My First Day at Punk Rock Bowling 2024 Delights Me With Old Favorites and Introduces Me to Some Great New Bands, by Holly Homan

My first day at Punk Rock Bowling was the 25th of May, the first day of the Memorial Day weekend. I arrived in time to see Twist Off, the band that kicked off the three day event.. These guys don’t seem to have a FB presence anything on the internet. They were a lot of fun, oozed charisma and had boundless energy. They even did a great cover of the Misfits Last Caress, which happens to be one of my favorite Misfits songs. They were a total crowd pleaser as well judging by the enthusiastic response they received and screams for more when their set ended.

Next up was Bad Cop Bad Cop. This about the third time I’ve seen this four-piece all female outfit from So. Cal and they’ve always impress me. Bassist, (Lihn Le, guitarist Alex Windsor & Stacy Dee, guitar constantly ran back and forth across the stage, riling the crowd into a frenzy. A song that truly stood out for me was The Pursuit of Liberty about justice for the refugee. Their music is true punk and their punk ethos about supporting the oppressed make them a top notch band. It was great to see them again.

Next I saw another unfamiliar band, an Irish duo called Teen Mortgage. Teen Mortgage consists of guitarist and vocalist James Guile and drummer Edward Barakauskas. They packed a lot of sound for a duo. They also played songs in align with the punk rock ethos.

Next it was time for a long time favorite, the Skatalites. It’s been a decade since I last saw them. 2024 marks their 60th anniversary and they looked and sounded fantastic. There were nine of them on that stage, giving them a full reggae/ska sound. They consisted of a three-piece horn section (James Smith – trumpet, Vin “Don Drummond Junior” Gordon – trombone, and Anant Pradhan – saxophone). At first their set was all instrumental music, but then percussionist Larry McDonald & Doreen Shaffer shared vocals, both of whom were very dynamic. The Skatalites are pure Jamaican ska & rock steady and I hope they play Seattle again soon. The rest of the Skatalites are Val Douglas – bass, Trevor “Sparrow” Thompson – drums, Ken Stewart – keyboards & Aurelien Metsch aka Natty Frenchy – guitar.

Then it was time for another classic punk band, 999. Hailing from England, I saw 999 once in 1981 and I was totally stoked they were in the Punk Rock Bowling lineup. Front man Nick Cash was every bit the dynamo he was 43 years ago. He was all over the stage, leaned into the crowd, while shouting into the mic and pumping his fists in the air. He seemed to have an endless supply of energy and the crowd went wild. They played their biggest US hit, Homicide which many sang along to. The rest of the band (Guy Days – guitar and vocals, Arturo Bassick -bass & Stuart Meadows – drums) were just as bit high energy, constantly moving about and hamming it up. It was a pleasure seeing them again after so many years. They were nothing short of amazing.

The final act I saw on the first day was my beloved Billy Bragg. I’ve been a fan of his since the late 80s and always see him when he plays Seattle. It was just Billy & an electric guitar and that was fine. Billy is more a punk folk singer. He talked about the first time he saw the Rock Against Racism concert in 1978 and how we still need to speak out against racism, xenophobia & homophobia. This brought raucous cheers from the crowd (during the three days of the fest I noticed people walking around with signs saying register to vote. I hope they got a lot of people to register) He played the pro union anthem, Which Side Are You On, gave a shout out to Woody Guthrie before singing All You Fascists Are Born to Lose. With fascism an imminent threat all over the world, I was comforted to see so many in the crowd respond with enthusiasm. I noticed a young man who looked no more than 14 leaning against the barricade who was thoroughly enjoying the show. My own kids (now in their 30s) like Billy too. Ii’s always a treat to see Billy Bragg. If he played Seattle every year I would see him. Without fail.

I left the compound but my night was not over. The Suicide Machines were playing a club show. The venue was called the Citrus Lounge and I had to wander quite a bit about to find it. The ticket didn’t mention it was on the pool deck of the Grand Hotel across the street and no one I asked knew where it was. After asking several people, I finally found the club. Unbeknownst to me there were five bands slated to play that night and Suicide Machines were the headliner. The first band I saw was called Goners UK. They weren’t from the UK. Apparently there was another band called Goners who were from the UK who threatened to sue them if they didn’t change their name. So adding the UK was a retaliatory response. These guys never stayed still either. They were totally wild and highly entertaining. I discovered another great band and will keep my eyes peeled for a Seattle date. I hope that comes to fruition.

Following Goners UK was another new band for me called Catbite. Hailing from Philly, Catbite was amazing. Catbite is led by a female singer (Brit Luna) (who writhed and twisted and kicked up her heels and she had pipes that could give Aretha a challenge. The guitarist and bass player Tim Hildebrand & Ben Perry respectively) were also highly energetic along with a drummer (Chris Pires) who slammed like a wild man and a very expressive keyboard player (Kayleigh Malloy). I was completely blown away by Catbite.

Following Catbite was another new band for me called Escape From the Zoo. WOW! I absolutely loved these guys! At first I thought I’d sit them out. My feet were killing me and they sounded kind of screamo, which I’m not a fan of. As their set progressed I began to hear a ska beat so decided to check them out. I am glad I did. They were nothing short of amazing.

They had a female vocalist who looked like a school girl with glasses, shoulder length hair and bangs. She played a guitar so tiny it looked like a child’s toy. Midway through they traded instruments so this was also a multi-talented band. They were non stop energy, hammed it up to the audience, who adored them as much as I did. I had familiarity with their name so I think they played Seattle recently. I hope they play Seattle again soon. I was beyond impressed.

I thought Suicide Machines were to play next but to my surprise and delight, Buck O-Nine came on stage. I had no idea they were even playing PRB. What luck. I can’t remember when I last saw them and I was ecstatic.

These San Diego ska legends opened their set with Round Kid and had a very lively horn section (Dan Albert on trombone trombone & Craig Yarnold on sax) who danced about while playing and not playing their horns. Singer Jon Pebsworth was as charismatic as ever, often stopping to joke with the audience. They played some great covers that included Pass the Dutchie , the song originally released by Musical Youth in 1982 and a great ska version of Joe Jackson’s I’m A Man and Operation Ivy’s Sound System which everyone sang along to. Craig Yarnold sang lead on Pressure Drop which melded into their song My Town My Street (give me peace of mind it cant be beat). Buck O-Nine incorporates a good dose of humor in many of their songs and I do hope to see them in Seattle before long. They’re always a ton of fun and are also a band I see every time they grace a Seattle stage. The remaining members of Buck O-Nine are Steve Bauer – on drums, Jonas Kleiner on guitar and – guitar (1991-present) Andy Platfoot on bass.

At long last was Suicide Machines. The last and only time I saw Suicide Machines was at the Back to the Beach ska fest in Huntington Beach, CA in 2018, so I was excited to see them on the bill for PRB this year. Suicide Machines play a brand of ska heavily pumped up with punk. I find them similar to Operation Ivy but Cleary not the same. Front man Jason Navarrro, his twisted locks now gone gray, bounced and strutted about practically non stop. They also performed an Operation Ivy song (High Anxiety). When they played the Van’s Song for the finale, Jason claimed it was probably the stupidest song ever written. I beg to differ. It’s one of my favorites. I hope this won’t be the last time. I see Suicide Machines but they only seem to play festivals and Seattle doesn’t do festivals.

I got back to my hotel well after two in the morning but it was more than worth it.