recommended gigs

      

Friday 5-29-26 - Suburban Resistance with Sloppy Seconds and Channel 3 and 1/2 Ast at the Dive Bar

Friday 5-29-26 - Tiger and Dove with Fuzz Solow and While Yer Down There at Red Dwarf

Friday 5-29-26 - Triple Splits, Wyatt and the Ashes, Sooflay, Skatepark Anthem at the Double Down

Saturday 5-30-26 - Stagnetti's Cock, Cherri and the Sours, Pitch After Dark, Goldie Vegas at the Double Down

Sunday 5-31-26 - Generic Surf Band at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Sunday 5-31-26 - the Messer Chups, the Shakewells, Violet Minefield at the Swan Dive

Friday 6-5-26 - Suburban Resistance with Celebrity Stalker at Red Dwarf

Friday 6-5-26 - Jessika Von Rabbit at Dustland 

Sunday 6-7-26 - Generic Surf Band at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Thursday 6-11-26 -Punk’n’Country with Bear Supply and Unoriginal Unfits at Red Dwarf 

Friday 6-12-26 - Femaliens, Broke in Vegas, Skatepark Anthem at Red Dwarf

Saturday 6-27-26 - Cherry and the Sours, Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones, Top Cat Trio at Grey Witch

Saturday 7-18-26 - Bear Supply at Double Down's Matinee Show

Wednesday 7-29-26 - Authority Zero, Suburban Resistance, Venomous Pinks, Jr Ska Boss at Backstage Bar and Billiards

Wednesday 8-5-26 - the Woggles, the Crotches, the Implosions, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at the Usual Place

Sunday 8-9-26 - Hedwig at the House of Blues

Wednesday 8-26-26 - IV and the Strange Band at the Bizarre Bar

Sunday 9-6-26 - Screeching Weasel, Dickies, Queers, Jack Trippers at House of Blues LV

Sunday 9-13-26 - Exploited, Soldiers of Destruction, Suburban Resistance at Backstage Bar and Billiards

Friday 11-13-26 - Plague Vendor at the Usual Place 

The Darts, Service, The Implosions at the Usual Place Wednesday May 27, 2026

 

Brian Moy's Dirty Rock'n'Roll Dance Party returned for one night (although he does already have another hip garage gig book for a couple of months from now) so that he could present the Darts - and Vegas was happy to come out and support!

Opening the night was Vegas' premier Vegas-themed garage band, our pals, the Implosions. Obviously, I've ranted'n'raved about this garage-y/Cramps-ian combo over the years of their illustrious career and this evening they were in top form. Dave's guitar sounded great, the married rhythm section locked in while Adrienne shook'n'shimmied and crooned'n'careened'n'howled. Their "Cash Out" number brought a good portion of the audience onto the stage to shake their goods along with mini-Implosions-tambourines as the other tunes from their records varied from punky-garage-rockin' to spooky-dynamic-laden sizzles. Always a fun time!

The oddly-named Service followed with a weird'n'wild set as one might expect from a band featuring an ex-member of Jon Spencer's Blues Implosion (I'm assuming the bassist, as his style would have fit with them), although they didn't sound anything like that group, nor anything else that I could put into words. Strange'n'noisy, with a highly animated, androgynous lead singer, I can't begin to describe their sound, but they were entertaining and they ended with Nicole from the Darts joining them for a couple of songs, adding to the mayhem!

Of course, the highlight of the night was the headliners, the relentless all-female garage combo, the Darts. Led by the non-stop frontperson/singer/organist Nicole and aided by long-time (off'n'on) fantastic drummer Rikki Stixx, they now include a (relatively) new bassist Lindsay Scarey and guitarist Rebecca Davidson, who have actually been in the band for quite a while now, but I don't believe that they have been back to Vegas with this line-up. 

In any case, their set consisted of the patented Darts-styled, organ-fueled, high-energy garage rock'n'roll originals and one unusual cover (it'll come to me - my lovely wife reminded me that it was Lou Reed's "Vicious"). They have written a new dance song, so had the singers of the two openers on stage to demonstrate the moves for the crowd! Groovy garage from start-to-finish and the Wednesday night crowd (good turnout!) loved every minute! 

Big thanks to Brian for bringing them out and the the Usual Place for hosting the night! A great time was had by all!

The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins

 

This is another one that, while interesting, I didn't really care for all that much. Part of it is the writing style but I think that mostly it was because none of the characters were good people, to the point where you couldn't really care too much about any of them. Of course, part of the tale was the fact that they could overcome their weaknesses and survive, but some were sad, some pathetic, some mean, some evil, some clueless - none that you really wanted to root for.

The plot is based on what the "girl" (woman, really, but the author is female, so I guess I shouldn't nitpick) sees while passing her old home on the train. Unfortunately, she is a confirmed alcoholic known for having blackouts so no one really believes or listens to her when she claims to have information pertaining to a disappearance that turns into a murder investigation. She tries to put herself into several relationships - including her ex-husband's with his new wife and child - as she attempts to discover what happened, particularly when she realizes that she was in the vicinity when the abduction happened - she just happened to be blackout drunk at the time.

Whether drunk or sober, she pulls some ridiculous stunts that does not endear herself to any of the players, particularly the police who finds her involvement to be distracting at best, illegal at worst. But, despite it all, and despite being objectively pathetic throughout most of the story, she does unravel the truth at the end.

As with any mystery, there are plenty of twists'n'turns and some nicely unexpected bits, but something just didn't resonate with me. Not terrible, by any means, but not something that  really pulled me in.

Circle Jerks, Gorilla Biscuits, 7 Seconds at Brooklyn Bowl Sunday May 24, 2026

 

There was no Punk Rock Bowling Festival this year but a lot of places stepped up to fill the void, although this was the only gig that we made it out to for various reasons. Obviously, both Melanie and I have been fans of the Jerks since their early days, but only had a passing familiarity with 7 Seconds (we played with Kevin Seconds decades ago in NoCal) and knew nothing about Gorilla Biscuits, but got there early to see everyone.

7 Seconds opened with their brand of poppy, sing-along punk with a positive message - very simple backing with a strong drummer who really drove the songs. Not a lot of stage presence overall but catchy, super short pop tunes with plenty of parts for the crowd to join them - which they happily did! They closed with a cover of "99 Red Balloons", which seemed an odd choice to me, but apparently, they are known for it and everyone loved it!

Gorilla Biscuits had a straight edge/vegan message and plenty of on-stage energy but musically kinda almost punk-prog  - entertaining but not my cup of tea although once again the crowd certainly knew almost everything they did, so I was in the minority. (Looks like I didn't get any good photos of them - not that any of my phone photos turned out that great.)

Of course I saw the Circle Jerks back when they started - in fact I swear I saw Keith with Black Flag although I can’t prove that these days - and they were always a wild ride with the band blasting at super sonic speed while Keith ran around the stage, only occasionally singing into the microphone. Of course, these days he’s almost 71 and has had back problems so he is a lot more stationary although no less passionate. He claimed to have laryngitis but he sounded great to us, nonetheless. Greg still has a super guitar tone - SG through a Marshall - and “new” bassist Zander Schloss (ex-Weirdos) was excellent and powerful while the drummer impressed everyone as he flailed with the same style and energy as Lucky back in the day.

Definitely a greatest hits set - practically everything you could ask for - with lots of monologues from Keith in between numbers and the band almost got into a fist fight with a couple of guys up front who apparently didn’t understand the band’s politics. (They got ejected). While not as manic as the old days - which no one should expect - they still sounded excellent and were more than worthwhile! 

Green Book (movie)

 

I stumbled upon this 2018 film randomly cuz I dug the preview that Netflix showed me of the main characters in a 1960's juke joint. That is a short scene in the movie, but a good one, and it got my attention enough to give the flick a try.

While this film is based on a true story, apparently there is plenty of controversy dug to the fact that the film clings to stereotypes - kinda ironic as it is a film about race in the 60's and how an educated, gay, wealthy Black man and a working class white become friends.

The classically trained Dr. Don Shirley hires a rough'n'tumble Italian to drive him on a tour of the Deep South in the early 60's, where they knew there would be trouble of some kind and needed someone who could handle themselves and the trouble. 

Tony educates Don in modern Black music and takes care of problems that arise as Don shows Tony other worlds, from high brow concerts to gay hookups and blatant racism that Tony was somewhat guilty of himself. 

While I'm told this is anything but historically accurate for many reasons - as most bio-pics are - as a story, it is well done, with some humorous bits contrasting with the horrible racism. I enjoyed the musical segments, even as the style is not my usual thing, other than the afore-mentioned juke joint scene, which is fun'n'funny.

A cool watch, for certain!

What the Dead Know - Laura Lippman

 

Maybe it's just my personal headspace at the moment, but this one took a bit of time to grow on me - although that has happened before with slow introductions. I did end up enjoying this mystery quite a bit with its many twists'n'turns and unexpected sidelines.

A random car accident brings up a decades-old cold case involved two missing teenage girls, as the enigmatic woman who caused the accident claims to be one of the girls. From there the story moves back'n'forth in time, with some pure narration of the past mixed with present-day mystery as the woman guards her past'n'present identities (she initially simply claims knowledge of the long-ago events). Murder, abduction, pedophilia, torture, strange characters and more overlap as bits'n'pieces of the story evolves, but no one is quite certain of anything until the mother appears from her isolation in Mexico.

Nothing is quite what it seems and no one really knows everything about the case until the end - if even then. 

Plenty of genuine surprises and even while none of the characters are truly good people, you do get sucked into the tale. Definitely worthwhile.

The Book Censor's Library - Bothayna Al-Essa

 

While not a bad read, this one was not one of my recent faves, despite the awards that it has received. Basically it is a slightly surreal update on Orwell's 1984, with numerous references to that tale, but definitely some Alice in Wonderland wackiness added to the mix.

While this is supposed to take place in a near-future, the environment is such a copy or Orwell's story - with a few names changed, although even the author references the book specifically - that it is somewhat distracting.

A book censor, whose job, naturally, is to approve bland books for the publics' consumption that do not encourage imagination or free-thinking, discovers real fictional literature and is immediately addicted. He finds like-minded people and does what he can to save stories from the annual pyre. Unfortunately, his highly imaginative daughter (whose knowledge of fairy tales and stories is unexplained) is taken by the authorities and the censor does what he can in the hopes of her return.

From there, the tale gets even more surreal than it had been, with an unexpected and truly bizarre ending.

Personally, this simply relied too heavily on 1984 without enough originality or even variations on the theme, even as it is obviously a play on modern-day vapidness and the current political environment, which of course, was the point of 1984, as well. Just wasn't for me...

recommended gigs

     

Thursday 5-21-26 - Bad Brains, the Minges, Sector 7-G, Destined to Fail at Backstage Bar and Billiards

Friday 5-22-26 - New Candys with the Acid Sisters and the Crotches at the Griffin

Friday 5-22-26 - the Rockets, Darkest Hollar and Christina Jean and the Howlers at Fat Cat

Friday 5-22-26 and Saturday 5-23-26 - Riot of Fremont Street Festival at Downtown Container Park with lots of bands, including Suburban Resistance on Sat!

Saturday 5-23-26 - Punk’n’Country, Mondo Vermin and Happy Campers at the Double Down Matinee daytime show 

Saturday 5-23-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 5-24-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Sunday 5-24-26 - Bear Supply at Mickey Finnz 12-3

Sunday 5-24-26 - the Circle Jerks, Gorilla Biscuits and 7 Seconds at Brooklyn Bowl

Monday 5-25-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 5-27-26 - The Darts, the Implosions, Service at the Usual Place

Friday 5-29-26 - Suburban Resistance with Sloppy Seconds and Channel 3 at the Dive Bar

Friday 5-29-26 - Tiger and Dove with Fuzz Solow and While Yer Down There at Red Dwarf

Friday 5-29-26 - Triple Splits, Wyatt and the Ashes, Sooflay, Skatepark Anthem at the Double Down

Sunday 5-31-26 - Generic Surf Band at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Sunday 5-31-26 - the Messer Chups, the Shakewells, Violet Minefield at the Swan Dive

Friday 6-5-26 - Suburban Resistance with Celebrity Stalker at Red Dwarf

Friday 6-5-26 - Jessika Von Rabbit at Dustland 

Thursday 6-11-26 -Punk’n’Country with Bear Supply and Unoriginal Unfits at Red Dwarf 

Friday 6-12-26 - Femaliens, Broke in Vegas, Skatepark Anthem at Red Dwarf

Wednesday 8-5-26 - the Woggles, the Crotches, the Implosions, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at the Usual Place

Sunday 8-9-26 - Hedwig at the House of Blues

Wednesday 8-26-26 - IV and the Strange Band at the Bizarre Bar

Sunday 9-6-26 - Screeching Weasel, Dickies, Queers, Jack Trippers at House of Blues LV

Sunday 9-13-26 - Exploited, Soldiers of Destruction, Suburban Resistance at Backstage Bar and Billiards

Friday 11-13-26 - Plague Vendor at the Usual Place 

recommended gigs

    

Saturday 5-16-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 5-17-26 - Generic Surf Band at Red Dwarf’s Sunday Brunch 

Monday 5-18-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 5-20-26 - Daikaiju at Grey Witch

Thursday 5-21-26 - Bad Brains, the Minges, Sector 7-G, Destined to Fail at Backstage Bar and Billiards

Friday 5-22-26 - New Candys with the Acid Sisters and the Crotches at the Griffin

Friday 5-22-26 - the Rockets, Darkest Hollar and Christina Jean and the Howlers at Fat Cat

Friday 5-22-26 and Saturday 5-23-26 - Riot of Fremont Street Festival at Downtown Container Park with lots of bands, including Suburban Resistance on Sat!

Saturday 5-23-26 - Punk’n’Country, Mondo Vermin and Happy Campers at the Double Down Matinee daytime show 

Saturday 5-23-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 5-24-26 - the Circle Jerks, Gorilla Biscuits and 7 Seconds at Brooklyn Bowl

Monday 5-25-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 5-27-26 - The Darts, the Implosions, Service at the Usual Place

Friday 5-29-26 - Suburban Resistance with Sloppy Seconds and Channel 3 at the Dive Bar

Sunday 5-31-26 - Generic Surf Band at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Sunday 5-31-26 - the Messer Chups, the Shakewells, Violet Minefield at the Swan Dive

Friday 6-5-26 - Suburban Resistance with Celebrity Stalker at Red Dwarf

Friday 6-5-26 - Jessika Von Rabbit at Dustland 

Thursday 6-11-26 -Punk’n’Country with Bear Supply and Teflon Dons at Red Dwarf 

Sunday 8-9-26 - Hedwig at the House of Blues

Wednesday 8-26-26 - IV and the Strange Band at the Bizarre Bar

Sunday 9-6-26 - Screeching Weasel, Dickies, Queers, Jack Trippers at House of Blues LV

Sunday 9-13-26 - Exploited, Soldiers of Destruction, Suburban Resistance at Backstage Bar and Billiards