Las Vegas Mixtape #17: Sammy Hagar’s Poolside Paradise, Balla’s Elegant Italian Soul, and More

Track #5: Devo, Punk Rock Bowling Music Festival @Downtown Events Center

It was thrilling to see Devo headline the second day of the 24th edition of the glorious Punk Rock Bowling music festival at Downtown Event Center (the Akron, Ohio-formed band’s last PRB performance was in 2021).

Devo is currently celebrating a 50-year legacy. Decked out in their yellow jumpsuits and red Energy Dome hats, they still sound and look—commandingly—like a Dadaist art-rock band dialed in from some other planet, but with arena rock power.

Witness their staccato rhythms, old-school-sounding synths, and lyrics, which encompass their original theme that society, despite technical advancements, is actually “de-evolving.” All you have to do is scroll through social media for videos of unruly airline passengers being escorted off airplanes to know that Devo was right all along.

Hats off to festival head Shawn Stern for curating a lineup that mixed other legacy bands like Madness and the Descendants, with younger groups like LA’s glammy-but-noisy Starcrawler and The Chats from Australia. Let it be known that the take-no-prisoners Chats tore up the second stage with a skillfully vicious sound that instantly brought to mind American hardcore heroes Black Flag.  I can easily picture The Chats headlining Punk Rock Bowling one day.

Meanwhile, Stern told me that the festival will return for its 25th anniversary next year.