Images: Pears, Illicitor, Brock Frabbiele Band August 25, 2015 at the Beauty Bar

Nickel Beer Night was in full effect as punks and hipsters throughout the town conjured around Beauty Bar to see a night dressed in punk rock attitude. It was a warm Tuesday night, and a surprisingly large crowd came out to support.

Brock Frabbiele opened the show with a big surprise – Josh Estrada on bass (In Fugue) and Dave Bartlett on drums (War Called Home, Guilty By Association, etc.) giving the songs an extra kick. Seeing Brock play solo at the Punks in Vegas 4th Anniversary Bash was a pleasure, but seeing him with an amazing rhythm section accompanying him was a complete joy. Brock is a guy who can single-handedly manipulate a room’s atmosphere. Add a drummer and a bassist who can seamlessly stay in pocket, and the band can have you singing along to harmonies you didn’t even know you knew the words to. It’s a side of Mr. Frabbiele I’ve never seen, but one that can bare lots of fruitful results if pursued.

After Brock Frabbiele and band’s harmony filled set, the crowd kept growing, and the line to take advantage of Nickel Beer Night seemed impossible to overcome.

Up next was Illictor, a band whose calculated and precise shows (along with their Holding Onto Sound pedigree) have managed to get word-of-mouth on their side. I had just spent way too much money on a vodka and Red Bull (more Red Bull than vodka unfortunately), and wasn’t in the best mood. But as soon as they plugged in there was a smile across my face. This three-piece ripped through noisy punk tunes that sounded simple to the ear, but complicated to the fingers. Their mixture of Fat Wreck-influenced punk, and dubious time signature changes encapsulates within you in the most pleasurable way.

Together, guitarist and vocalist, Bob Gates, who looks like he could be in Diarrhea Planet, bassist Zabi Naqshband, who could perfectly fit into The Gaslight Anthem, and drummer, Micah Malcolm, who rhythmically could conduct a group of preschoolers and make them sound like the Las Vegas Philharmonic, are the essence of Vegas talent. They tag pop harmonies with sludge riffs for a fulfilling combination.

After Illicitor, the crowd was perfectly warmed up with the best talent Las Vegas has to offer. As the band of the night, Pears, set up, the crowd got loaded on cheap beer and whatever else they could get their hands on (myself included).

New Orleans punks Pears vibrantly showed what they were capable of during Punk Rock Bowling 2015. Since then, they have been steadily gaining momentum. Back in Vegas for the third time, they’ve already cultivated a local following. During Punk Rock Bowling, I saw a band rapidly adjusting to the Fat Wreck wave. This time around, Vegas got to see a band soaked in confidence.

Pears knows what they are capable of at this moment in time. Even with vocalist Zach Quinn sick, they got the crowd at Beauty Bar moving. With songs like “Sycophant” and “You’re Boring,” along with Quinn’s manic energy and the rest of the band’s tight musicianship, they are bound for amazing things.

They’ve earned a headlining tour slot. You can put Pears up with any touring band, and they will come up on top. They have the perfect combination of confidence and humbleness. The raw energy they give to every performance makes them ripe to accomplish any goals they’ve set forth for themselves. We should all be genuinely excited to see what Pears will do once their second record is released into the world.

-Alan Madrigal

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