Punk music has been steadily going into a decline in the music scene in recent years, but Thursday night felt like a rebirth of punk when the Riverboat Gamblers took the stage at the Key Club in Hollywood.
The Gamblers have an old punk rock sound, but have molded it into something for the 21st century. The band uses that energy to bring fun and chaos into the music.
The band is from Demon, Texas, and the group has just released a new album back in April titled, “To the Confusion of Our Enemies,” from Volcom Records.
The Gamblers has also been placed No. 15 on the top 25 Greatest Live Bands Now list according to Spin Magazine.
This band always puts on the best show, complete with stage chaos and with lead vocalist Mike Wiebe running all over the venue.
The last time I saw the Gamblers was at Alex’s Bar here in Long Beach and the band was warming up the crowd for Los Angeles rockers The Bronx. Wiebe was a thing to behold, watching him run all over the bar floor, breaking tables and kissing drunk women in the crowd. The Key Club was no exception.
Wiebe jumped from the stage to the sitting areas, dragging his microphone behind him and continuing to sing without missing a beat. Dressed in a long sleeve shirt, which had a large hole in it before the end of the night, Wiebe looked like he was ready to rock the socks off the entire club. While he was running around, he sat next to a woman, who was quietly sitting and Wiebe placed his arm around her while she gave him a sheepish smile.
Wiebe even took a cell phone from a fan, called the last number and sang into the receiver. Then later in the set, Wiebe glanced at the large screens all over the club, which have live video of the bands while they are performing, and said he was sorry that he was so out of shape and that next time he wouldn’t have such a “muffin” butt, whatever that means.
Must be a Texas thing.
Every random act just generates more chaos and unpredictability to the show and adds to the entertainment and spectacle that is The Riverboat Gamblers.
Even though the Gamblers had a rough start to this fall tour, having all of the band’s guitars stolen back in Texas, the group decided to continue with the tour, stating that it had to borrow guitars in order to play.
The San Francisco group Dead to Me was also on tour with the Gamblers and was a great addition to this already punk filled music night. Imagine The Ramones with a more pop flare and the group actually knows how to play its instruments. Each song is about a minute-and-a-half ballad, full of catchy chords and fronted by a cute bad boy.
Overall, the night was a mix of bad opening acts until Dead to Me and The Riverboat Gamblers saved the night and took all of us into a place where punk rock is not dead, but alive and kicking.
