Day two at Punk Rock Bowling was fun and hot and tiring and awesome. We missed the first couple of bands because Las Vegas is really hot and we’re from the Midwest. We were and we were delighted to see the bands we saw. It was a different vibe. Lots of introspect and self-focus, depending mostly on the age of the band members – but not entirely. There was still a focus on the state of America today, but from a more personal perspective. But then isn’t it all personal.
Band 1: Nobro is a female-fronted band from Montreal. I loved the song, I Don’t Want to Be on the Internet. (Maybe because of my day job in rural broadband.) They had a great yell in two languages!
Band 2: Spiritual Cramp had a strong 90s punk-bro, shouting feel with clever audio clips to pair with the live band. It’s always fun to see technology in play.
Band 3: Codefendants wore lawyerly suits and played a punky swamp ska. Top points for danceability. Each band member was more mesmerizing than the next. Fat Mike (of NOFX) played a cameo.
Band 4: Laura Jane Grace is an icon. It was great to see her and the band fill the stage. Her music runs from old school rock vein into 80s anarchy to current demand respect for herself and everyone.
Band 5: Bad Nerves has a happy 1960s vibe with a 1990 echo of fun. I’ll always love a band with “sha na na na na” a la Banana Splits.
Band 6: FIDLAR embodies the youthful defiance of Suicidal Tendencies pr Beasty Boys. There are songs about getting stoned. Danceable. I was going to say something about the impact of our world on music – and then I remembered singing Institutionalized as a kid.
Band 7: Gang of Four, rocking since the late 1970s and still amazing. It feels like intellectual post-punk. And a band whose new music I like as much as the classics.
Band 8: The Interrupters. You know what every festival needs close to close on the middle day? A ska band like The Interrupters. Of all the day-of merch I saw in the audience so far, this band wins. So many fans. Always uplifting.
Band 9: Frank Turner played solo folk punk. He’s always a favorite. Did a nice call out for better voting. It’s fantastic how a player and a guitar can hold an audience.
Band 10: Peter Hook and the Light. Played more new music than Joy Division but his voice is still great. I watched one woman dance the whole time (and a full day in the sun). Sometimes you just need one dancing girl to make it memorable, she just loved it.
Mostly Minnesota 