KICKED IN THE TEETH AT THE POOL PARTY
2024 was my second year of Punk Rock Bowling, and there were lessons learned from the first year. One of those lessons was not to miss Zeke (I missed them in 2023 when they played an early Thursday club show, and I flew in from Michigan on the official starting day of Friday). Zeke is probably the fastest band in punk rock (I mean that literally).
ZEKE-All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
Although they lean towards speed rock and look like they are part of a biker gang, they fit solidly into the punk rock scene. This show was part of a free pool party, in my opinion the single best part of Punk Rock Bowling.
The Pool parties go from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm before the festival each day and aren’t nearly as packed as you may expect (undoubtedly due to many of the punk rockers needing more time to recover from the night before).
Madam Bombs All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
I knew it was going to be an interesting show, outdoors at the Citrus Grand Pool Deck on the roof of the Downtown Grand Hotel, and with the mosh pit in the pool. Even more so because two of the bands were all girls wearing mostly pool attire, in stark contrast to Zeke. Unfortunately, I came in during the Madam Bombs and missed most of their set (although what I did see was really good), but Doll Riot was amazing.
Doll Riot-All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
Doll Riot are from San Diego and are all girls in their early twenties. They have been around less than 5 years, but had a good number of songs on Bandcamp that I was able to download prior to the show as well as a few YouTube videos. Really great, energetic, set and they also included a PJ Harvey cover. It had to be 90 degrees out, and I’d applied sunscreen at least 5 times by the time Zeke hit the stage.
ZEKE-All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
As always (I’ve seen Zeke several times over the years), they came out all in blue jeans and T-shirts, with doc martens and chain wallets looking like they rode up on Harleys. Zeke has been around for or over 30 years, so they know what they are doing. They ripped into a set that basically never stopped. Song after song, as fast as is humanly possible but it in perfect sync with each other and never missing a beat.
ZEKE-All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
Even the introductions were spoken as fast as a person can talk. Even as a hardcore fan who knows all of their songs, it was hard to pick out which songs were being played, when one song ended, and when another song started. There were short breaks where they all held up their guitars over their heads, which generally signaled the end of a song… but then they ripped right into the next one. I did pick out a few of my favorites, including “Slut” and “Mainline”. If you are curious about how fast they really are, you can check out “Mainline” (recorded during this pool party)
ZEKE-All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
This was definitely one of the best sets of Punk Rock Bowling 2024, and I’m hoping that they continue to be in Las Vegas year after year. Check out their classic albums “Dirty Sanchez," “Super Sound Racing," “Flat Tracker,” or “Kicked in the Teeth.”