So this is it, the start of Punk Rock Bowling 2015! Things kick off downtown tonight with club shows galore.
PIV is going to see only sparse updates over the next week as we’re attending the shows and then getting our content ready, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram for up-to-the-minute updates.
But before we go, we need to help you navigate through the, at last count, 2.6 million bands playing this weekend. Team PIV compiled this list of our favorites, displayed here in fabulous alphabetical order.
Don’t see your favorite listed? Let us – and the readers – know who you’re looking forward to in the comments!
Agnostic Front on the PRB main stage at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 23
Agnostic Front is THE New York hardcore band. There’s just no denying it. Sure, you can make compelling cases for some of its contemporaries such as Cro-Mags and Warzone, but neither touched the simple, primal urgency that Miret/Stigma established within the 15 minutes of Victim in Pain. Since the release of that seminal album, the band continued to embrace its thrash/metal influences, but continued to play with the same vigor. 2011’s My Life My Way exhibited a return to form for AF, and though Miret’s vocals aren’t what they once were, Stigma’s guitar work is just as menacing as it was in his glory days. 1984, all of New York: urban and suburban, rich and poor,”punks and skins” slammed to the rhythm to the galloping drums of “United and Strong.” Let’s hope Las Vegas can do the same in 2015.
-Ian Caramanzana
Anti-Vision at Backstage Bar on Sunday, May 24
In just a year, the boys in Anti-Vision have accomplished what it takes most bands several years to do. They’ve shared the same bill with dozens of punk rock legends, released a split EP with The CGs, and a full length album, both recorded by local punk rock hooligan, Cody Leavitt. They’re the young blood that’s proudly going to be representing our local punk scene at this year’s PRB. I have had the pleasure of filling in on bass for the band and I can tell you that the energy they put off on stage is mind-numbing. They will make you want to punch your parents, a cop, and anyone in a place of authority right in their stupid face. Their club show at Backstage Bar & Billiards with Krum Bums, No Parents, and a very special surprise guest is something you don’t want to miss.
-Alan Madrigal
Laura Jane Grace at the Bunkhouse on Saturday, May 23
Laura’s “surprise” appearance at the Matt Skiba Beauty Bar show at PRB 2012 was my highlight of the festival that year, and I expect this to go the same way. I’m generally a pretty reserved person, but there’s something about Against Me! and Laura shows that gets my fist in the air and gives my vocal chords a ripping. And a bonus? Frank Turner (who is headlining the show) is fantastic as well, and with how successful he’s become (I heard one of his songs at the Olive Garden, you guys), I’m stoked to see him in a relatively small venue like back in the day. Plus you can never go wrong with locals Mercy Music, and they’ll be playing two sets (acoustic and full band) at this show!
-Ashleigh Thompson
Manic Hispanic at the Bunkhouse on Friday, May 22
Are you really going to miss a punk-rock cover band with a Hispanic twist? Let me put it this way: The Vandals have a song titled “I Want to be a Cowboy” and it begins with the narrator taking his car to a cowboy bar to ride a mechanical bull. Manic Hispanic covered this punk song with the same fast, simplistic tempo, clangy drums, and throaty vocals but the song’s context is a humorous spoof on Hispanic culture. Their version is titled “I Want to be a Cholo” in which the narrator takes his “Lowrider car . . . to cruise Whittier Blvd” because of a cool, Aztec paint job. This band celebrates music by colliding Punk Rock classics with humorous Chicano references so don’t miss their set (alongside Me First & the Gimme Gimmes and The All Brights) at the Bunkhouse on May 22nd.
-Michelle Cardin
The Muffs on the PRB main stage at 5:25 p.m. on Sunday, May 24
I still remember the day my scrawny little alligator-looking hands were holding The Muffs first self-titled debut album, as the CD played on my stereo. I can still sing every song on that album verbatim. Singer and guitarist, Kim Shattuck, is a true legend and personal hero of mine. From her time in The Pandoras, to the inception of The Muffs in 1991, and her stint in The Pixies taking over for Kim Deal – which she was fired from after four months for being “too happy on stage.” Last year’s release, Whoop Dee Doo, their first in ten years, has me even more psyched about their Sunday performance at the PRB main stage this year.
-Alan Madrigal
Pears on the PRB main stage at 4:40 p.m. on Sunday, May 24
Why should you see New Orleans punk rockers Pears? I could tell you that it’s their steadily growing legend of outlandish live shows. Or I could mention their sound, a mix between PRB pop punk favorites Descendents and the hardcore of Paint it Black. I could even try and sway you with the fact that they just signed a deal with Fat Wreck, the same label that brought us last year’s PRB breakout band Masked Intruder.
Sure, I could tell you all that, but don’t take my word for it, take Off With Their Heads’ frontman Ryan Young’s word:
“The first time I saw PEARS, I was reminded why I liked punk rock. I think it’s really rare for a modern, younger punk band to catch the interest of the old and jaded. This band could win over droopiest ballsacked ‘I’ve seen it all before’ punk, all while getting an entire generation of younger kids to shove aside trendy mall metal and wiener voiced emotional bro rock. Will PEARS save punk rock? See them and judge for yourself.”
-Emily Matview/Ryan Young
Rancid on the PRB main stage at 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 23
I first heard Rancid the same way most 90s kids did – on the school bus over my friend’s Diskman. The first song I heard was “Salvation” from the band’s sophomore release Let’s Go and right from the start, I absolutely, positively, hated it.
Flashfoward three months and after having my interest piqued by the band’s appearance on SNL and singles “Time Bomb” and “Ruby Soho,” I picked up third album …and Out Come The Wolves and by the third track, “Roots Radicals,” my outlook on music was forever changed from the Aerosmiths and AC/DCs of the world to all that punk had to offer.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Rancid perform live about a dozen times since then but at PRB it’s going to be special, because they’re playing that album that changed my life front to back and I can’t wait to sing along.
-Aaron Mattern
Refused on the PRB main stage at 10 p.m. on Sunday, May 24
Admittedly, I’m not well versed in this genre of music but the best part of any punk show I’ve seen is how the music intensely fuels the crowd to a rhythmic frenzy. My friends will probably never stop talking about the time they saw Refused headline FYF 2012 and it’s honestly the reason I want to see them at PRB. It’s a touching tale about friends who saw a band they loved while simultaneously getting buried underneath thick clouds of dust/dirt. The crowd just went so berserk for this band and changed the scenery of the place. Luckily, PRB takes place downtown (not in a dirt field) and I am anxious to see the level of crazy in the crowd. Refused is a band that gets down hard and fast so don’t miss out on this experience!
-Michelle Cardin
Sick of it All on the PRB main stage at 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 23
It took me awhile to get into Queens’ Sick of It All. After diving into the Revelation Records and New York hardcore cannon, the band just didn’t resonate with me off-the-bat like how bands such as Youth of Today or Gorilla Biscuits did. It was 1988’s Blood, Sweat, and No Tears that got me into the group. They’re able to effortlessly meld quick punk hooks while incorporating the heavier side of hardcore/punk without falling flat. I saw them perform at the Revelation Records 25th anniversary shows in 2012, and believe me, the band has still got it. You’re in for a treat, suckas.
-Ian Caramanzana
Success on the PRB main stage at 4:05 p.m. on Saturday, May 23
Have you heard Radio Recovery? Success’ new record is pretty friggen great. So great that we forgive them for not continuing their 3-year-long streak of coming through Vegas every April, because seeing them play tunes from that record on the main stage at Punk Rock Bowling is one of the coolest things I can imagine, for some of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. You can find me and the mister right up front yelling along to “Revolution Schmevolution.”
P.S. Remember that time we filmed Success frontman Rev Peters playing an acoustic version of “Pros and Cons” while a duo of wooden mushrooms lovingly looked on? That happened.
-Ashleigh Thompson
A Wilhelm Scream on the PRB main stage at 6:10 p.m. on Sunday, May 24
Imagine Strung Out-style riffs played so fast you’d think you were watching a Micro Machines commercial. Imagine harmonies so tight it would make Brian Wilson envious (that is, if he’d ever heard of punk). Imagine a band expressing interest in playing PRB at one of Backstage Bar’s best shows last year and then living out that dream on the PRB main stage.
Now stop imagining, put on a copy of Ruiner and then get ready to bang your head at 6 o’clock on a Sunday!
– Emily Matview
No Comments