Pop Punk at Beauty Bar LV with Assuming We Survive, Rivals, Riot Child and Noble Bodies

Thursday night the Vegas pop/punk crowd showed up for an evening of live music at Beauty Bar in downtown Las Vegas for four bands on the bill, consisting of Noble Bodies, Riot Child, Rivals, and Assuming We Survive.

First up was Noble Bodies, with Bryce Taylor (guitar/vox/drums), Elaine Bradley (drums/vox/guitar), and Chris Bennett (bass). That's right, both Bryce and Elaine trade off playing drums and guitar! Originally formed in 2004 under the name Another Statistic, Noble Bodies label themselves "Post Punk Existential Crisis Rock." Another Statistic actually broke up in 2008, but in April 2017 (after a nine year hiatus) they got back together to form Noble Bodies - same musical trio, different band name. Noble Bodies released their first single, called "What A World" on September 12, 2017, and on November 27, 2017 released an EP titled, It's OK It's Hell. Noble Bodies has a very soothing, traditional pop sound, that occasionally breaks out into intense screaming vocals. The duo of Taylor and Bradley provide beautiful harmonies, with Taylor handling most of the harsh vocals - not to say that he doesn't do the melodic as well, he most certainly does. If you like pop/punk/rock Noble Bodies are a real good listen - check out their YouTube channel for their EP It's OK It's Hell as well as their newest single "Take Me Down" (I really like that one)!

Next to take the stage was Riot Child, an electronic pop/punk duo originally from Stockholm, now based out of Los Angeles. Riot Child is Amanda Riot (Lead Vocals/Bass/Keys) and Alice Riot (Vocals/Drums). Even though they are only a duo, Amanda makes good use of the space at the front of the stage, bouncing back and forth between the keyboard at stage right, and a lone mic stand at stage left. She is a high energy performer, and quite the multi-tasker, handling the jobs of bass and keys while also performing most of the vocals. The pair are also quite photogenic, and appear to have a lot of fun entertaining the crowd. They released their debut album, Made For Another Time, in 2017 and can be found on Spotify and iTunes. Their song "Hey 21" is really catchy and I love Amanda's raspy vocals on the EP title track, "Made For Another Time". They are well worth checking out, very entertaining!

RIVALS was next up, a dark pop-rock band from Los Angeles formed in 2014, and consists of Kalie Wolfe (Vocals), Sebastian Clarke (Bass), Micket Woodle (Guitar), and Josh Alves (Drums). Kalie is a very expressive and emotional vocalist and conveys her lyrical message with intensity. Micket and Sebastian, while holding down opposite sides of the stage, are very energetic and very much in sync. Their headbanging appears to be perfectly timed, and really shows just how polished this band is. Their songs lyrics deal with a wide range of emotional topics, from mental illness and depression, to broken relationships and loneliness. Every song has a powerful message and while, at times, there certainly is a degree of hopelessness in them, there always seems to be a pick-me-up wedged in there as well. I believe this is one of the reasons this band is quickly gaining recognition. They have a relatability in their music and seem to connect well with their fans. I thoroughly enjoyed their live performance, and was very happy to hear that I will get to see them again at the end of January on Shiprocked Cruise, as they were recently added to that lineup!

Assuming We Survive (also known as AWS) was the headliner for this show, a pop/punk band founded in 2007 by front-man Adrian Estrella and drummer Kris Pasos. The lineup is rounded out by bassist Joe Lawson (not present at this show) with guitarists Phil Adams and Johnny Silva. They are on the final stretch of their first leg of the Turn The Stage Tour, with only two more shows remaining, with Part 2 of the tour commencing October 27 in Texas. Even though this show took place on a Thursday 'school' night the Beauty Bar was packed, and the band's General Manager Ryan Seaman (ex Falling in Reverse), as well as Jacky Vincent (also ex Falling in Reverse) could be seen observing the show.

Adrian is an energetic and charismatic front man, whipping the crowd into a frenzy, and encouraging friends in the audience to start a mosh-pit. He also kept running over to the fence by the back alley to sing to some fans outside that were not old enough to come into the venue, all the while apparently nursing a broken rib, sustained during the filming of the music video for "Make It Out Alive"! This was one of the most high energy performances I've seen at this venue, and the crowd was really into it, and AWS sounded incredible! If you get a chance to catch them on their second leg of this tour I would highly recommend it, and be sure to check out their new EP Chapters on Spotify which was released the night of this show.

AWS Set List:

Home Is Where The Heart Is

California Stoned

Open Water

Exit At The Door

Tear Me

I'm Yours

Make It Out Alive

Next To Me (with Amanda from Riot Child)

Just So You Know

(Guitar Solo by Johnny Silva)

Down