Images: Swingin’ Utters, The Bombpops, Success!, Eliza Battle November 17, 2015 at the Beauty Bar

“Thank you for sticking around for us!” shouted Swingin Utters’ frontman Johnny “Peebucks” Bonnel before his band’s headlining gig at the Beauty Bar this past week, the band’s second in Vegas this year following a spot on the Punk Rock Bowling festival.

But there’s no need to thank us, Johnny. In fact, to quote another Fat Wreck band: “Thank you for playing the way you play.”

The band is always such a joy to watch live. Johnny, who has grown to look like punk rock’s answer to Walter White, is such a madman on stage. With very little space, the vocalist was still able to gesticulate wildly while belting out fan favorites like “The Librarians are Hiding Something,” “Bent Collector of 1,000 Limbs” and “Windspitting Punk” to a crowd that was decent-sized for a Tuesday, but should have been much bigger if there was any kind of musical justice.

The Utters dedicated their set to the musicians we’ve lost, including members of the band’s Fat Wreck family Tony Sly of No Use for a Name and Brandon Carlisle of Teenage Bottlerocket.

Carlisle had been on the same stage just a few months earlier, playing with TBR in July with The Bombpops opening. The Bombpops, who opened this gig, also dedicated their set to the drummer and included a tribute in the form of a cover of the pop punk band’s “Stupid Games.”

Despite the more somber tone brought upon by the recent loss of Carlisle, The Bombpops still managed to work their trademark humor into their set. Between playing pop and skatepunk favorites like “Can O’ Worms,” Outta Hand” and “Crazy,” frontwomen Jen Razavi and Poli Van Dam joked about the venue’s Nickel Beer Night, saying their sixth sense for cheap beer is what brought them out to the show, their third in Vegas this year.

Also on show number three in Vegas this year was pop punk band Success! from Seattle. Frontman Rev Peters is one of those guys who is just a born frontman, and his warm personality combined with the frantic energy of the band had the crowd clapping along to the bridge of “Lives That We Deserve,“ dancing to “22nd St” and calling for us to ask with fists held high “Where’s the Revolution” during “Revolution Schmevolution.” Success is a band that says “we work to build our lives into lives that we deserve” and they’re certainly living by example.

The only band who played in vegas more this year than the touring acts was local openers Eliza Battle. The local punk/Americana band were there celebrating their 1 year anniversary and it’s crazy to think how much they’ve accomplished in that time span, including sharing the stage with The Utters and Success at Punk Rock Bowling this past May. We look forward to seeing what’s in store for the band.

-Emily Matview

Photos by Anthony Constantine | https://www.facebook.com/anthonycphotography