On September 21, 2024, local media publication “Mad Rabbit Media,” put on a show entitled Punk Rock is Beautiful filled with 10 acts throughout the whole night, and the show was a fundraiser for the Vegas Pet Rescue Project. While unfortunately, I did miss some of the bands like Pink Sand and Species, I’m going to talk about the sets that I did see, and my experience at the show overall.
Going into this, I was already beaming with excitement. Mad Rabbit Media, the publication that built the show, is made up of two performers on the bill, Pathogen and lead singer of the band Twist Off!, Kaesen Samson. Bands like The Dollheads and Pure Sport were also announced for the festival’s lineup and being a huge fan of these bands, I already knew I was going to have a good night.
As my dad and I parked and walked up to the venue, we saw the front of the venue full of vendors, tents, and food trucks. On one side of the venue’s main parking lot, local businesses sold stuff such as bracelets, crystals or dog treats. On the other side were all of the artist’s merch stands.
Pathogen kicked the show off, and as he started, everyone started filling in the venue. While the show was called Punk Rock is Beautiful, Pathogen hit us with an unexpected punch of hip-hop (although they sometimes go hand-in-hand). His stage presence was wonderful and his songs were a great start to the show.
Once he ended his set, I headed back outside and caught up with one of my friends. Unfortunately, due to my losing track of time, I missed Species’ set. By the time I headed back inside, Erasermouth was just starting their set. I caught a couple of their songs before my dad and I headed back outside to eat.
We ate at Shawn’s Puffy Tacos, one of the food trucks that was set up for the event. The food and customer service were incredible. After my dad and I finished up, it was time for us to head back inside to see the rest of the Terror Attack’s set. As we walked in, they were finishing up a song and once they were finished, their bassist broke the silence with, “Hey, someone needs to get me some tacos, man. I know y’all got money, hook me up and get me some tacos.” My dad and I had a good laugh at that, considering we just came back in from having some.
Terror Attack was one of the heavier bands of the night, their music almost getting into the territory of hardcore rock. Regardless, they rocked it and I was very impressed with the little bit I saw.
Once they transitioned off, The Dollheads started to set up on the stage. I’ve seen them more than ten times, they always put on a great show, and with the confirmation of them working on new music, I was sure that I was gonna hear new material. Immediately, I was correct in my suspicions, as they started with a brand-new song. Its title was “So What?” and the sound of the song was very, very different from their normal sound, with this one leaning into the punk side of their pop-punk-oriented music. Overall, their set was wonderful, playing multiple new ones and a cover of “Wild in The Streets” by Circle Jerks. On their last song, “She’s A Girl,” bassist Samantha Avery came down from the stage and went into the middle of the crowd to play her solo, and the crowd began to run in a circle around her. After that, the band played the last chorus, and it was time for the next band to come on.
As The Dollheads ended, I was already in a lot of pain from standing as long as I was, so unfortunately I had to sit out for Pink Sand and Run Your Luck’s set.
Walking back into the venue met with this cartoon-esque music and entering the crowd, Twist Off!’s 60’s cartoon-style video was playing on the screen. As the band walks onto the stage, the video screen changes to this dreamy-like visual, with the band’s logo floating in the clouds and as the video changes, so does the music as the band almost immediately starts their set as they get on. Their set was electric with them going from song to song, barely giving themselves time to breathe. While they played originals like My World and Scam Machine, Pathogen got back up on stage to do a cover of Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit with the band.
Last but sincerely not least, the band that I saw for the night was Pure Sport. Their branding is like a company’s, where the band members are the CEOs and the fans are the employees. With this, every show they do is a “meeting” for them and as their set starts, a company introduction video plays with the frontman of Pure Sport welcoming new and returning employees to the meeting. Their setlist, however, was filled with a lot more new stuff and it’s revealed that the band is working on their first full-length album (the working title of it is Welcome To The Company). Seeing some of this new stuff a second time, the first time being at a show titled Three Cheers for Pride, I already see a new one titled 1-800-GET-SOME being the new fan favorite and taking its spot with the other fan favorites of the bands, Waterboy and Pizza Time.
Overall, this show was incredible. It was amazing to see a ton of new bands I’ve never seen but also see some of my favorites of the local punk scene. The show also having vendors and food trucks set up was a wonderful way to find small businesses in Vegas that may be harder to find being a larger city, where major corporations are found everywhere you turn. Local music is always wonderful to see live, and if you have an opportunity to see any bands mentioned, please go and check them out. There are always amazing performers out there to find, you just have to find them.
