This year, they tried out a new concept, Punk vs. Metal. A novel idea. Metal has mostly ruled in this area for some time now, but these last couple of years punk has been a rising beast. This show gave us a peek into where the scene is at. Unfortunately, JD couldn't find a scoreboard, so a winner was not clearly defined or announced. In my humble and pathetic opinion, metal still rules supreme, but Punk is nipping on their heels. After some time, I believe Punk can grow and metamorph with the metal scene and make a SUPER SCENE! Ah, wishful thinking. I've noticed that mostly people do not crossover. Punk has it's regulars, as does metal, but very few make the journey across the line. But enough on this, this is supposed to be a review, not an essay on the current state of underground music in Cheyenne.

Doors opened at 7:45. Show started slightly late, but not too late. Congrats to Nick on getting the layover time down. The show started shortly after eight, pretty much as scheduled. Teenage Bottle Rocket (former Homeless Wonders) started. I have to say, I like them. They look like a group of Buddy Holly's love children and sound kinda like the Ramones. Amazing stamina. I believe they played for about an hour and only took two breaks. There was approximately two seconds between each song, enough time for the drummer to count off. They played a blistering set that just rocked nonstop. Special props on the Ramones "Blitzkrieg Bop" (which sounded pretty much like a carbon-copy of the original, so it was really good in other words) and very very special props to their fans who made the trip over from Laramie.

Then there was Mandrake. Didn't see much of them. Went outside and talked to some friends. Not a big fan of the metal, plus I didn't really hear them, so I'm not going to delve much into their set. The only thing I do have to say is that their set-up time was just ungodly. Work on it, boys.

Finally, the universe was righted again when Napier played. It seems like it's been forever since I've seen them play so freely and unrestricted. When they're not so confined, they sure can rock. Their energy is strong. Every time I see them I think it must be absolute hell to wake up the next morning. They rock their asses off and I almost get sore just thinking about it. They played two songs I believe, before they really got into in and the amazing "Super Chad" (!) climbed atop his amp and executed a triple-dipple-super-punk-lutz. His form, by the way, was a little shaky, so I give him an eight. Well, it was pretty ballsy, so 8.5. This jump actually knocked his amp over. We helped it all up. It was ok, for the electronic rights activists out there. Then the show really heated up when they took their shirts off. OOO Baby! All except Tad, he saves it for his newest squeeze who doesn't like flyers. Damn him and his not nakedness. Anyways, their set was great. Every time I see Brandon he's better than the last time I saw them. They ended with one of my favorites, Emotional Thieves. Seneca is really opening up on that scream. Just wait till you hear it on the new album (due out sometime), Sen really opens up and belts out the most amazing scream that puts all those metal heads to shame. Great job on the show, can't wait till next one on the 20th.

Then there was the local faves, Deadspeak. I, once again, was outside for most of it. I was very impressed that four humans can make that much noise. Good job. Since I have no more to say about metal, that must means it's finally time for:

My conclusion, the punk scene is slowly building, so watch out metal, cause here we come. By the way, special thanks to Nick and his wife for all their hard work on this show and many others.