The Vibrators at the DOuble Down, Friday Oct 21, 2016

Having been out the night before and work that day, I took a bit of a nap before going out for this show. Anticipating standard DD set times (11, 12, 1, 2), I left the house sround midnight but did not anticipate that my standard route would be closed due to construction (the bane of my life these days in Las Vegas) and I got to the club considerably later than I expected. So late, in fact, that I missed one of my fave local band, the Psyatics, who went on considerably earlier than normal. That put a damper on my night, and then I heard that the Vibrators original singer did NOT show up, as advertised, which added to the disappointment. Of course, since I was there, I stuck around to see what they sounded like. I had seen them about 20 years ago, playing a record store in LA, but I honestly couldn't remember what they were like.

Now consisting of the original drummer and a new bassist and guitarist, all of who sing (though none with the nicely distinctive voice of Knox), the trio bashed through a number of their classic songs, such as "I Need a Salve", "Sweetheart", "Whips and Furs" (my fave), "You Broke My Heart", etc., along with tunes from their second album and the current band's new record - along with a surprise cover of "Have Love, Will Travel".

Eddie is still a terrific drummer, with a powerful punch and a cool style, perfect for this type of punk rock. He essentially led the band and kept things moving, immediately starting the next song after finishing the last - good pacing. Unfortunately, none of them have a great voice and the melodies of the tunes tend to get lost.

Overall, a bit of a let down all night, but I appreciate the Double Down bringing in this style of punk bands to Vegas!