Terror Attack, Bullshit Detector, Civic, Upchuck, The Adicts take the Main Stage Saturday at Punk Rock Bowling 2025.
BULLSHIT DETƎCTÖR on the main stage at Punk Rock Bowling 2025 - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
It had already been an action-packed couple of days, with 100-degree heat and racing to and from events. It was all just beginning, though, as we raced from the Teenage Bottlerocket pool party over to the festival, which was finally starting. It was unavoidable that we missed Revolt Chix on the second stage, which was unfortunate since they were one of the festival bands that I was most looking forward to. We did manage to get there in time to see Terror Attack on the main stage, and they killed it. The Saturday main stage had a packed line-up to kick off the festival with Terror Attack, BULLSHIT DETƎCTÖR, Civic, Upchuck, The Adicts, Power Trip, and Cocksparrer.
Originally, Violencia was part of the line-up but was another casualty of cancelled visas and not being able to get into the U.S. We had good compensation, though, when they were replaced with BULLSHIT DETƎCTÖR. Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival put out the formal statement a few weeks earlier: "We’re fighting tooth and nail to get all the international bands on PRB into the country, despite the xenophobic hysteria at the border. That being said, we have some lineup changes to share... BULLSHIT DETƎCTÖR will replace Violencia on the festival stage."
BULLSHIT DETƎCTÖR from Texas are streetpunk/oi!, and they had just released a three-song EP, where "You Made Us" was the standout song (which they played as part of this set). They also have a full-length "Death Depression" from 2023 and a whole slew of singles and cassettes going back to 2020. Highly recommended band if you like Oi! music, and I do.
Civic and Upchuck played next. Civic had been recommended to me by a friend, and the songs "Radiant Eye" and "Making Time" had been on my PRB playlist for the past month. They are from Australia and have a more garage/alternative sound than a lot of the other bands but played a great set. Upchuck brought the energy, and the band members switched places for some of the songs. Check out the coverage of their pool party set for a more in-depth look at the band and more photos.
The Adicts on the main stage at Punk Rock Bowling 2025 - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
I'm not as familiar with The Adicts as I should be, considering that I'm more into hardcore. I've always loved their Clockwork Orange references, as it's one of my all-time favorite movies, but I'd never seen them live. Wow, this set blew me away. The sound was great, the songs were great, the band was energetic and photogenic, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Keith "Monkey" Warren was in his full Joker make-up, which set the stage from the beginning. They sent out a fleet of huge blow-up beach balls into the audience, brought out a giant blow-up heart, ate fake Chinese takeout food, and had an inflatable eyeball at different times during the set. I'm a new fan and already looking forward to seeing them again. Unfortunately, fatigue and hunger were catching up to me, and I still had club shows later. I headed out after The Adicts, missing Power Trip and Cocksparrer, but was still on track to break my record for the most sets in a single PRB weekend (I ended up with 54 this year).
