Punk In Drublic Festival in Edmonton September 3rd 2022

My Buddy Nazz and I went to the Punk In Drublic Festival at the Edmonton Expo Centre, this was our second time attending this festival together. The Punk In Drublic Festival is a day of punk rock and beers. The festival starts with a taste testing of dozens of local breweries. With your ticket you get ten free tickets to sample some of the local craft beers. And because my buddy Nazz doesn't drink, I make out on this deal pretty damn good. After sampling lots of different beers a few hours before showtime, a guy can get a little buzz on. Thanks Nazz for the beer tickets! One of the many beers I tried.

The day started with local punkers Real Sickies. This was my 7th time seeing them in concert. They were great, nice to see that they always have local band in the line-up. The Real Sickies.

Next up was Cagary's Chixdiggit. This was my 2nd time seeing them play. They too were great. Chixdiggit.

Up next was a band called Voodoo Glow Skulls, a band from California that play a mix of punk rock and ska. I had never seen them play before and was really looking forward to seeing them in perosn. I was a fan of this band in the mid nineties and in all honesty didn't even realize they were still around. The only original members now are the two brothers Eddie Casillas on guitar and Jorge Casillas on bass, their other brother Frank who used to be the lead singer quit the band in 2017. On vocals now is Efrem Martinez-Schulz who also sings in the band Death By Stereo. I didn't know this until my brother told me before the show. I was a big fan of Death By Stereo back in the day. Seemed odd that Efrem would be fronting a ska band as Death By Stereo were a hardcore band. So I wasn't sure what to expect, but have to say I thought he did a great job. Voodoo Glow Skulls were high energy and awesome. Voodoo Glow Skulls.

Next was a band called Strung Out. Nazz and I caught a few of their songs but I didn't take any pictures. We had decided to hit the smoke pit outside for a smoke. Well the smoke pit was always fun every time we went out. It was always full and it was more like a weed pit as there were just as many people smoking weed as cigarettes. And with everyone having a good buzz on, it was full of funny drunken antics. And if you were sly enough you could sneak a drink out with you to the smoke pit. We hungout there for a while. We went back in to the venue to catch a bit of the band Pup, but decided it was more fun outside, so out we went for fresh air, ya right, more smokes and laughs.

Up next was another band out of California called the Descendents, a band that formed in 1977 and still going strong. This was the main band that Nazz and I were very excited about seeing as I had never seen them perform before. And they did not disappoint, there style of music would be a mix of hardcore melodic punk if that makes any sense with humour mixed in. They were excellent and probably the main reason most in attendance were there for. An awesome set by the Descendents. The Descendents.

Headliner of the festival was Los Angeles band NOFX, who have been around since 1983. This traveling festival was put together by lead singer Fat Mike of NOFX and the festival is named after one of their albums Punk In Drublic. This would be my 2nd time seeing NOFX in concert. I'm not the biggest fan of NOFX but thought they put on a good show. All in all we had a great day out at the festival. Good times!!! NOFX.

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Punk In Drublic Craft Beer & Music Fest Edmonton July 6th 2019

Three weeks ago my buddy RCD and I went to the Punk In Drublic Craft Beer and Music Festival at the Expo Centre here in Edmonton. This show was originally supposed to be an outdoor festival on the grounds of the Expo Centre, but because of our shitty weather here this summer it was moved indoors. This is the second time I have gone to what was supposed to be an outdoor show at this venue only to have it moved indoors (first one being Sonic Boom in 2011) and both times it never did rain. The Expo Centre is a terrible venue for a concert. The sound was awful unless you were within 30 yards of the front of the stage, any further away and the sound was terrible.

A cool part of this festival was the craft beer. Between noon and 4pm there were free samples of beer from about 30 different craft beer breweries. So we indulged as did many others. But at 4 o'clock, that was it, they closed down that part of the hall and now it was into the concert hall part where they sold Labatt products, that were stupid expensive and included lining up for 40 fucking minutes to get a damn beer.

We missed the first band of the day The Last Gang. I had seen them once before opening for Swingin' Utters last fall and didn't much care for them. They were on at 3pm, so we stayed in the beer hall and sampled more beers.

The first band we caught were Chixdiggit from Calgary. This band has been around for close to thirty years, yet I had never seen them live before. Not sure how many are original members in the band anymore, but lead singer KJ Jansen who I know is the original singer and guitarist sounded great. I enjoyed their set.

Chixdiggit.

Next up was Gainesville, Florida ska punk band Less Than Jake. This would be my third time seeing LTJ in concert. I've always been a fan of the band and was looking forward to seeing them again. I haven't bought an album of theirs since 1998's Hello Rockview, so I didn't know all their songs. But the ones I did recognize were "Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts", "All My Best Friends Are Metal Heads", "Last One Out Of Liberty City" and "Look What Happened". They had the crowd dancing, and the band looked to be having a good time. I enjoyed their set as well.

Less Than Jake.

The third band we saw was Los Angeles band Bad Religion. This would be my second time seeing them in concert. I'm more a fan of these guys now then I was back in the day. Their set was rocking from start to finish with the band covering songs from their whole discography. There seemed to be at least one song from every album, or it seemed that was anyways. Opening the show with the song "Fuck Armageddon... This Is Hell" from their very first album. By the time Bad Religion hit the stage the crowd had swelled, and was probably the biggest crowd of the night for these guys. Other songs played that I knew were "The Dichotomy", "Suffer", "21st Century (Digital Boy)", "Sorrow" and "The Handshake" plus many others. I really liked their set and was my favourite of the night.

Bad Religion.

Headlining the festival was NOFX, whom the festival is named after "Punk In Drublic" which is the name of their 1994 album, making this tour the 25th anniversary of said album. This would be my second time seeing the band in concert. Fat Mike who is the bassist and lead singer of the band and also owns the record label Fat Wreck Chords, in which all the bands at this festival have released an album on the label.

Fat Mike as is known for came out on stage wearing a dress, which was no surprise as that seems to be his stage wear nowadays. I really am just not a fan of NOFX. There songs are kind of juvenile and I don't find the band to be all that talented. And from where we were standing, which was aways back the sound was awful. There was a big crowd in front of the stage eating it up, but RCD and I weren't one of them. We left about two thirds of the way through their set, and as we were leaving, it looked like we weren't the only ones. So I have to say, didn't much care for them.

NOFX.

All and all it was fun night out, but think it would have been a whole lot better had the show been staged outside like it was supposed to be. Good times!!!

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27 Years Ago Today...July 17th

It was twenty-seven years ago today that I saw Judas Priest with opening act Bon Jovi play Edmonton at Northlands Coliseum.

Also on this day, twenty-four years ago, I saw Jeff Healey perform at the Jubilee Auditorium here in Edmonton. Earlier in the day Jeff Healey also did an in-store performance at the old records store The Marquee downtown. Where I was lucky enough to meet the man and get his autograph.

As well it was eighteen years ago today that I saw Ace Frehley and Peter Criss of KISS do solo shows at the Thunderdome here in Edmonton.

Also on this day eleven years ago, I saw went to the Vans Warped Tour in Calgary. Some of the bands I saw on this day were Hot Water Music, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, NOFX, Bad Religion, Death By Stereo among many others.

And finally, on this day five years ago, I saw the Black Crowes play Edmonton at the Jubilee Auditorium.