Monster Street Party Stage Monday at Punk Rock Bowling 2025.
Colin McFaull from Cocksparrer on stage with The Barstool Preachers for their cover of “Suicide Girls.”All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein.
As with the other days, it was a sprint to get over to the main festival after The Briefs and Modern Action tore it up at the pool party a few blocks away at The Downtown Grand. With my wristbands sorted and a path down Fremont Street into the festival and up to the stage well practiced, I easily made it in time for Go Bold. I had checked out their song "All Grown Ups Are Pirates" in advance, so I had an idea of what I was in for. It was a great set and a perfect lead-in to maybe the best lineup of the weekend on the Monster Street Party Stage.
The Barstool Preachers were up next, and I'd actually seen them one time before when they played a local club show in Detroit with The Rumjacks and Grade 2 (I was actually there to see The Rumjacks, hoping they would play "Cupcakes," which they didn't). The Barstool Preachers are on the more mellow side of punk rock, with a ska sound and six or more members that include keyboards and sometimes a horn section. They played a great set, but we were really in for a treat when they brought out Colin McFaull from Cocksparrer during "Suicide Girls" (a Cocksparrer cover).
Leftover Crack ended up being one of my favorite sets of the festival, with their over-the-top theatrics matching the speed and intensity of the songs. On bass and vocals (accompanying STZA) was Tibbie X, whom I had previously seen with Reagan Youth. If you aren't familiar, Leftover Crack is somewhat of a niche band in the "Crack Rock Steady" subgenre of punk rock and maybe the best to do it. They formed after the breakup of another band, Choking Victim, which is also top tier. I consulted AI, which gave the following description. "Crack rock steady" is a subgenre of punk rock that incorporates elements of ska, reggae, and hardcore punk. It is characterized by its aggressive and politically charged lyrics, fast-paced rhythms, and heavy use of brass instruments. The genre emerged in the late 1990s and is often associated with anarchist and anti-capitalist movements. "I'd say that is fairly close (it doesn't mention the unique high-pitched vocals), but regardless, it's a great sound that is undeniably punk rock. "Apple Pie and Police State," "Bedbugs and Beyond," and "Clear Channel (Fuck Off!)" are my personal favorites. While they didn't play the first two, they opened with "Clear Channel" and played a great 10-song set that included a Michael Jackson cover and a finale with Ian MacDougall from Riverboat Gamblers joining in on rhythm guitar.
Similar to The Barstool Preachers, The Pietasters lean towards ska (and even soul) and have a larger contingent with more varied instruments (saxophone, trombone, trumpet, and baritone saxophone) than the normal punk rock band.And they have the talent to go with that. They played more than a dozen songs, ending with a cover of The Business' "Drinking and Driving." It was a great set, and I was tempted to head to dinner directly after.My friend Rob Nowak (drummer for Against The Grain) has talked frequently about Amigo The Devil and how much he likes them (him), so I decided to stay for one more set.
Amigo The Devil was just one guy with a banjo that brings as much humor as music. It was reminiscent of my younger days as a fan of Steve Martin, and his album "The Steve Martin Brothers" where he told jokes on one side of the album and played the banjo on the other (surprisingly well). ATD, however has a much darker sense of humor. Unfortunately, between the time I saw the show at Punk Rock Bowling and the time I'm writing this, he posted the following. A go fund me was set up, which currently has raised over $100k.
"Everything is gone.
I have both too many and too few words right now. I’m happy and grateful for all of our lives. I’m devastated for anyone who put love, effort, and kindness into making this home what it was.
All the original Amigo art, dozens of handwritten lyric books filled with songs that’ll never be, hard drives with thousands of demos throughout a lifetime and the backups of them, test pressings…the whole journey…gone.
I’m horrified for the irreplaceable loss that Abbey is going through of her best friend, the best little dog that so many of you met this last tour, Kobe.
A lifetime of collecting is gone. Just a museum level of pieces that I feel I’ve failed history with. Family heirlooms, achievements, and keepsakes are rubble.
Physical representations of this entire existence leave a life experienced to the degradation of memory and time now.
I have so much more to say but right now it’ll all be through the lens of this hopeless feeling.
We’re trying to stay positive.
We’re trying to stay hopeful.
I’m trying to forget I ever wrote a song called “It’s All Gone,” but at the same time the little jokes help here and there.
This was genuinely a night without mercy."
