the familiar synthesized guitar intro to “Girl U Want” – as the lights turned back on, the band were now wearing their famous red energy domes.
There was a short interlude as the band left the stage and a video on the solar system narrated by Carl Sagan began playing, before the lights turned back on and they returned wearing their signature yellow suit with belt and “DEVO” in black letters on the front. They played some of their biggest hits from that era including “Uncontrollable Urge” and “Gates of Steel” before returning for an encore of “Freedom of Choice.”
Monday, May 27
The English Beat kicked off their incredibly fun set with “Rough Rider” and from the opening notes every member of the crowd began skanking, dancing, swaying along to the beat. As the legendary Dave Wakeling was also a member of General Public, they played their most popular hit, “Tenderness.”
One of my favorite sets all weekend, it culminated with a rousing rendition of “Ranking Full Stop” leading to Wakeling yelling one final “full stop!” The band came to a complete stop on a dime before their bassist beautifully transitioned into the iconic bassline for “Mirror in the Bathroom.”
Taking over the Street Party Stage, Bratmobile were formed in the early ‘90s as one of the first riot grrrl bands. They played the synth-heavy “Love Thing” featuring Allison Wolfe’s in your face, bratty vocals. “The Real Janelle” highlighted Erin Smith’s distorted guitar which reminded me of lo-fi garage or surf rock.
Wolfe introduced “Cheap Trick Record” by saying, “This song is about getting your shit back – and it worked.” Their set concluded with a pair of covers, “Supreme Nothing” by Tiger Trap and The Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb.”
This was my first time seeing Stiff Little Fingers live, but they put on a memorable performance that seemed to connect with punks old and new alike. They opened with “Suspect Device,” off of their debut album, which was the first punk record ever released in Belfast,
Northern Ireland, where the band hails. They played a cover of Bunny Wailer’s “Roots Radicals Rockers & Reggae” and a cover of The Specials’ “Doesn’t Make It Alright.” They finished with their biggest hit, “Alternative Ulster.”
Last year one of the career-defining performances everyone was left talking about was Surfbort. This year that distinct honor belonged to Scowl. Their high-intensity, angry performance inspired some of the most vicious circle pits of the night. Kat Moss alternates between rapid-fire vocals and howling screams, singing ferociously.
Sporting blue pigtails and white face paint, she looked like a cross between a demented Chun-Li and Harley Quinn. I felt like the backbone of their songs are led by guitarist Malachi Greene with Cole Gilbert steady, frenetic drumming. Although a relatively new band, formed in 2019 with just one full length album, it’s clear this band is one to watch for and all of the hype is well-deserved.
The one constant I had heard about Gogol Bordello after all these years is they are known for their incredible, theatrical live shows. It was clear within just a few songs this was exactly the case. An explosion of live music that feels like you’re almost watching an international circus show. The ringleader of these group of “Gypsy punks” is Eugene Hütz, who himself is a one-man performance. Singer, guitar player, running and jumping all over the stage like a tornado fired out of a canon. They blazed through “Immigrant Punk,” “Wonderlust King,” and finally closed a fiery set with “Start Wearing Purple.”
Madness had not played in America in 12 years – the UK two-tone ska band was originally supposed to play the doomed 2020 Punk Rock Bowling, but COVID ruined everyone’s plans. They made plans to return in 2022, but ultimately had to cancel due to COVID travel restrictions. So, when their set was delayed 15 minutes and I saw someone walk on stage, my heart nearly sank.
Fortunately, he assured the crowd that the band was so excited and ready to go on, but it would be just a few minutes more due to technical difficulties. After 12 years what’s a few more minutes?
As the band took the stage, front-man Graham “Suggs” McPherson began the iconic spoken intro to arguably the most important ska song of all time, “One Step Beyond” as a huge skanking pit opened up. Their 60-minute set featured all of the classics, including “C’est la vie” and “My Girl.”
They took a brief interlude that saw guitarist Chris Foreman sing karaoke to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” before the rest of the band returned to play “Baggy Trousers,” “Our House,” and finally ending the weekend with “Night Boat to Cairo.”
PRB has made it clear they are back. The few complaints fans had last year were resolved – a return to the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center with better shade, more organization, and bless whoever continued to refill the water station with ice cold water all weekend.
As usual, PRB founder Shawn Stern listened to the people and gave them what they wanted, which is why Punk Rock Bowling is still the best festival in the world.
