Punk! #632
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Punk! #632

Ooooooooh, Screeching Weasel are finally heading our way and with MXPX to boot! Pop-punk nirvana guaranteed on May 20 at the Prince Bandroom (yes, it’s in Melbourne, but well worth the trip)! Supports to be announced any day now, so stay tuned!

Super quick question, when on EARTH will a punk band get to provide the half time entertainment at the superbowl?! I think we’ve had enough of Beyoncé (two appearances in three years!) and the like. Hell, I’d even settle for Green Day – and they’ve sucked so hard for so long now it’s not even funny…

But seriously, if Coldplay, Bruno Mars and Beyoncé is what organisers think viewers want to see, they might want to poll the audiences. The mullets in the crowd would indicate to me that everyone there would rather see Nickleback!

Sadly, punk rock just ain’t what it used to be. Yes, there are still little punk rock scenes in every country, with killer bands doing it for the love of it and making amazing music to boot, but as far as the wider community is concerned, those bands don’t even cause a blip on the radar. Ask your average person in the street under the age of 30 to name a punk band, and chances are they’ll look at you funny. Or name the bands you see colourful emo kids wearing T-shirts of. A Day To Remember, Five Seconds of Summer, Asking Alexandria, Simple Plan, All Time Low… The sad thing is, many of the kids wearing these shirts A) have no idea that there ARE local scenes, B) would absolutely HATE real punk rock if they ever got to hear any, and C) probably cannot tell the difference between punk, emo and nu metal – as evidenced by the kids hanging around Melbourne train stations wearing raver pants (like flared, shiny plastic-looking pants, covered in buckles and straps) often worn by metal bands like Mudvayne, paired with mohawks and Parkway Drive T-shirts. It’s really a thing. Go past the Flinders Street Station steps and tell me I’m wrong!

Now, of course, I’m no expert when it comes to mainstream musical tastes (especially when it comes to heavy music) so I’m going to leave it there!
Speaking of Green Day, the Avicii song featuring Billy Joe Armstrong has been canned! No word on why, I guess the superstar DJ has his reasons. Can’t say I’m dissappointed! No word on the tracks he cut with Jon Bon Jovi and countless others, we’ll just have to wait for the album to drop to find out! The first two singles came out last year, so who the hell knows when that will be!

The line up for Rebellion Festival in the UK is getting CRAZY; the Descendents and Big D and the Kids Table have just been added to a bill that already featured the likes of Fear, Agnostic Front, Jello Biafra, Flag and the Buzzcocks! Blimey! (That’s English for crikey!)

Believe it or not, it’s almost time for Punk Rock Bowling: a festival in Las Vegas getting so big that punters from all around the world flock to it to witness the insane line ups. If you’re not familiar with it, check out the official Facebook page for it.
Legion Festival (offered as a replacement of sorts for the Soundwave abortion) has been postponed ’til next year. It’s a pretty poor consolation prize, but if it happens, I guess it’s better than nothing. One major drawback though, is that it seems to concentrate purely on metal and industrial bands – no punk or hardcore whatsoever. Soundwave at least offered a couple of token punk bands, like Lagwagon last year. And New Found Glory seven billion times. More next time, obviously! Catch yas!

Written by Christopher Cruz