Vultures United released a new 7" not too long ago titled, To Live and Die in Gainesville, through Kiss of Death Records. It features four tracks of aggressive punk and hardcore. These songs were actually recorded in 2009 during the Savages sessions, but released in time for this year's Fest in Gainesville, Florida. The band will again participate (this weekend!) in this year's, Fest 10.

     The new record opens with the title track, which details the band's amazing first experience at Fest. Less than Jake had played before them and the Bouncing Souls right after. Along with two other originals, the record also includes a really cool cover of the Good Riddance song, Heresy, Hypocrisy & Revenge. And speaking of covers, Vultures United are still working on the Girls EP. That release will feature their own musical interpretation's of songs originally from female-fronted bands. It's a really cool idea actually. Let's hope they release that in time for Christmas.


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     Within These Walls will be happening on Saturday, September 24 in Mesa, Arizona. I'm not going to be able to make it to the fest, and with the lineup that's set to play, I definitely wish I was going. I always say this (and majority of the time it's true), but there's always next time. I'll definitely have to try to make it next year. I'm not too familiar with a lot of the bands on the lineup, but from the bands that I do know, I all ready know that this is going to be a sick show. Very sick show. 

     The Beautiful Ones are playing third, according to the schedule. Being locals of the city of Mesa, these guys play straight-up hardcore, with a definite old school approach. I believe they made a stop here in Las Vegas earlier in the year. Didn't make it to that show, but I know they'll tear it up this Saturday.

The Beautiful Ones - Old News, Same Blues

     Dangers will be playing a slot at this event as well. Now Dangers are a really tight band, very aggressive and brutal hardcore. I'd go to the show and make it a priority to see them play and then decide whether or not to stick around for the other acts. But then again, I would more than likely stick around to check out the other bands (Stretch Arm Strong and H20 are playing!). They are pretty damn awesome.

Dangers - I'll Clap When I'm Impressed

    Just like Dangers, I've only heard Gaza through recordings. They play a mixture of grind and hardcore. It sounds experimental at times with the two genre's. I first heard Gaza on this label sampler titled, The Color of Sound Breathing. The label, Exigent Records (I'm not sure if they're active or not), released a bunch of records by some cool bands like Prize Country, Loom, Glacial and Lost in the Fire. Gaza are scheduled to play sometime after Deafheaven, who played here in Las Vegas recently. That show was one of those, I-showed-up-really-early-what-do-I-do-until-the-show-starts, kind of show. I felt pretty awkward when I walked in. I ordered a beer and played some video poker. 
    I remember three bands playing that night. Two of those bands were local, one being Lester Freamon, the other I have no idea, and the third, Deafheaven. Lester Freamon played a cool set, some chaotic experimental punk and hardcore . But when Deafheaven played their set, it was like a doom metal symphony of just loud guitars and drums. And their set was really loud. The singer screamed at the top of his lungs along side some mid-tempo metal riffs. And some parts of their music can be soft and clean, but only for a moment. Then the chaos would ensue. And their music is very epic -  I wouldn't be surprised if their 30 minute set at Within These Walls consisted of only four songs.      
     But I think what makes Within These Walls something to attend to this year would be for the headliners. I can't vouch for their live shows, I've never seen them play before, but man those guys are dope. H20's, Thicker Than Water, is a pretty tight album, and the only one I have of theirs. And Stretch Arm Strong's Rituals of Life is just as awesome, but I first heard them on the Songs from Penalty Box Vol.2 compilation. I heard, Second Chances, and then I was hooked. Like I said, it's going to be a sick show. 

     Once again, the Neon Reverb Festival took place along the streets of Las Vegas. This six day festival consisted of  75 bands and 12 venues, featuring music, film and the arts. I first heard about Neon Reverb after reading about it in City Life. I read that Asobi Seksu played. The Citrus album rocks my face off. This festival might be fun to check out one year. But it seems the real challenge here is to try to attend all these different shows that are happening simultaneously in different venues, with so many awesome bands playing. I guess attending something like, the Fest (the festival that happens in Gainesville, Florida), would be a real challenge as well. I told myself then that I was going to make it out to the next Neon Reverb. I did, sort of. 

     On the third day of the festival (the first for music), I attend the show happening at The Royal Resort. Admission was free for this one and the show featured a pretty cool line-up. The bands that played that night were (in order of appearance), The Akaschic Record, Candy Warpop, Pet Tigers, and Acton Town. I've heard of these bands beforehand, and some of their music, but it was actually going to be my first time watching them play. It also happened to be the night I tried Boddingtons for the first time. I enjoyed both, immensely. 
     I arrived at the Resort sometime after 10 pm. The Akaschic Record were setting up, and people are roaming around freely. I take a seat at the bar and begin my night with a PBR, as I always do. I couldn't help but wonder which one of these people were here on assignment to cover the event for so-and-so magazine/paper. That might have been cool.   
     The Akaschic Record began their set at around 10:25 pm. It was a pretty tight set, very energetic. The first couple songs had a lot of reggae-vibes mixed with some of that indie-rock flavor. It was definitely an interesting mix and they made it work. The most memorable part of their set was the last song they performed. Don't remember how long the song was, but it seemed pretty epic. Sometime into the song, every one in the band, with the exception of the drummer, put down their instruments and picked up something else. It was a few minutes of a percussive jam, with the members rocking out with bongos, congas and shakers . They went back into their previous jam soon after. Nice way to start the night.     
     For my next drink, I continued on with a Blue Moon. The bartender asked, “What kind would you like?” I didn't know other flavors existed. I went with  Summer Honey Wheat. Drinking Blue Moon means that it tastes awesome by default. Sure enough, it was awesome. 

     The next band, Candy Warpop, began their set at around 11:20 pm. Candy Warpop played a very lively set with lots of energy and rock. All the members were having tons of fun and it showed in their performance. The crowd seemed to enjoy it just as much too. Most of Candy Warpop's songs were ambient-heavy in the guitars and some low fuzzy grooves from the bass end. If every show is like this for Candy Warpop, I'd definitely go see them again. 
     During the break, I thought I'd try something new from the menu. That's when I saw Boddingtons on their list of imports. I've never tried it and I only recognized the name because of an episode of Friends (The One with all the Kissing). I ordered one and the bartender gave me a glass along with my drink. Boddingtons is a really smooth beer,  but unfortunately I couldn't finish the thing. I was feeling good about half way into it, and that was good enough for me. 

     Pet Tigers played next. I was looking forward to this spectacular trio as I had been listening to their tunes for sometime now. Although I've only heard two songs (See Me Now, You're the Last One), they're pretty dope tracks and listen to them quite often. They began their set with See Me Now, an awesome opener. The rest of the set (I think their last song was, You're the Last One) were straight up neon pop-rock with some loud furious drumming and thick bass lines. The set seemed somewhat short, with theirs ending around 12:40 am. But the band kept it energetic and fun till the end. 
     People came and went through the night, but it seemed almost empty towards the end. I wonder how many writers, if any were in attendance, stuck around till the end. At 12:50 am, Acton Town began their set (and the last band for the night at the Resort). I've heard a few tunes from this three-piece not too long ago,  and to be honest wasn't expecting much. It turns out actually that their songs sound better live. I'm glad I stayed for it. They played a handful of songs, switching it up to an acoustic one in the middle, but pretty upbeat the whole time. I wouldn't mind seeing these guys again. Hopefully next time I'll be having a drink during their show. Acton Town ended their set around 1:30 am.
     Not bad for the first night (my first) of Neon Reverb. Seems like an awesome event with lots of local support. But I missed out on some other awesome shows. I wish I had made it to The Quitters, Robot Nixon, The People's Whiskey, Ian Down, and Audacity show for night two at the Bunkhouse. Been wanting to see Quitters and People's Whiskey, and Robot Nixon sounds pretty cool too. Holding onto Sound also played a set on the third night. I hope to at least make it to one of their shows by the year's end. And of course, the set by Atari Teenage Riot at the Resort. I'm guessing it was a ridiculous show. And I mean that in a good way. But for next year's Neon Reverb, here's hoping to attending more shows and nights, at the very least, two.