The Punk Rock Bowling festival returned to the streets of Downtown Las Vegas for its 23rd year last weekend. Here are some of the acts we caught … 

The Hate (Saturday, Sand Dollar Downtown) There were several interesting bands on the lineup for Saturday night’s club show at the Sand Dollar Lounge Downtown, but local outfit The Hate stood out. The band released a self-titled EP in 2022 that’s been making waves in the hardcore scene. Interspersed voice-overs gave this live set a vibe that was more arthouse than traditional punk, asking “Do you accept Jesus as your lord and savior?” and crying out “I am a sinner. I am sorry, Lord. I want the blood!” It seemed to work. A few numbers, including “Forever Ender,” “White Noise” and “Nailed to a Cross” left the crowd basking in eeriness, discord and thrash. –SM

The Damned (Sunday, Main Stage) The front of the main stage was already filling up with fans getting in position for Rancid, but a spirited performance from one of London’s original punk bands surely won most of them over. The Damned stole the show Sunday night, not letting a shorter-than-usual 45-minute set slow them from soaring through 12 songs, dating back to 1976’s “New Rose,” famously the first single ever released by a punk band in the United Kingdom.

Vocalist Dave Vanian only paused between songs once to thank the crowd, otherwise swaying from side to side with charisma honed over a near 50-year career. Some say punk rock is a young man’s game and bands can never match the energy of their initial years, but the Damned are living exceptions. –CK

GBH (Sunday, Monster Energy Stage) Watching drummer Scott Preece blitz through a barrage of speedy, street-punk classics made for one of the most impressive individual performances of the festival. His bandmates more than held their own too as the Birmingham, England, quartet made a stop as part of its slightly delayed 40th anniversary tour.

It looked like the grip of vocalist Colin Abrahall might split the microphone stand in half during malicious versions of songs like “City Baby Attacked by Rats” and “Maniac” off of 1982’s City Baby Attacked by Rats. The quality of GBH’s recorded material has waned since the aforementioned highly influential debut release, but the fire in the live show has never dipped. It’s easy to marvel at GBH’s longevity on the stage, and the way the band has maintained the same pace and rage after so many years. –CK

Rancid (Sunday, Main Stage) …And Out Come the Wolves, and unfortunately claimed some of the set’s momentum. A 40-minute delay ensued, and while the crowd thinned, with many ditching the dormant main stage for club shows, those who stayed were eventually treated to a full and entertaining performance.The reception to the frequent Punk Rock Bowling headliners’ latest appearance at the festival Sunday night was so rowdy that the barricade at the front of stage lasted less than five songs. A portion of the divider collapsed early during a particularly rousing rendition of “The 11th Hour,” a relative deep cut off the  landmark 1995 album.

The Berkeley, California, trio had played Wolves in full at a previous Punk Rock Bowling, and has focused on the beloved ’90s stretch of its discography during other appearances, but this year was a bit different. Rancid opened and closed with the live debuts of a pair of new songs, “Tomorrow Never Comes” and “Don’t Make Me Do It,” respectively, off forthcoming album Tomorrow Never Comes. The band touched on almost every part of its discography, and the die-hards who stuck around enjoyed it all. –CK

Grade 2, Svetlanas & L7 (Sunday, Fremont Country Club) “We were hoping on the last night of our tour that you could show us a circle pit,” Grade 2 frontman Jack Chatfield said amid some healthy moshing inside Fremont Country Club. The old-school U.K. punk trio kicked off the Sunday night show with numbers like “Under the Streetlight,” “Tired of It,” “Graveyard Island,” and a cover of the Misfits’ “Where Eagles Dare.”

Russian thrashcore group Svetlanas then delivered an earth-shaking set, opening with 2022 single “The Alien’s Blues” followed by “Pussification of Punk Rock.” Frontwoman Olga Svetlanas wildly looked out and gestured to the audience, getting everyone to raise their middle fingers in the air during fresh single “God8zcops.”

“It sounds freaky onstage, but how does it sound out there, guys?” L7’s Donita Sparks asked the audience after the headliners’ first few numbers. The band commented several times and joked about feedback it was experiencing through its monitors. “It feels like the puffy tacos I ate earlier are escaping,” bassist Jennifer Finch joked.

Soldering on through the technical difficulties, the band played old favorites to a sold-out room of steadfast fans. The set started with “Wargasm,” “Everglade” and “Monster” from top-selling album Bricks Are Heavy (1992), followed by “Fuel My Fire,” “Shove” and, from the most recent album, “Stadium West.” During “Sh*tlist,” the crowd pumped its fists in unison to the lyrics “You’ve made my sh*t list!”

As the last few songs began around 2:30 a.m., fans wholeheartedly joined in during “American Society,” singing “I don’t wanna watch television/I don’t wanna listen to the radio/I don’t want to drown in American society.” And for the grand finale, Sparks gave a spirited solo with her trademark V-shaped guitar during “Pretend We’re Dead.” –SM

The Chisel (Monster Energy Stage, Monday) “Do you like lobster?” Cal Graham, frontman for The Chisel, shouted to the crowd as he leaned forward and pointed to his forearm. “Give me about 20 minutes and I’ll be served up. … I’m ginger, and I’m English!” Indeed, the U.K. punk band sported red faces during its early-evening festival set, but the musicians didn’t let the heat get to them. “Unlawful Execution” and “Cry Your Eyes Out,” provided an animated start, with Graham challenging the crowd to match his energy throughout the set, and with antagonistic numbers like “So Do I.”

“This is the first song we ever wrote and recorded. And never for a f*cking second did we think we’d be playing it to you guys,” Graham said ahead of thrasher “Rat Running Scared.” The crowd even got a taste of new songs “F*ck ’Em” and “Bloodsucker.” To close it out, “Not the Only One” offered an upbeat change of pace with its lyrics, “So when you’re feeling down on your luck/Like you’re down and now you don’t give a f*ck/Remember, brother, I’ve been there before/We will survive, and we will get through.” –SM

Suicidal Tendencies (Main Stage, Monday) Frontman Mike Muir walked on to the instrumental opening of “You Can’t Bring Me Down.” He was joined by two guitarists, a bassist and brand new drummer Greyson Nekrutman, who demonstrated his worth to the Las Vegas crowd.

Although the lineup has changed over the years, the songs fans know and love have not, favorites like “Subliminal,” “Two-sided Politics” and “Institutionalized.” At points, Muir hopped off the stage to get up close to the crowd, and left it chanting “S! T!” when the band finished up. –SM