About the author  ⁄ Aaron Mattern

I like tacos, pictures of cats, and sleeping.

Los Angeles’ DC Fallout recently came through Vegas for two nights to finish up their west coast tour, and I managed to catch their first night at The Artistic Armory, which doubled as the debut show for Vegas punk rock supergroup New Cold War. The Armory popped up fairly recently as a consistent all-ages venue, and it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite spots to see bands. The intimate setting reminds me a lot of VLHS in Pomona, where I really enjoyed catching a show a few years ago. ...

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Las Vegas can be a great place to see large touring acts, but unfortunately, we frequently get skipped by smaller and mid-level bands. Such was the case on the most recent Propagandhi tour supported by the Flatliners. Thankfully, I had some business to take care of in my hometown of Portland, Oregon anyway, and I was able to catch their show at the Hawthorne Theater. ...

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Every year at Punk Rock Bowling, you’re forced to make some tough choices. There are so many great bands playing club shows at the same time, and you’re bound to miss someone great. So last year, while our own Emily Matview covered the Lawrence Arms/Nothington show, I attended Strung Out/Guttermouth at Fremont Country Club. So when the Larry Arms announced a tour in support of Metropole, their first record in eight years, I vowed not to miss them again, and made the long trek to Los Angeles’ El Rey Theater. ...

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The Happy Campers may hold the record for the longest running punk band in Las Vegas and if you don’t believe me, check out the recent career retrospective Campers frontman Isaac Irvine wrote for PIV. The band recently put out their 6th release Dancing With Demons and to celebrate this momentous occasion, they put on a release show at the Hard Rock Cafe on Paradise. ...

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My first time seeing Authority Zero was close to two years ago at the Hard Rock Pool with NOFX, and I remember leaving the show pleasantly surprised by a band with whom I was only moderately familiar. Mid-way through their most recent Las Vegas stop at Backstage Bar and Billiards (and my 3rd Authority Zero show) I realized that the punk/reggae group have become one of my favorite live bands. ...

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Over the past few years, Vegas-based SquidHat Records has collected an impressive roster of local punk rock talent. And in addition to helping out their own bands, they've made a positive impact by promoting non-SquidHat acts and organizing local showcases. So I was excited to support the label and see some of my favorite locals at the first day of their second anniversary festival, featuring The Peccadilloes, Unfair Fight, Sounds of Threat, Surrounded by Thieves and Bobby Meader Music. ...

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Boston's Street Dogs returned to Las Vegas December 7 for their Wreck the Halls holiday tour, and I was really excited to finally see them. I’ve always had bad luck trying to catch them live. The last two Vegas shows of theirs were Punk Rock Bowling 2012 (I was stuck in a never-ending security line, and missed their performance) and a canceled show with Pennywise last October. Shortly thereafter the band announced an indefinite hiatus, which more often than not is synonymous with breaking up. So by that point I was resigned to the sad fact that I would never get to pump my fists to their working class anthems live. ...

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