The Punk Rock Museum - Chaser, The Dwarves & CMI.
The Punk Rock Museum, Las Vegas Nevada - all photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
Punk Rock Bowling is a whirlwind of events, and I wasn’t sure I would even be able to fit The Punk Rock Museum in this year. I’m glad I did, as it was a highlight of the weekend. We arrived a day early (Thursday) and knew that Chaser would be playing a couple of sets there on Friday morning (12:30 pm and 3:00 pm), so that was the perfect time to go. t was a bit too far to walk from Fremont Street, so we took an Uber and planned to walk through the museum between sets.
We picked a good time to be there, as there was a “Plaza Party” going on in the parking lot that included booths with games, food, and merch. Most notable were the “Wheel of Misfortune," where a spin of the wheel would entitle the “winner” to various acts of torture, and a salon where you could get a Mohawk on site.
The Chaser shows were free, but a $40 admission was required to enter the museum. At the ticket booth, we got even luckier when they offered us a deal on an upgrade to a personal tour from Jake Kolatis (The Casualties). You have the option of walking through the museum on your own, or having various punk icons do a guided tour. During Punk Rock Bowling, in addition to Jake, they had tours by Roger Miret (Agnostic Front), Stacey Dee (Bad Cop/Bad Cop), Jason Navarro (Suicide Machines), Dez Cadena (Black Flag), David Rodriguez (Starving Wolves, Casualties, Krum Bums), John Reis (Rocket From The Crypt), Karl Alvarez (Descendents), Eugene Hutz (Gogol Bordello) and more.
The “Pennywise Garage” is a small garage within the Punk Rock Museum, that they said was the actual Pennywise practice space. Apparently it was painstakingly disassembled, relocated, and equipped with instruments that bands could use for impromptu shows. Out of concern for the glass cases in the museum, each band did a quick sound check, and they made sure that the decibel levels stayed below a certain threshold (I think I heard them mention 100 dB). We ran into Dez Cadena from Black Flag and Mike LeDonne from Chaser in the Triple Down Bar before the show, and as always, Chaser killed it.
It was definitely worth the extra cost for the guided tour. Ours started with a surprise when Dave Dictor from MDC joined our group of about 10. Dave was going to be doing tours in the future, and tagged along to see how it was done. Jake did a great job, pointing out some hidden gems and adding in his own anecdotes along the way.
Jake from The Casualties leading a group tour at The Punk Rock Museum - all photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
I’m from Detroit, so my favorite items in the museum were related to my local scene. The framed, hand-written NOFX interview done by Eric Melvin before he joined the band topped my list. The last question he asked was “Any last words?” and Fat Mike responded, “Warning, warning, beware of Detroit”. There were also some great displays of items from Negative Approach, Jack Kevorkian and the Suicide Machines and The Meatmen.
Honestly, the museum was amazing. It greatly exceeded my expectations. The Triple Down Bar where you can order a “Fletcher” (rum and coke in a Pringles can), the gift shop and T-shirt selection, a jam room with a selection of guitars from infamous musicians, and of course the Pennywise garage, where touring bands can stop in and play a quick set.
As we were leaving the museum on Friday, we got a tip that bands would also be playing the next day (including The Dwarves). This forced a difficult decision, but we decided that after the Saturday morning pool party, we would head back to The Punk Rock Museum, even though it would mean missing part of the festival.
I’ve seen The Dwarves many times over the years, probably more than any other band, but this was the most up close and personal. It was a short set, but they got in some classics, including “Astro boy” and “Fuck You Up and Get High,” as well as at least one from their new album. Standing right in the front, Blag even let me scream a few bars along with the band.
The Dwarves in the Pennywise room at The Punk Rock Museum - all photos courtesy of Paul Holstein.
After mulling around the museum for a few minutes, we saw Conservative Military Image (CMI) from Chicago starting to set up. They label themselves as “American Skinhead Hardcore," and they have a great Oi!/Hardcore/Street Punk sound that inspires an aggressive mosh pit. I was concerned about how this might play out in such a small space, with all of the breakable display cases in close proximity, but the fans were restrained. This was another great set that included “Charlie From Hardcore” and “Shirt Tucked Aggression.”.
Conservative Military Image in the Pennywise room at The Punk Rock Museum - all photos courtesy of Paul Holstein.
Talking to some of the staff, we found out that The Suicide Machines and Guitar Wolf had also done sets that afternoon. They also tipped us off that Sunday’s bands would include Cigar, The Starving Wolves, and The Rumkicks. At this point, we were thinking that we could have just skipped the festival and hung out at The Punk Rock Museum all weekend. We also found out that instead of paying the $40 per day admission fee, we could have bought an annual pass for $75. Next year, The Punk Rock Museum will be part of my formal itinerary, and not a last-minute addition to the trip. It’s not to be missed.