City Baby Attacked By Rats

The Punk Rock Bowling festival in Las Vegas is always one of my favorite weekends of the year, but the problem is that it only happens once a year. I feel like I am constantly on the lookout for a show that will remind me of the feeling of being at PRB, but I rarely find it– until Tuesday night. It wasn’t a super-packed show by any means (although it wasn’t poorly attended either), but as soon as I walked into The Fine Line late on Tuesday night, I felt that familiar yet rare feeling. I was in a room of like-minded people. People who like their music fast and their drinks cold. I felt at home and, although I was absolutely exhausted after an insanely busy day, I was excited to see what the night would bring.

The Mainliners got Tuesday night started off right. This band is a classic punk band. They have a throwback kind of sound but with a modern twist. I liked how, although they clearly take inspiration from quick-paced bands like The Circle Jerks and Descendants, there was something oddly chill about their performance. Don’t get me wrong, this band was full of life and definitely snapped me out of my zombie-like state within the first track, but it wasn’t chaotic. It was a no-frills kind of set where the band let the music do the talking for them, and let me tell you, that music told a story. It told a story of grit and dirt but also passion and fire. I feel like the crowd was in the same boat I was —exhausted and a bit reluctant to really get into this opening set — but that didn’t stop The Mainliners from doing everything in their power to get people moving and involved. Although the pit wasn’t super huge and the movement was pretty minimal, the chatter throughout the audience after The Mainliners’ time on stage said everything I needed to know. This band had the audience hooked, and I know there are a bunch of people in town already wondering when this explosive band will make another stop in the Twin Cities.

Following The Mainliners was a flawless and energized set from Slaughterhouse. I had never heard of this band before. I honestly don’t think I had ever heard a single song from them before they took the stage on Tuesday night, but within mere seconds of their set, I was in love and a fan. The grit that this band has just can not be put into words. Sure, their sound was punk, much like the opening act, but the intricacies that this group incorporated into their sound made them stand out. The vocals felt like they were almost a bit death metal or grindcore inspired, and their instrumentation would lean a little bit into everything from new wave to industrial. This made their sound feel fresh and unique, and that was great, but that was not the huge selling point of their performance for me on Tuesday night. For me, it was the energy that they brought to the stage.

To say that watching this band perform was like flames leaping from a fire would not be an understatement. The entire band was on fire, but the vocalist was the one who had my attention for the majority of the set. She was all over the place, and the way she was able to be so active while also producing one of the most ferocious growl-like vocal tones that I have ever heard had my mind blown. She was up, she was down, she was in the crowd, by the drum riser– she was everywhere, and it added a slight sense of chaos to the set that I feel really enhanced their sound. The plot twist here? This is not their usual singer. For some reason, Slaughterhouse’s singer couldn’t make it on this tour, so this amazing woman stepped in, learned the songs, and joined the band. Although I would love to see Slaughterhouse with their original singer, I can’t imagine it being better than what I got to experience on Tuesday night.

Closing out this punk rock extravaganza at The Fine Line was the one and only GBH. This band is legendary, but they are also one that I feel like not a lot of people know their name. They got their start in 1978, which is nothing new for the punk scene, but this Birmingham, England-born band still has some original members in it and is a rare occurance in this scene. When I think of this band, my head instantly goes to a photo of vocalist Colin Abrahall and his spikey blonde hair. I’m not sure what this photo is from or when I saw it, but it clearly had an impact on me. I think I saw it when I was just a little baby punk– before I really got involved in the scene or in music in general– but that is neither here nor there. It just added to the excitement I felt as I saw that iconic blonde head of hair take the stage.

GBH is a no-frills punk band. They play their music loud, fast, and flawlessly (in a punk way). I love how this band was able to balance a sense of grit and destruction with a feeling of perfect curation and rehearsed perfection. Really, every song felt so perfect, which, after playing the tracks for decades, it probably should, but you’d be surprised how many bands I see that can’t seem to get through a set without mistakes littering their sound. Another thing that I was struck by was that, although this band has been playing the same songs for decades, there was a spark of excitement behind every track. The band was full of life, and that translated into the audience in such a perfect way.

This is not the first punk show that I’ve been to since Punk Rock Bowling, but there was just something about GBH’s set that took me back to that festival. They are seriously the quintessential punk band. They have that grit and sharp tongue, but also a subtle message of acceptance behind everything they do. Before their set, some members of this band could be seen wandering around the venue or standing outside for some air. I don’t know why that struck me so hard, but it did. It gave this band a sense of accessibility that I wasn’t expecting from a group as legendary as GBH. They live and breathe the punk ethos that made me fall in love with this scene and, again, that gave me the feeling that I spent the majority of my year looking for.