Photo Credit: Chris Bitonti

March 24, 2012, Las Vegas Weekly, Noise

Strolling into the Bunkhouse Saloon for Thursday night’s Neon Reverb Rockabilly/Alt-Country Showcase was a full immersion into two opposing time warps. The bar decor and local performers The Clydesdale produced an air of Wild West days, while the pin-up dos and greasers repped the ’50s era in support of headliners Three Bad Jacks. The Downtown dive, with antlers on the walls and sepia-toned spaghetti Western art, was crowded with every variation of the pompadour imaginable.

Local band, The People’s Whiskey opened the night with a sound more rock than billy. Distorted guitars, heavily echoed vocals and lyrics like, “I like the inside of the bar more than the outside of my cell” set the tone for the raucous night to come.

Photo: Chris Bitonti

The Bunkhouse played host to a wild alt-country/rockabilly show Thursday night compete with trumpet, swing-dancing and fiery performances.

The musical road was paved for Downtown darlings The Clydesdale to hit the stage led by multi-talented frontwoman Paige Overton. Filling the alt-country quota for the showcase, Overton impressed the crowd with not only her pipes but infectious trumpet leads and funny quips. The cowboy-punk sound was complete with two-note bass lines and slide guitar, proving their unique and sometimes quirky sound can adjust to fit any bill. The Clydesdale has galloped to the top tier of my list of favorite Las Vegas bands.

The Lucky Cheats had a tough act to follow, but their blues-rock set garnished with impressive harmonica skills was a suitable transition into the night’s headlining act. California’s Three Bad Jacks began their set by waxing nostalgic about Las Vegas watering hole the Dive Bar, offering a tribute to the now-defunct venue with their song “Gone, Gone, Goodbye”. TBJ, who have toured relentlessly since the late ’90s, have garnered a clone-like following. Fans swing-danced and sang along happily to TBJ’s throwback-rock tunes until a cover of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” abruptly ignited an intense mosh pit. To be fair, Lemmy’s growl can alter the dynamic of any crowd. I learned this lesson as a child at a neighborhood ice cream social. Mint chocolate chip everywhere.

TBJ continued their wild performance, burning through a set of fan favorites, including “Thrill Me,” Remember the Nights” and “Falling Down”. The showcase climaxed as frontman Elvis Suissa set fire to the drum-set mid-percussion solo. After my flashes of the Great White nightclub fire subsided, I basked in the diversity of the night’s line-up and the exposure Neon Reverb creates for our city’s music scene … and I immediately regretted not bringing marshmallows.

March 25, 2012, Las Vegas Weekly, Noise

Maybe it was the ticket price, $39-$99 for the opening night of an inaugural festival. Maybe it was a failure to communicate, not so much as a stage schedule posted at the event. Maybe it was a calendar issue, booking the festival the same weekend as established twice-annual musical celebration Neon Reverb. And maybe the kicker was the $10 parking in a town where it’s free to valet. All these hypotheses ran through my mind as I stood at Royal House Friday night, a ghost town, as headliners The Whigs took the stage for an audience of 30 max.

While the Pastel Project didn’t garner a crowd—hardly enough bodies to merit a dinner party—it did bring good intentions to the table. Even with Le Butcherettes dropping out on Thursday (due to a family emergency), the festival delivered a diverse lineup Friday night. Mini Mansions, Classixx, The Album Leaf, Tennis and The Whigs performed on the outdoor stage while American Royalty, Zach Ryan and the Renegades, White Arrows and more held down the fort inside. Credit is also due for attempting a full-blown arts celebration in the lot behind The Royal House, as the festival offered food trucks, local art vendors, beer stands, a 90-foot ferris wheel, even fire-breathers. On-site lodging for non-local attendees was also a perk, no Coachella-esque showering at hand washing stations necessary. The visual centerpiece of the art displays was a school-bus-turned-preying-mantis, strategically shooting fire out of its antennae to comically alarm passersby.

The lack of patrons didn’t stop the bands from putting on entertaining shows. The Album Leaf’s ambient, often-instrumental tunes flowed outside, as Zach Ryan and the Renegades’ outlaw-rock stirred up the indoor stage. Husband and wife duo Tennis didn’t let an early technical mishap ruin their set as singer Alaina Moore “almost literally went deaf” after an ear-piercing feedback flair nearly knocked her over. But they recovered quickly and continued playing soulful favorites, including “Barefoot” and “Petition”.

The highlight and headliners of the night, The Whigs, brought a new sense of enthusiasm to the event, praising Las Vegas for its hospitality and joking about intentions to gamble away their per diem. The natives of Athens, Georgia, blasted through their set as if the venue was packed to the brim. In reality, the handful present were enjoying our own private concert. Between songs, fans were able to engage in friendly banter with the band, enthusiastically letting the Whigs know they justified the entry fee.

While the potential of the 2012 Pastel Project was squandered, The Whigs left a good taste in my mouth and hopes of a return for the festival in September. There are kinks to work out, but more than anything Las Vegas just needs to show up.

Web Link: http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2012/mar/25/pastel-project-friday-bands-no-fans/

February 22, 2012, Las Vegas Weekly, Noise

The Darkness’ intergalactic tour ship received permission to land in the desert last Friday, a quick stop on its first North American journey since 2007. Reconquering the States, of course, is a necessary objective in the British band’s quest to complete its rock ’n’ roll circle of life: make it big, crash, burn, break up, rehab, reunite and repeat.

Yes, the group that became a staple on our national party mix by believing in a thing called love is back with its original lineup, and the pent-up rock-xual frustration inside Mandalay Bay’s House of Blues was so palpable you could smell it in the air.

For everything the ’80s got wrong—clothes, hair, trickle-down economics—the decade understood rock showmanship. And The Darkness paid tribute to that era’s over-the-top exploits with minute-long dueling guitar solos, multiple wardrobe changes and glass-shattering falsettos. Friday’s set featured all the hits, including “Growing on Me,” “Get Your Hands Off My Woman,” “One Way Ticket” and, of course, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.” But The Darkness also cut a little deeper, playing lesser-known fan favorites off both records, plus a handful of new tunes.

In a slight departure from the glam-metal style that popularized the band, the new songs sounded more like Thin Lizzy covers with a discontented Freddy Mercury on lead vocals, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind. The performance felt like a stadium show stuffed tightly into the intimate House of Blues, and after nearly two hours of solid rocking the night ended with security piggy-backing frontman Justin Hawkins across the floor. Naturally, he continued shredding his solo as fans tried to tear him apart.

Web Link: http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2012/feb/22/darkness-returns-brighten-our-musical-mood/

January 18, 2012 Las Vegas Weekly, Noise

“Alright, after this is over I’ll take any y’all on in Pac-Man.” At any other bar in Las Vegas, that statement might raise eyebrows. But when Posdnuos of veteran hip-hop trio De La Soul challenged the full house at Insert Coin(s) last Wednesday, attendees cheered the proposition.

De La Soul’s throwback performance was the first of several promising shows scheduled at the Downtown geekster hot spot. Future acts might have to compete with Mario Kart and Street Fighter for their fans’ attention, but all such activity came to a halt when De La’s Pos, Dave and Maseo tooka the DJ booth-turned-stage.

The night turned out to be more guest appearance than full concert, but Insert Coin(s) partygoers didn’t seem to be complaining. De La Soul set up alongside DJ 88, who spun a slamming set of old-school anthems that lasted into the early morning hours. It was an enjoyable formula: rap a few De La Soul favorites, spin a handful of hits, rap a few more, etc.

And it proved to be a huge success. Sure, the venue could use an upgraded sound system and a dedicated performance stage to take its shows to the next level, but that won’t stop me from heading Downtown for more. If De La Soul comes back I’ll probably bring a date, though, because there’s just no cool way to sway solo to “Me Myself & I.”

Web Link: http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2012/jan/18/de-la-soul-brings-music—-and-video-game-throwdow/