The Third & Final Day of Punk Rock Bowling Brings More Scorching Heat & More Scorching Bands, by Holly Homan

Day three of Punk Rock Bowling was every bit as hot as the previous two both in outside temperature and the bands that played. The temps were in the upper 90s but on the tarmac it had to be over 100 degrees.

The first band I saw was the Infamous Stiffs, hailing from So Cal. Scott Wilkins (AKA Snotty Scott) is the highly entertaining front man. He wore a Little Richard shirt and bass player Jim Perrault claimed Scott was the bastard son of Little Richard. The whole band was nonstop jokes and nonstop energy. They pranced and flitted about the stage constantly while churning out grinding guitar chords and slamming the skins with wild abandon. Besides Snotty Scott and Jim the bass player, the Infamous Stiffs are Mark Pananides on guitar, John Gilhooley on guitar, and Derek O’Brien on drums. All I can add is come to Seattle and I’ll come out and see you.

^{Then it was back to the Main Stage to see Doki Doki. Of the five members (Logan Hammon – guitar & vocals, Donnie Walsh – Bass & vocals, Randy Moore – guitar & vocals and Lucy Giles on drums. Three of the four members were young. I’m sure they’re under 30, but they knew their way around their instruments, so this is another band that must have been learning music while still in their cribs. They were more of an emo punk band than a thrashing punk band, but after enduring crazy mosh pits and nearly getting knocked down by a circle pit, I was glad for a band that was more laid back.}

^{Next was a band whose name I’d seen floating around but had never seen. This was the Svetlanas. Originally from Russia but now based out of Milan in Italy, they are fronted by the very theatrical Olga Svetlanas. The band hit the stage like a bolt of lightning and never let up. Olga twisted and strutted about while growling and shouting the songs. She wore her hair in long lavender and pink twists that roamed well past her shoulders. The whole band was nothing less than amazing. I’m so glad I discovered them. They ended up being one of my favorite acts of the whole fest. The rest of the Svetlana’s are Ricky on guitar, Steve on bass, and Diste, Olga’s husband, on drums.}lga Ricky on guitar, Steve on

^{Another band I was unfamiliar with was up next — Ultra Bomb. Although they on formed in 2021, all three members are veterans of seminal bands (Husker DU, UK Subs & the Mahones). They packed quite a punch for a trio. There were screeching guitar riffs, crashing drum beats and a drummer who looked like Billy Idol. I was surprised the stage wasn’t reduced to rubble by the time they finished their set.}

^{Back to the Monster Stage to see another unknown band — a Latina all female four piece called Fea. Though Few as a band is new to me, two of the members (Jenn Alva and Phanie Diaz) rise from the ashes of the now defunct Girl In A Coma. Based out of San Antonio, hese guys totally rocked. They are comprised of drummer Phanie Diaz, bassist Jenn Alva, Bobby Rivas on guitar and vocalist Letty Martinez. Bobby wore her hair in long braids that constantly whipped about as she shredded chords.}

^{Now it was time for some more ska — namely HepCat. Based out of So Cal, HepCat has been around since 1989. HepCat only plays the festival circuit. I saw them only one time prior five years ago at the Back to the Beach ska fest. HepCat plays good old fashioned Jamaican ska with lots of dancing and a very lively horn section. I’ve been familiar with HepCat for many years. They played the Victoria Ska Fest in Canada but I never made it up there to see them. I’m glad they were part of another fest I went out of town to attend. HepCat is, Alex Desert – vocals, Denton Berry – keys & vocals, Efren Santana – tenor sax, Kincaid Smith – trumpet, Lino Trujillo – guitar & Greg Narvas on drums.}

^{Then I was off to see another all female band (whoever booked the acts for this fest did a great job of picking a lot of bands to represent women in punk), L7 were up next. I’d seen L7 once before again at another fest (the Bash Festival in 2019) and I was excited to see them again.Although L7 are a seasoned punk band (they formed in the late 80s), they.could out maneuver any band half their age. L7 are punk with a bit of grunge and tons of riotous energy. They strutted about the stage, flipping their hair about and churning out solid, riotous punk sounds. L7 are, Donita Sparks – guitar & vocals, Jennifer Finch – bass, Dee Plakas – drums, Suzi Gardner – guitar & vocals.}

^{I sat out the next couple bands. They were too hard core for my tastes. Then it was time for the headliner of the whole event — the Dropkick Murphys. The Murphys have been one of my top favorites for over 20 years now. They turn traditional Irish music(with mandolin, banjo, accordion and bagpipes) into a hard driving punk sound. Their set began with bagpipes before the rest of the band hit the stage. The Dropkick Murphys are fronted by Ken Casey (founding member) who on the third song jumped off the stage and stood on the barricade to serenade the audience. They played many of their more famous songs (Barroom Hero, State of Massachusetts) and performed a totally raucous set. The area in front of the barricade was packed solid with many mothers and crowd surfers. I have seen the Murphys multiple times and this was the first time I’d seen them at a festival. The Murphys are family entertainment in my family. The first time I saw them live I took my oldest son as a birthday present. I believe he was about 13. Since then his younger brother has joined us and whenever they come to Seattle we all go as a family.}

^{The Murphys recently recorded a bunch of Woody Guthrie’s compositions. Ken commented on how lyrics written around WWII about fighting Nazis could have been written a year ago.}

^{When their set was over, so was the festival. As festivals go, this one was well run. Aside from the first day when the hydration station went empty, the problem did not exist again. The porta-potties were clean and pumped daily, security people were very accommodating and nice and as for punk rock concert goers, they are some of the most friendly and knowledgeable people around. Often when a staffer couldn’t answer a question, a fest attender could. I can’t say I was impressed with Vegas as a city. I don’t gamble and have never been tempted to do so, the free shuttle that ran on the Strip didn’t go to any of the tourist locations. I left the next day to visit the Grand Canyon before I headed home.}