ZrockR Goes to PRB: Club Show Edition

As I mentioned in my PRB kick off piece, things were done a little bit differently this go around. It was both confusing and exciting, and I absolutely understand why these differences were a thing this year. We (the photographers) were assigned club shows to shoot, which was pretty cool, despite how exhausted it left me at the end of the nights. So, four nights in a row I ventured down to my favorite block on Fremont that is home to two of my favorite downtown venues; Fremont Country Club and Backstage Bar & Billiards.

The Shifts

These club shows were covered in shifts for us photographers. The early shift was the first two bands (or three depending on the size of the bill. The late shift was the final two bands on a bill. My kickoff show, The Uppers & Get Dead, was an early shift that ended around 11:30PM. (Which is why you’ll notice that I did not talk about the headliners in that piece.) Friday night I had a late shift, which ended at 2AM! My Friday shift was for Strung Out and The Suicide Machines on the Fremont Country Club Stage. Saturday and Sunday were both early shifts, which I was grateful for. (If you know me in person you know why, ha!) Saturday I photographed Liberty & Justice and Slaughter Boys on the Backstage Bar & Billiards stage; Sunday I photographed Overexposure back on the Fremont Country Club Stage.

I can’t say that I walked away from any of these events disappointed. It was a very successful weekend full of great music, photos, and friends. Highlights that stuck out most for me were The Suicide Machines on Saturday night; FCC was having some sound trouble, and the vocalist said “Fuck it” pretty much and played without it. It was great. The singer spent most of their set interacting with the crowd. I love that stuff. They had been on hiatus for the last 10 years or so with the exception of the reunion shows they’ve played here and there. (I also really enjoyed Strung Out.) I enjoyed Liberty & Justice’s set the next night at Backstage Bar, and the band that played after them, Slaughter Boys, weren’t bad at all either. Made me wonder why there weren’t more people in the crowd that second night.

Final Night +Surprise Guest Show at FCC

Watching Overexposure on Sunday night for the “Surprise Guest” bill at FCC left me with the same feeling. Why weren’t there more people in the crowd!? Those guys were good too. (I know there’s a lot of drinking going on at the PRB events and I can’t imagine the club shows being easy to get to if you’re hammered. So, yeah.) Also, after scrolling through the socials, I saw that Youth of Today ended up headlining that night. They headlined the Monster stage on the main festival grounds the night prior and they were INTENSE.

I don’t want to ramble, so enjoy some photos of the nights I got to spend covering a the bands mentioned above that played the PRB club shows this year!