Las Vegas Weekly

Punk, garage, rockabilly fest returns after a nine-year hiatus

Throw Rag

The Las Vegas Shakedown, a three-day punk, garage and rockabilly festival, returns after a nine-year hiatus this weekend, with 50 bands holding down the Beauty Bar and Las Vegas Country Saloon over three nights. Which acts to see? California psych-rockers The Warlocks and Spindrift are familiar Neon Reverb alums, and locals surely know The Vermin by now. As for the rest, let us help with a few recommendations. Igor Spectre (Friday, 5 p.m., Beauty Bar): The LA outfit's eccentric rockabilly should make for an unparalleled spectacle. Nekromantix (Saturday, 12:20 a.m., LVCS): If B-movie horror were a band, these Danish psychobilly vets would be it. Death never rocked so hard. Throw Rag (Saturday, 10 p.m., Beauty Bar): Sailor punk, from a SoCal group that's earned its sea legs opening for Willie Nelson and The Supersuckers. The Morlocks (Sunday, 8 p.m., LVCS): If you see just one band this weekend, consider getting down and dirty with these LA garage rockers, led by intrepid frontman Leighton Koizumi. The BellRays (Sunday, midnight, Beauty Bar): Singer Lisa Kekaula is a soul singer with a punk-rock edge — and some hard-jamming musicians at her back.