Celebrate Punk-O-Ween with 15 fast, hard and heavy local bands

Published 3:30 pm Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Damage Overdose

Right now, you can go to Spirit Halloween’s online store and buy a punk rocker costume for $9.97, down from the original price of $49.99. What a deal!

But here’s a better deal that will give you a more authentic and locally flavored punk experience: For $20, you can walk into Silver Moon Brewing on Saturday and see not one, not five, not even 10, but 15 of the best punk (and punk-ish) bands in Central Oregon, all in one spot.

We’re not talking about mohawk wigs, clip-on piercings and fake ratty T-shirts, like the ones you’ll get from a costume shop. We’re talking legit mohawks, actual piercings and real ratty T-shirts! More importantly, we’re talking about authentic underground culture happening in a town that, let’s face it, increasingly gravitates toward decidedly mainstream culture.

I know what some of you are thinking: Central Oregon has a punk scene? It does, indeed! A resilient one at that. For as long as I’ve been paying attention to the live music ecosystem in the region, punk shows have been happening at solid, dependable venues like the Domino Room, The Capitol, Silver Moon and Volcanic Theatre Pub, as well as late, great bars like Players, The Horned Hand and, before my time, the Evil Sister Saloon. Just as often, though — maybe more often — local punks have had to scramble to find places to play, throwing DIY shows in warehouses, empty office spaces, after-hours restaurants and even out in the woods, powered by generators.

George Jones meets Ramones when Problem Stick plays on Halloween

Punk’s not dead. Not by a longshot.

For evidence, look at Saturday’s event: Punk-O-Ween III. This third annual celebration of punk (and punk-ish) bands features relatively big local names, names I’ve never heard before, brand new bands and bands that have been around for more than two decades. To call them all punk bands is a stretch, but then again, punk’s a mindset, not necessarily a sound. There are grunge and death metal and hard rock bands on the bill, sure, but the simple fact that they’re getting together and playing music in public for little to no money is punk in and of itself.

And for that reason, each and every one of them deserves a mention here. So here goes:

Bad Sprains — Not a basketball injury, but classic dudes playing classic punk. Great name!

Batwave — New Bend trio that combines big, doomed riffs and swaggering desert-rock grooves.

Ben Rossett — Wildly skilled multi-instrumentalist makes proggy math-rock cranked up to 11.

Damage Overdose — Brutal death metal from Warm Spring since 1997. That’s right, 1997!

Dr. Green Dreams — Punky rock with a funky backbone and a stoney soul. Doctor’s orders!

Gathering — Classic black metal: Sheets of guitar, strangled howls, blast beats. Fun!

House of Warmth — Noisy pop and rock with sharp corners shrouded in shoegaze haze.

Livid Kings — Serrated hard rock with progressive tendencies and a heavy low end.

Mougli & The Blues — Hypnotic rock with glitchy rhythms, sparkling guitars and punk spirit.

Nimravid — Heavy psychedelic metal from deep within the new wave of Bend DIY.

Sweet Demon — Alternative rock that’s equal parts funky, dark and bittersweet.

Tentareign — Long-running trio plays “mind-bending power-prog,” I wrote way back in 2009.

Thoughtbox — Punk-O-Ween is their first show ever! Let’s learn more together …

Vacancy Floor — Heavy riffs caked in sludge and stuck under a cloud of relentless doom.

Weapon World — Pedal-to-the-metal grindcore, like a circular saw blade to the dome.

Punk-O-Ween III: Noon on Saturday, Nov. 2, $20, Silver Moon Brewing, 24 NW Greenwood Ave., Bend, silvermoonbrewing.com.

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