In case you haven’t noticed, mall punk is huge. Just a year or two ago if you checked upcoming shows for smaller venues like the 240-person capacity Chain Reaction in Anaheim, it would not be odd to come across names like Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday and Panic! At The Disco. Now these bands play at huge arenas nationwide. What is an old school fan to do?
You can sit at home and talk about how much MTV ruined your band, or you can push your way through thousands of eyeliner-wearing preteen boys and girls to try to get a decent view of your beloved group. Or, if you have a car, some gas and a few fun friends, you can take a little road trip to Las Vegas.
Vegas is known for several things. Nice hotels, gambling and great entertainment top the list, but good rock shows are not. In fact, lots of tours (e.g. the Vans Warped Tour) don’t even go to Vegas. The scene isn’t big enough there. Tours don’t sell enough tickets.
But some tours do go through Vegas, and they play smaller venues. Tours that play 15,000 person capacity arenas in Los Angeles and Long Beach play venues that barely hold 2,000 people in Sin City. It makes for a much more intimate show with fewer bells and whistles.
Look at Taking Back Sunday, for example. The Long Island, N.Y., quintet has been a favorite of mine for years, but now that they’re signed to Warner Brothers Records and have had mainstream success with 2006’s “Louder Now,” it’s hard to get anywhere near the band.
This spring, the band is on tour with screamo rockers Underoath, and if you want to see that show anywhere around here, you’re going to have to go to a big venue. The tour hits UCI’s Bren Events Center, which has a capacity of more than 5,000 people and it’s already sold out.
But if you make the road trip to Vegas, you get to see the show at the House of Blues Las Vegas, which holds 1,800 people. That’s a lot fewer preteens to push through.
AFI is the same way. If you wanted to see the popular punk/screamo band last weekend, you would have had to go to the 4,200- people Coussoulis Arena in San Bernardino. But this weekend the band will play The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas, which holds 2,000 people. With more than 50 percent fewer people, you’re bound to get a better view of the show.
It’s understandable why promoters book bigger venues out here. There is a huge music scene, and a lot of shows sell out. But for those old fans who want a smaller, more intimate show with their favorite bands, Vegas is a good alternative.
