SIN CITY GAMBLERS REUNION SHOW

Let's set the scene. 
          
          It's the Saturday before Halloween, and oddly enough it's a particularly ghoulish and spooky evening. I approach Giovanni's Bar expecting a show just like any other; one with loud music, drunkards, non-stop moshing, and maybe because it's that time of year there will be a few lame costumes plucked from the sales rack at a Party store. However, I entered the doors to find a bloodied wolf with a very authentic Little Red Riding Hood on his arm, the charmingIy creepy Frankenstein's bride, and a devilish circus ringmaster to end all ringmasters, and I thought to myself... OH HELL YES. Nothing can make a Halloween reunion show better than when the audience takes celebrating to a whole new level.

          Sin City Gamblers are the reuniters, and about damn time! Having been separated for years, the band finally pulled together to have one last mind-blowing hurrah, but they couldn't do it alone. Playing along side the gamblers was Wargo, the one-man-band of acoustic punk rock at its absolute finest, Dead Television, a shitty, always out of key garage punk band (I can say that, it's my band), and The DeadNeks, a face-melting punk/psychobilly mixture with up-right basslines and vocals like golden gravel.

          Wargo and The DeadNeks, without a doubt, always put on memorable performances, but of course, the stars of the night were Sin City Gamblers. They played a 70 minute set of flawlessness: amazing tune after amazing tune after amazing tune. The MOST amazing part, however, was that Sin City's guitarist, Erik, broke his wrist just moments before playing while moshing to Dead Television, and he still played the best guitar of any band that night.

         Most bands get a little sloppier and a little lazier as the night goes on, so I always expect to see musicians lose some of their drive throughout the set, but not the Gamblers. They only seemed to get better, louder, and faster as the show continued. Towards the end of their set they did their most popular song, aptly named, "Sin City", which was easily the performance with the most conviction and soul I've seen in months. Then, to wind things down, they finished with a few definite crowd pleasers. They covered The Ramones, Dropkick Murphys, and Old Crow Medicine Show. Lastly, they covered "Ball and Chain" by Social Distortion, which was the most remarkable way they could have left the crowd, because there's no other reknowned song in punk rock that emits such comradery as that one does.

          I'd love to tell you to check out Sin City Gamblers, but sadly this was only a reunion show, for they are no longer, but you'd be missing out if you didn't take a minute to check out Wargo and The DeadNeks. You can find them on facebook, and I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Thanks for reading, and happy Halloween!

Written by Laura Sullivan

- Tunage