Year ago, I remember seeing Henry Rollins at First Ave. He had long hair and short shorts, as I recall. He had a great line as he grabbed his hair, he said, “skin’s not here, it’s here,” grabbing his heart. I think day three at Punk Rock Bowling shows that punk too is in the heart. Some hearts are quirky, folksy, aggressive, loud, snark but they are all open to each other, open to people.
One big player on day three of PRB? The heat. Big nod to the performers, workers and even us attendees for braving 3 full days of 90+ degrees outdoors the whole time.
Band 1: Bad Waitress is a Female-fronted band from Toronto. Super solid, fun irony and nice drums. So effing hot.
Band 2: Bar Stool Preachers play ska-tinged punk. Super danceable – just following the spinning singer! I love that they called out people who waste their pulpit saying nothing. Not is not the time for silence.
Band 3: Angel Dust has a loud metal twinge sound, yet danceable. (They are playing the CBGB Festival in September.)
Band 4: Leftover Crack is squirrely screechy hard code ska. Points for originality and fun. It’s a nice change of pace for day three of a festival.
Band 5: Bridge City Sinners play folk punk. The lead singer’s voice goes from squeaky to gravelly, perfect for storytelling. Fiddler player also gravelly voice. Everyone on stage is animated – animated enough to get folks to dance to the rat race it the pit.
Band 6: Riverboat Gamblers is the rock band next door, if your neighbors were talented. Some are unassuming, some look like rockers. If they were in Minneapolis, I’d see them all the time.
Band 7: The last time I saw The Damned, I think I was underage. They still look at sound the part. The song, Second Time Around, says it all. Also, they got a lot of love from the other bands on stage.
Band 8: Pietasters are old school ska. Keeping it classy in look and sound. One of the few technical hiccups happened when they were on stage and the lead singer just rolled with it in the most generous and professional way. I just love the song, In the biblical sense.
Band 9: Flag play classic 3-minute punk songs. I was delighted to hear Rise Above and sad there was no TV Party but I get it. Half this crowd doesn’t know Barney Miller theme song.
Band 10: Amigo the Devil played solo. At first, I was a tinged disappointed but then loved the spontaneity. His songs are clever and sharp. He can relay a novel-worth in a 1-minute song.
Band 11: And batting cleanup and for very good reason was Social Distortion. Everyone has stayed, which is a lot to say after 3 days of roasting in the sun. Happy to hear The Creeps.
Mostly Minnesota 