The Briefs Pool Party at 2025 Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival
The Briefs at Punk Rock Bowling 2025 (Pool Party) - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
We were now three for three on missing the limited edition silkscreened posters that were given to the first 100 or so people that showed up. No worries, as it was starting to get hot and the first band was setting up their equipment. The show started with Crom Fallon and the P200, a Las Vegas local band. I had missed them at their club show (they played with The New Bomb Turks, but I ended up at Hogs & Heifers to catch Chaser, Cigar, and DI instead), so I was glad to see them at the pool party. They have a 60's garage/70's punk sound, and it was perfect for this lineup. Check out their album on Bandcamp or this video from the pool party.
Modern Action at Punk Rock Bowling 2025 (Pool Party)
Modern Action from Sonoma shared a guitar player (Dan Travanti) and drummer with The Briefs. I did some research after the fact, and it looks like they have a few records out and have been around for at least 15 years. The singer did a few songs and then ripped his shirt off and headed out in the pit for a few more. Props to the drummer for having on a Night Birds shirt, a highly underrated band (check out their song "I'm Wired").
Eric from The Gutterpunx and Boom from Boom & The Legion of Doom
While waiting for The Briefs to take the stage, I walked by a table and was handed a card that said "Lost Puppy Forever". Not for the first time this trip, the guy noticed my Koffin Kats hat and asked if I was from Detroit. When I said I was, he asked if I remembered The Graystone Hall (which happens to be where I saw several of my very first punk rock shows). We talked about the old days, including "Scary" Cary (the owner of The Graystone Hall) and Blondies on 7 Mile. It turned out that he was "Boom" from the old Detroit band Boom and the Legion of Doom and that he is now out in Vegas with a new band, Lost Puppy Forever. During our conversation, Eric Burleson from The Gutterpunx walked by, and I pulled him into the conversation and snapped a quick photo.
Ever since I first heard the song "Destroy the U.S.A.," I've been a huge fan of The Briefs. This was the second time that I got to see them live, both times at Punk Rock Bowling pool parties. Before the show, Steve E. Nix and Dan Travanti both signed a photo for me that I had taken at the last pool party. I almost went to their club show as well. They played with The Street Dogs and Beton Arme on Sunday at The Fremont Country Club, but I had tickets to New Bomb Turks (and ended up missing that too for DI). Last time they were great; this time they were great again. The Briefs are a band that, along with Sloppy Seconds, could do a pool party year after year, and I would never get tired of them. They also have a new single out on TKO Records called "Hospital Elevator," which I will be reviewing later this year, so check that out.
