PUNK ROCK BOWLING

Punk

My love of punk music stretches back to my teenage years, being forever drawn to The Kings Road in Chelsea where punks famously used to hang out. The fashion and attitude were individual and altogether free, with ten inch mohawks, ripped clothing held together with safety pins, bondage wear and Doctor Martens, I absolutely loved the whole scene. "The Sex Pistols" regularly frequenting this area back in the 70's, largely promoting Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm Mclaren's controversial punk emporium. Pictured are two of my super cool punk friends Danny and John, taken in London around 1982.

Back in the day

Vegas

We are lucky enough in our adult lives to have the freedom to travel far and wide to gigs concerts and festivals, after enjoying such events as Rebellion, Punk in the Park, The Great Alternative Gathering and The Inkmus Streetpunk festival in France, there was one major event missing from our diary. 2019 was a special year for me and Ian as we both were about to reach the unavoidable half century, so flights were booked, tickets were bought and off we went to Vegas for America's craziest alternative festival "Punk Rock Bowling"

what's it all about

The Freemont Experience

On arrival at our hotel "The Four Queens" the standard procedure ensued, suitcases slung on the bed and a quick march to the liveliest bar! The music festival had not officially started so we spent the evening in The Downtown area of Vegas known as The Freemont experience. Permanent stages are located in the now covered Freemont Street with various live acts performing day and night, we found one alongside a bar and as usual far to many beers were consumed. "Alter Ego" were a lively young rock covers band keeping us entertained until it was time to walk, a little worse for wear, back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

Evel Pie

Waking up later than usual, due to the different timezone and maybe one too many beers, we headed out for a huge breakfast at the local all American Denny's Diner.

The day before the main festival is dedicated to small Club Shows at local venues in The Downtown area, unfortunately we had missed out on tickets as they quickly sold out online. After letting our breakfasts settle and experiencing some truly outrageous people watching (as anyone knows who has stayed downtown) we decided to carry on with the festivities at the popular funky punky bar named "Evel Pie".

Infa Riot

Luckily we met some English punksters who had spare tickets for Infa-Riot, Vicious Rumours and Doug and the Slugs at The Freemont Country Club that evening. Ian was made up, being a fan since teenage years and had played alongside both Infa-Riot and Vicious Rumours with his band "The Feckin Ejits"

Huraaaah

At last, day one of the main open air stage festival was finally here, the organisers had arranged "hooligan happy hour" where the first thousand people to enter were given free drink tokens, so obviously we made this a priority!

With over sixty bands playing over three days on two stages, not mentioning the numerous after show gigs at the smaller venues, it was impossible to see every act, but I think it worked out pretty well for us, managing to see all that we came for.

Bands

A great line up for the first day, The Damned being my personal favourite, other acts including Swedish Oi! band Perkele, American hard core punk legends Flag and headliners Rancid were on the list. Another band we enjoyed were The Skints a London based group who infuse their Jamaican Reggae with a dose of grime and hip-hop.

"Its a Marathon not a Sprint"

Deciding that Sunday was "a day of rest" (from alcohol) we made plans to do the tourist thing and hopped on the Deuce bus heading uptown. North of the strip is The Harley Davidson Dealership which is always a favourite pit-stop of ours when we go anywhere, we certainly weren't disappointed, fab bikes, great riding gear and friendly guys.

The intensity of The Strip got the better of us and making our way back to The Freemont area we decided to check out "The Mob Museum" giving you a fascinating insight to the organised workings of The Mafia and how Las Vegas was predominately funded by The Mob.

Being very un-punk and to say the least, a little jaded from over indulgence, we chose to watch the evenings events from the comfort of our hotel room accompanied with a bucket of KFC. The motto of Punk Rock Bowling is "Its a marathon not a sprint", advice we clearly didn't adhere to!

The Mob Museum

Final Day

There was a little treat the next morning as we were woken by The Stranglers sound checking "walking on the beaches, looking at the peaches" with that distinctive baseline thumping at the window it was a good excuse to get up, pull on the Doc's and prepare for our last day.

Today's fab line up, included The Undertones, The Hives, The Specials and of course The Stranglers, to name but a few. One band that I was really looking forward to was The Dead Boys, at last getting a chance to witness "Sonic Reducer" performed live by the original artists.

Pool Party

Binions famous Paradise Breakfast Buffet was our first stop of the day, the selection here is quite overwhelming. I can safely say we had our fare share, mainly as we envisaged a healthy consumption of alcohol in the hours to follow.

Having some time to kill before the main venue opened we headed to The Downtown Grand Hotel and Casino where The Punk Rock Bowling pool party was in full swing. Set on the roof, there were easily three hundred people in attendance, great atmosphere, cool bands and an eye-catching amount of stylish body art was out in full visibility.

The Undertones

Succumbing to our favourite funky bar "Evel Pie" we started the afternoon with a couple of cheeky beers before heading down to the main festival. First up were a UK based bunch of lads called Shame a post punk alternative band with great tunes and attitude. Next were The Undertones, Fergal Sharkey had previously left in 1983 being replaced by the flamboyant and energetic Paul Mcloone, possessing great stage presence and an enchanting Irish accent, made the whole set thoroughly entertaining, "Jump Boys" being my favourite.

The Stranglers

After a short break, giving us ample time to visit the bar, The Stranglers came on stage enthusing the crowd with an impressive set including No More Heroes, Peaches, Hanging Around, Get A Grip On Yourself and all the classic late 70's early 80's hits. Baz Warne took over from original frontman Hugh Cornwell in 1990, sadly original keyboard player Dave Greenfield passed away in May 2020 aged 71.

The Dead Boys

Discovered in New York's CBGB, and originating from the classic 1977 punk scene along with The Ramones, Blondie,Talking Heads and The Patti Smith group, they were considered highly controversial with their risque stage antics and somewhat political fashion statements. "Sonic reducer" certainly didn't disappoint.

BE TRUE TO YOUR OWN SPIRIT

Conspiracy Facts -Jim Morrison-Cryptocurrency- Alternative Travel