I got to bed after 3am last night and slept most of the afternoon away. I think I woke up after 1pm. Haven't done that for a quite some time. As I said in an earlier post, the bands made me feel younger. I guess it took me back in the time machine to my teen years and sleeping the morning the way in my parents air conditioned basement. Oh, well. I needed the rest as I needed energy for the last day of the festival. My legs were already plenty tired of my large frame pushing down on my feet on the make shift blacktop of the venue for the past few days.
I did manage to get up early enough to head down for something to eat and have my room cleaned for the first time during my visit. After eating, I headed back to my room to relax for an hour or so before I had to leave to make it to the show. I could not miss Dead Ending play. As I came off the elevator and headed down the hall to my room, I could see that they were still working on my room. I was told they would be done in a few minutes and decided to head back down to the casino to walk around ignoring the requests of the cleaning crew that they would be done shortly and I could wait.
I was in Vegas and the gambling sensation tempted me. I had lost $60 already on the trip and decided that losing $100 would be part of my entertainment for the trip. I put $40 in a penny slot machine. Fuck it!
I had been playing my initial $40 for about 20 minutes going from up $20 to down $30 and everything in between. After all, it is only entertainment someone famous once said. All of a sudden, I hit this screen where I had to pick hidden squares to earn my free spins. I hit 20 free spins worth 3x the winnings per hit. I was a bit anxious as I could not miss Dead Ending play at 4:20pm. The auto play took over. Next thing you know, I think I won some money. It was taking forever for the points to roll thru on the machine (about 10 minutes already and I knew I did not want to miss Dead Ending) so I hit the cash out button hoping it would stop, let me know what I won, and not screw up what I thought I hit. I sent my wife and my Mom a text letting them know I thought I hit a fairly sizeable amount. My wife replied thanking me for paying for the dinner of my wife, my mother in law, and my parents :(. Fortunately, the machine quit ringing up points and showed what I won. I cash out $40 for $551. Now, the gambling energy took over thinking this machine was hot and I could win more. I put in another $60 only to lose it. After that, I quit, and cashed out my ticket. Up for the trip enough to pay for my activities and my parking at the airport in Milwaukee. To the show....
I got there before 4pm and headed to the beer tent to take to the shade. I met a couple from Romeoville, IL, a southwestern Chicago suburb. We were both shocked to run into people from the Chicagoland.
Time for Dead Ending. Why all the hype? Well, they are fronted by Vic Bondi from Articles of Faith, a Chicago band from the 80's I was fortunate enough to see reunited during Riot Fest a few years ago. The rest of the band is made up of the guitar player, Jeff Dean, from The Bomb and about 40 other Chicago bands, the bass player from Rise Against, and the drummer from Alkaline Trio. They are a Chicago punk rock supergroup. Did I mention this was their first ever show (even though they had a 12in EP released on Alternative Tentacles 2 weeks earlier). I believe that they drew too small of a straw as they should have been playing later on the bill on any night of this festival. They brought some aggressive, skilled 80's hardcore to their show. I hope they play more shows and release more material. They closed out there set in the 90 degree sun wore out with an Articles of Faith cover, "Bad Attitude". Vic was reluctant to play it, but did it because the others in the band wanted to play it. Here are some of the songs they played.
Red White & Bullshit
This Is a Stick Up
Wasted
Bad Attitude (AoF)
Up next were Youth of Today. I never got into the NYC Youth Crew scene so I opted to go back to the shade tent.
I am glad I got well rested for the next band, 7 Seconds. Holy shit! These guys have been playing for 32 years. The first time I saw them was at the Antenna Club in Memphis on their Out the Shizzy Tour. They were reluctant to play a lot of their first releases during that show. My how times have changed. Almost all of their set was from pre-New Wind material which was very welcome to me. I have seen them play a few times since then at Riot Fest which was always enjoyable. Well, this set was the best I have ever seen from them. They were awesome, complete with a call out to Penelope Houston from the Avengers on "Not Just Boys Fun" and a good luck wish to Jimmy Pursey on "If the Kids Are United". Don't miss them if they play anywhere within hours of you. I remember hearing the following tracks from their discography.
Here's Your Warning
Definite Choice
Not Just Boys Fun
You Lose
Young Til I Die
Regress No Way
99 Red Balloons
Walk Together, Rock Together
New Wind
If the Kids Are United
Here We Go Again Kids
Parents Hardcore
Hot Water Music out of Florida were next. I have seen them play a few times. I have enjoyed their live set, but have never been able to get into listening to them after the shows. I think it is something about the vocals not being very clear, but I have also never listened to their recordings while reading along to the lyrics like one would have done back in the days of vinyl. They did play two songs that I wish the rest of their discography would sound more like - " Wayfarer" and " Our Own Way".
Like the previous two evenings, a classic punk British band played before the headliner. This evening, it was GBH. I saw them play about 10 years ago at the House of Blues in Chicago with the Bronx and the Circle Jerks. I was disappointed with the sound mix at that show. It would take almost till the end of the song to recognize what they played because the bass and kick drum were so much higher than the vocals. Not tonight! The sound was awesome, the vocals were clear, and the set list was great. The setlist was mostly from the classics with a few very good songs from their lastest release Perfume and Piss splashed in. I gave them the #1 seed of the UK bands for the weekend (which is quite incredible considering the theatrics of the Adicts and my 30+ year wait to see the Cockney Rejects). I've been listening to them since I was in 6th grade at dances at local churches. Almost 30 years later, they over delivered on the experience for me. I am going to see them whenever they are anywhere close to me again. Here is what I remember them playing.
Race Against Time
Lycanthropy
Generals
Freak
Alcohol
Time Bomb
Sick Boy
Maniac
Gunned Down
City Baby Attacked By Rats
Diplomatic Immunity
Drugs Party in 526
City Baby's Revenge
Kids Get Down
Dead Man Walking
Pennywise were up next to closeout the event. I have seen them several times with their original singer Jim Lindberg, but only once with their new vocalist Zoli, from the band Ignite. That time at Riot Fest, Zoli sounded like an attempt to impersonate Jim on vocals. Tonight, he was himself. The crowd loved him/them, and I quite enjoyed them too. They played a lot of classics with a good mix of tracks off of their newest and first release with Zoli on vocals. On stage, Zoli and Fletcher acted like a married couple trading barbs back and forth inbetween songs. I headed toward the exit when they played their customary closing song, "Bro Hymn Anthem", to avoid the crowd. I was able to witness the crowd that jumped up on stage during the tribute when I walked through the alley adjacent to the venue. Here is what I remember them playing.
Stand By Me
Rules
Living for Today
Pennywise
Every Single Day
Society
Nowhere Fast
Bro Hymn Tribute
Greed
Alien
Nervous Breakdown
All or Nothing
Let Us Hear Your Voice
The weather cooperated all weekend. BYO (primarily the Stern Brothers) put on a world class event. If next year is anything close to the line up from this year (which history indicates has been a great lineup the last 3 years), be sure to head to Vegas during Memorial Day weekend to celebrate the memory of our dear soldiers who have dedicated their lives for our freeodom, and to memorialize the punk rock bands who have helped us through our lives over the last 30 years. This is a top notch event not to be missed!!!
