Punk Rock Bowling Tournament 2010 Pt. 1

Punk Rock Bowling Tournament Pt. 1

Better late than never I say! It's been just under a month since the 2010 Punk Rock Bowling Tournament in Las Vegas and it is safe to say, it was by far one of the biggest punk rock parties of the year! Technically the Fest, Chaos in Tejas, Insubordination Fest etc. have officially have more bands per day, but I find the PRB to be more my speed because you're not missing one band to see another and finally, I have been given credit for coming up with the initial idea that planted the seed for this insane weekend in Sin City. Thanks for that Shawn!

The flight itself was pleasant and Shonna and I were seated in the bulkhead area, which we were able to secure even with Southwest's general free-for-all for seating. It's hard to believe that in 2010 an airline operates with such seating anarchy, but hey, I guess that's punk rock, right?

We arrived no worse for the wear at the airport and picked up the rental car. Had we arrived 10 minutes later, they would've upgraded us so we were stuck in the Hyundai for the weekend, oh well. It had Sirius and even though Friday was "Best of the Week" for Howard Stern, it was still somewhat comforting to hear him ramble on however, it had been well over 2 years since I canceled my subscription and I swear, he was complaining about the same stupid stuff, just without out Artie's rotund laughter. Bummer.

Thursday was the poker tournament, which neither of us has participated in and instead we checked in, paid for an extra night for Monday and checked out the hotel. Sunset Station, as a casino property, is far-superior in my opinion than the venerable Sam's Town but after a few years too many, we all needed a change and it was a welcome change at that. Sunset had pretty much everything for everybody including restaurants that were actually good, along with a killer buffet and several familiar fast food options that are quite foreign to the Berkshires. Even In n' Out Burger (with their grilled cheese and grilled onions-not on the menu by the way) was right across the parking lot! At Sam's Town, there's a Walgreen's and a Chevron across the street---oh joy!

Sunset was winning hands down and the scale was tipping very high in the punk rock direction, this was it, over 1,000 punkers from all over North America were here to drink, rock and maybe bowl in that order.

So many of my favorite bands were performing as well as a bunch I either hadn't seen yet or had a new appreciation for that I wasn't sure who I was looking forward to see more at this point. There were a few changes this year, such as there wasn't a show just for the bowlers or even a registration packet for all of us, but due to the magnitude of the weekend, I don't think it mattered much. We all got used to the changes pretty fast.

It was kind of odd to see shows in an amphitheater setting, but due to the fact that so many well-known bands were playing this year, the one show was expanded to 6 and 3 of the shows were moved out of a club setting and into the outdoors. On top of the 6 official shows, as in other years, there were many shows that kicked off so late, you could've grabbed the tail-end of the insomniac special at any number of eateries throughout the Vegas region.

Getting into the show on Friday was somewhat of a mess and we ended up missing Guilty By Association and Tony Sly of No Use For A Name. Actually, I was waiting for Shawn Stern to come by the guest list table with our passes when after being there for 10 minutes and realizing he had to be in 3 other places at the same time, he says to me "Here you go, I'll be right back" and he left me with the guest list check-in duties. In less than a day, I was somewhat important, which was funny. I have new appreciation for door people who have to deal with bands giving them their guest lists on napkins, matchbooks, toilet paper and whatnot because there was massive confusion, which is all I'll say about that. I got through it and after having enough of the slots, Shonna came by asked me what I was doing behind the table and I said "I don't know really, Shawn just kind of said I'll be right back, watch this for me and left." Shawn returned and we were off to see Teenage Bottlerocket, who were as awesome as I had hoped they'd be.

Here's part of "Modest Proposal" from Youth Brigade (more PRB weekend review coming soon!):

Live Review of The Dollyrots

The Dollyrots with Just Say So, Goodbye For A Day, Dead Aces, White Boy Can't Jump and Epic Purple live Sunday May 16, 2010 at the ITAM in Pittsfield MA

The weather cooperated and it was actually a decent day for the return of The Dollyrots to these fine parts in the middle of nowhere! It had been almost two years since the band appeared in Pittsfield and I'm glad they made it back even with such short notice because a week wouldn't go by that I would here "Andy, when are the Dollyrots coming back?". The band, who are on tour with the Buzzcocks, originally had the day off, but luckily for me, I was able to keep them working while their tour! So, for a while now I don't have to hear that question!

Pittsfield's Epic Purple featuring students from Herberg Middle School kicked things off right around 2pm with strong showing of their musical abilities running through a selection of crowd favorites by Green Day and Evanescence. Epic Purple got a very positive response from the early attendees and their song selection was a crowd pleaser, their one original shows a lot of promise for this young band.

White Boy Can't Jump from the Pioneer Valley quickly took the stage next and their was both fun and bittersweet as it was their final appearance as a band. They ran through all of their best material which musically recall the very early pop-punk days of Green Day and Blink-182. It was a fun ride while it last and White Boy Can't Jump went out on a high note.

The show was progressing right on time and soon the curtains were closed and the attendees were ready or not for locals Goodbye For A Day. The duo of Nick and Garrett have transformed an idea into a literal pop music machine. Part synth, part pop, part party and part light show, Goodbye For A Day put on a fun show utilizing each and every bit of equipment facing the audience. Definitely a fun time judging by all of the dancers on the dance floor.

Dead Aces hail from nearby Troy NY and are now a four-piece with the addition of local youngster Punk Rock Jon formerly of Millions Dead. Their two-guitar assault was the complete opposite of Goodbye For A Day as they brought the pogo to the party. Since first performing in the area in 2009, Dead Aces have come into their own as one of the generally solid working class punk bands in the region, can't wait to hear their new recordings.

It's safe to say that Just Say So are one of my new favorite bands live around and they keep improving with each performance. This performance, their second for me, was one of my favorites. Just Say So play pop-punk as someone as old as I am knows it and appreciates it. It's pop-punk with an edge, two guitars, bass, drums and nothing more. Fans of any of the bands these guys were in before (Minimal Effort, Scattered and Three Fifteen) will really enjoy Just Say So, so don't miss them!

Almost two years had passed since The Dollyrots had played in Pittsfield and to be honest, I'd be asked about them almost on a weekly basis. Finally, I was able to schedule a relatively last minute show with them and it was truly one of the band's favorite on their current tour (which is with the Buzzcocks by the way). Kelly, Chris and Luis ran through quite a selection of songs on this day including their current single "California Beach Boy", "Because I'm Awesome", my personal favorite "New College" from their first album as well as kicking off their set with "Leaving LA", the first song they ever played here in the area back in 2006 at the American Legion in Dalton. For those who are unfamiliar with their music, The Dollyrots play a hybrid of early Ramones' melody along with a 60's pop sensibility and you can throw in some Undertones for good measure. The Dollyrots truly enjoy being here and it showed in their excellent performance, sure they hadn't had a day off as of late, but it didn't matter, they showed up and played like it was their most important show and judging by the fact they probably took a photo with everyone who was there. Hopefully, we won't have to wait so long before they come back again!

www.myspace.com/thedollyrots

www.myspace.com/justsaysorock

www.myspace.com/deadacestroy

www.myspace.com/goodbyeforaday

www.myspace.com/whiteboycannotjump

www.myspace.com/epicpurpleband

You've seen them in Dalton and in Pittsfield twice! You've seen them on the Warped Tour and The Price is Right! Well, now The Dollyrots are returning to the Berkshires for pretty much as a last minute addition (on their day off) to their current US tour (they're opening for the Buzzcocks!)!

THIS IS The Dollyrots' ONLY area appearance!

This show is going to be so much fun, how can you not go? It will start early and end early as it's a school night and if you've REALLY got to watch that baseball game, the ITAM has a TV! No excuses!

Also appearing are the bands who were originally playing at The Room, but the show has been moved to accommodate a larger crowd:

*White Boy Can't Jump (MA) their FINAL show EVER!
(singer once went to Hawaii)

*Goodbye For A Day (MA)
(ex-Reason 837)

*Dead Aces (NY)
(ex-Millions Dead, band works for FedEx!)

*Just Say So (MA) JUST ADDED!
(ex-Minimal Effort, Three Fifteen, Scattered)

*Epic Purple (MA) JUST ADDED!
(helping to kick off Youth Week!)

$8 in advance AVAILABLE on Friday April 30th
(available at Rebel Sound Records and more locations TBA)

$10 at the door

A portion of the proceeds benefit WTBR!

ALL AGES!

This show is presented in part by Rebel Sound Records and WTBR 89.7-Berkshire County's Only Rock Station!

The New Look Inside RSR! & Punk Rock Bowling Update!

The New Look Inside RSR! & Punk Rock Bowling Update!

BYO's annual weekend of punk rock insanity otherwise known as Punk Rock Bowling was quite intense/insane/ridiculous as there were literally over 30 performances squeezed into 3 days. Do the math, that is a bit over-the-top, but hey, it's Vegas and over-the-top is not only expected, but encouraged! Fat Mike of NOFX and the Fat Wreck Chords team finally took the top spot after more than a decade of "almost". Congrats! Our friends at Northeast Records took second and I actually expected them to take first, what with Batman bowling on their team!

So, I'm in Vegas bowling like complete crap and completely bummed for a couple of reasons. Because of this, I shoot 169 in the first game out of the TQR (Tournament Qualifying Round) on Sunday and BYO goes down like a cheap hooker. Shonna's team didn't do too well either and was knocked out of contention without surviving the TQR on Saturday. Timing is everything and the next thing I know, because she's not bowling and we hadn't started yet, she tells me she won some major dough at the slots! Nice! Whole trip pretty much paid for, room comped for the final night, I was happy even though I bowled terribly.

The flight home was good and I come into the store that night to check up on things something smells. It wasn't me. I turn on the lights and I notice things are completely different! The walls are all the same color in the store (no more blue here, white there, some barf green over there) because of the hard work put in by Jess Derby and Jon Plaid! Thanks so much guys, it looks awesome.

The first show in the new RSR featured Low Character, Colossus, Kyklooppien Sukuputto and Someone Just Like You! It was a great way to kick off year 2. Holy crap, we've been here a year!

Thanks, more to come!