You have to love the first-names-only appeal of punk rock. Shown here: Nigel Bennett, Eddie and Pete, the current temporary line-up of the Vibrators that played 3 Kings Tavern on Wednesday. Photo: thevibrators.com.

I’m a sucker for old school punk rock. Almost daily, I find myself looking up old bands whose names I used to scrawl onto notebook covers in school like the Damned or X-Ray Specs, reveling in bits of nostalgia in 60-seconds-or-less packages. I don’t go a week without queuing up a Genius playlist based on the Clash or Sex Pistols — or hauling up a stack of LPs from the basement to build a soundtrack for cocktails.

So I was naturally excited to get the chance to see the Vibrators live at 3 Kings Tavern on Wednesday night. Formed in early 1976, the Vibrators are also-rans from the British punk explosion, and reportedly played their first gig opening for the Stranglers — one of my all-time faves. Over the last 30 years, and through countless personnel changes, their sound still sounds pretty much exactly as it did on their first album. The most notable difference was the absence of original singer Ian “Knox” Carnochan’s unique vocals, since he’s currently dealing with illness.

The current lineup, featuring Nigel Bennett (guitar), Pete (bass), and Eddie (drums, and the only member from the original line-up on tour), hit the stage not long before midnight and played to a modest crowd at 3 Kings for just under an hour. The band tore through some of their hits, such as “Troops of Tomorrow,” “Judy Says (Knock You in the Head)” and “Automatic Lover,”
allowing for some atypical (for punk) guitar god showboating from Bennett. They also led the crowd in a half-hearted singalong of their biggest hit, “Baby, Baby, Baby,” before clearing the stage. Their encore featured an impressive cover of the Clash’s version of Vince Taylor’s “Brand New Cadillac,” which caused me to wax nostalgic, missing Joe Strummer.

The venue was warmed up by two promising Front Range bands: Underminer, from Fort Collins, and Boulder’s Deadbubbles. Underminer served up a set of pretty standard, Descendents-infused hardcore, highlighted by “Big Money.” A tune about religion, it features the line, “All the girls love Jesus because HE’S HUNG LIKE THIS,” screeched by frontman Karl Alvarez with his arms spread wide, in a mocking fish-tale/crucifixion pose.

The night’s show-stealers Wednesday night, though, had to be Deadbubbles. Their sound is a resplendent mashup of Sonic Youth from “Death Valley ’69,” Iron Butterfly and Mudhoney, splayed across solid guitar work that recalls the Stooges and MC5. Frontman Arlo White is somewhere between the Fluid’s John Robinson and Rob Tyner of MC5, with almost as much charisma. At one point, during the anthemic “Rock Solid,” which would’ve made a great Kiss song, Paul Humphrey’s guitar and Matt Martinez’s bass built a mountain of sound on a single chord for over a solid minute, almost recalling Loop. Deadbubbles’ straight- on, solid garage rock deserves more notice, and White’s personality should have no trouble attracting a loyal following.

Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s giglist at Gigbot.

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