It used to be that if a visitor to Las Vegas wanted to try punk rock while in town, they had two options: ask a punk if any local bands were playing at the Double Down Saloon or drop some coins at Sid Vicious. slot machine at the Hard Rock Casino.
The Punk Rock Music and Bowling Festival, now in its 24th year, has changed that.
What started as a modest amateur bowling tournament created by Shawn and Mark Stern of Youth Brigade and BYO Records for people in the punk rock music community has expanded to five nights of fun spread across multiple locations in downtown Las Vegas.
Punk Rock Bowling has become the largest annual music festival of its kind, attracting bands and fans from all over the world.
Lagwagon performs on the main stage at Punk Rock Bowling on Saturday.
(Rodrigo Melián)
The first band to play at the bowling tournament were punk rock cover singers. Me first and Gimme Gimmes in 1999making guitarist Joey Cape, whose band Lagwagon played the main stage Saturday, one of the festival's longest-running performers.
The bowling tournament awards ceremony, which often featured performances by Manic Hispanic, became a full-fledged spectacle and the seeds of the festival were sown.
(Full disclosure: Twenty years ago I bowled on a team representing the Los Angeles-based fanzine Razorcake. They called us the Shameless Stereotypes and we came in second place. This has no bearing on the story, but I thought you should know.)
After moving from location to location over the years, Punk Rock Bowling now takes place outdoors at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center for three consecutive nights with two alternating stages.
Two additional components have become mainstays of Punk Rock Bowling: pool parties take place before the festival and local club shows afterward, but sometimes they all blend together.
Bad Cop/Bad Cop performs at Punk Rock Bowling, which founding member Linh Le says has become more inclusive over the years, noting, “It feels a lot more welcoming.”
(Rob Wallace)
During Bad Cop/Bad Cop's set on Citrus' rooftop pool deck atop the Grand Hotel & Casino on Friday night, an enthusiastic punk walked through the pit and dove straight into the pool.
Club shows give fans the option to see bands in a more intimate setting and allow up-and-coming bands to play in front of crowds that come from all over the world.
For example, one-man Los Angeles synth punk sensation N8NOFACE headlined a sold-out show on Sunday with Codefendants, Zig Zags and Knuckleheadz.
“It really means a lot to finally be able to play and be a part of Punk Rock Bowling,” N8ATE said before the show. “I was never able to attend years before and always had friends going or playing. So I am very happy to be able to play and attend for the first time.”
All of these events mean more opportunities for bands and tougher decisions for fans, but the sheer number of options means there's something for everyone.
Descendents were one of the headliners at Punk Rock Bowling.
(Rodrigo Melián)
This diversity of styles is reflected in the festival's three headliners: Los Angeles pop punk progenitors (and misspellers) the Descendents, the utterly unclassifiable Devo, and London's two-tone terrors Madness.
It also means difficult decisions for artists. Joey Cape was hoping to nab RKL, whose members he played with when he was a teenager growing up in Santa Barbara.
“I really wanted to see RKL because I grew up with those guys,” Cape said. “I watched them a couple of weeks ago and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen, but it's so hard to watch it all.”
The festival has gotten so big that it has an app that allows attendees to select their time slot. It is also useful for artists.
“I'm catching up with an old friend I haven't seen in a while,” Cape said, “and suddenly my phone rings, beep, 30 minutes until the Subhumans arrive!”
Descendents bassist Karl Alvarez said he hopes Punk Rock Bowling doesn't grow too big. “At the same time,” he added, “without the festivals, I can't walk around and discover new bands.”
(Rob Wallace)
Karl Alvarez, bassist for ALL and Descendents, has played Punk Rock Bowling several times and fears it's getting too big.
“In general, I'm not a big fan of the big festivals of this music,” Álvarez said. “I feel like the small club is the natural environment for punk rock. But at the same time, without festivals, I can't go around and discover new bands, and that's the key to festivals – the Warped Tour was great in that sense.”
Tuna, the lead singer of SoCal's Sweat, couldn't wait to hear John Reis, whose new band Swami and the Bed of Nails, played at a club on Friday, and Rocket from the Crypt, one of his former bands, played at the main stage on Sunday night.
Reis was excited to see the Chats, who came from Australia. “I love Chats,” Reis said. “I think 'Smoko' was one of the best punk rock singles released in the last decade.”
Devo performs during the Punk Rock Music and Bowling Festival.
(Rodrigo Melián)
For almost everyone I spoke to, Devo was the main attraction. Devo hasn't disbanded, but the new wave rockers from Akron, Ohio, no longer tour.
“I've seen Devo many times,” Reis said, “and I don't think any opportunity to see them should be missed.”
Punk rock is often defined by what it is not. It is marked by political scenes and tribal differences and, over time, has divided into a seemingly infinite number of subgenres.
Punk Rock Bowling has done the impossible: it has turned Las Vegas into a legitimate punk rock destination. For example, there is no doubt that the Punk Rock Museum, which opened last year, would not have been established in Las Vegas if Punk Rock Bowling had not laid the foundation.
Punk Rock Bowling Pool Party.
(Andrés Repcik)
“It's a symbiotic relationship,” Lisa Brownlee, one of the museum's co-founders, said of the relationship between the festival and the museum. “There is something that people can do between things. Anything we do helps them grow. Whatever they are doing helps us grow. “Everything makes sense to everyone.”
Less than Jake co-founder Vinnie Fiorello agrees. “It's more than one weekend a year,” he said. “We're here to support the Las Vegas music scene, the Las Vegas punk scene.”
Bad Cop/Bad Cop's Linh Le has noticed a subtle but significant change at the festival over the years. “The first time I played here was in 2014 and honestly, not much has changed, but I will say the atmosphere feels a little more inclusive, which is really nice. “It feels much more welcoming.”
Le is not the only one who notices. Last year Greg Norton, the legendary bassist of Hüsker Dü, performed at the festival with his new band, UltraBomb. It was his first trip to Punk Rock Bowling and he had such a good time that he decided to return.
Devo fans play in the pit during Punk Rock Bowling.
(Rodrigo Melián)
“Why haven't I been doing this every year?” Norton said. “So this year I decided to hang out, just be a fan and have a good time.”
While the tent has gotten bigger and the lineup more diverse, has Punk Rock Bowling been good for local punks?
Kevin Wilcox, the lead singer of the Las Vegas group Suburban Resistance, thinks so.
“It's been great for local punk bands,” he said, “because, first of all, they need a cheap local opening band, so we all get a little bit of attention because of that, we get a chance to play some shows.” interesting. And number two, just because this exists in our city, every bar in the city has punk bands. All the local bands are playing. It's lovely.”
Ruland is the author of “Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise & Fall of SST Records.”
