Vinyl was supposed to shut down. The local music community was struck when resort executives announced last year that the venue would be shuttering sometime in 2019—making way for the next chapter of the property: Virgin Hotel Las Vegas. However, as time passed, the venue’s calendar continued populating. It was a surprising second wind of massive bookings, including the Pure Noise tour, featuring hardcore heavyweights Stick to Your Guns and more.
Simultaneously, the homegrown hardcore/punk community was flourishing. The combined efforts of Blackpath Booking, Outlook Fanzine, and more were bringing big name acts such as Backtrack, Knocked Loose, Fury, Lower Species and more to our beloved desert. The scene was experiencing almost exponential growth, and as patrons—young and old—filled VFW halls and DIY spots, it was apparent that this was a new era for the Las Vegas hardcore scene at large.
It was the Pure Noise Tour—a diverse billing that included the melodic greats Stick to Your Guns, Canadian metalcore giants Counterparts, bona fide legends Terror and heavy heatseekers Year of the Knife that proved that hardcore was ready for the big room. And with local veterans Suffer the Loss as support, it was a local victory.
The night could be succinctly summed-up via one of Terror frontman Scott Vogel’s Vogelisms: “You and me—we’re misfits. We’ve created this world within these four walls for ourselves because we don’t like what’s going on out there. So enjoy this world, have fun. Tonight’s your night!” Indeed, it was. From Suffer the Loss’ menacing opening ring-outs that started the show, to Year of the Knife’s dogpiling singalongs in “Fatal,” to Terror’s unifying mosh during “Stick Tight,” it was clear that the crowd took that sentiment to heart.
-Ian Caramanzana
Photos by Hunter Wallace | https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunter_wallace/
No Comments