Step inside the world's first Punk Rock Museum, unleashed in Las Vegas

Originally published at: Step inside the world's first Punk Rock Museum, unleashed in Las Vegas | Boing Boing

3 Likes

I get it, but really, in Vegas?

1 Like

Someone doesn’t know about the Icelandic Punk Rock museum. Built inside an old public restroom in downtown Reykjavik. Granted, it’s focus is on the Icelandic Punk scene, but also exhibits artifacts from visiting bands over the decades. So not just the Sugar Cubes.

So Vegas is not the first, but likely the biggest.

13 Likes

Not entirely accurate: there’s an (Icelandic) Punk Museum in Reykjavik

7 Likes

When I went to Vegas, they had a really nice Pop Art exhibit. It is already a huge tourist destination, so why not add some culture?

And after you go to that one, you could go to the Post Punk and Industrial Museum.

3 Likes

… a tour by Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello? How could anyone resist? That has to be absolute mania.

2 Likes

It’s next to a strip club, not on the Strip.

2 Likes

Ehh, why not? I mean, Cleveland has the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and good for them!
Vegas does have more to it than casinos and $h!tty night clubs, along with plenty of locals who enjoy cultural things as much as anyone else. I really enjoyed First Friday when I lived there. Surely the museum will draw tourists over locals, but people are going there anyway, so again why not?

1 Like

Should have been in Orange County, California, home of some of the first (and finest) hardcore bands: Social D., Adolescents, The Vandals, Agent Orange, DI, and Middle Class.

2 Likes

My family stumbled on the Reykjavik punk museum last summer and loved it. It’s tiny but does an exceptional job of telling the really interesting story of the Iceland punk scene.

Then when you leave, you’ll be knowledgeable when you listen to the Icelandic punk compilation featured on IcelandAir’s entertainment system!

5 Likes

Ehh, Cleveland at least is known as one of the birthplaces of Rock. Vegas has no such connections to Punk, a better location would be NYC, and many wish CBGB had gotten turned into some sort of museum when it closed, instead of its current state.

1 Like

Yeah, I came here to say the same thing. The Icelandic Punk Museum is rad and well worth visiting. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/icelandic-punk-museum

2 Likes

Quality… not location. And did you check out that list of musician tour guides?! This looks very interesting.

Vegas is as good a place as any… in fact, a place known for being so plastic and fake seems a perfect place to put a museum dedicated to a genre of music known for authenticity and challenging fakeness.

Since the term was coined in Detroit, why not there?

https://www.reddit.com/r/punk/comments/fycqqs/las_vegas_punk_history/

https://www.punksinvegas.com/category/features/oral-history/

4 Likes

Detroit or Los Angeles would have been my second and third choices respectively. I’m not saying Vegas didn’t have its own Punk scene, it just didn’t develop until well after the initial explosion of bands in the 70s.

Sure… but who cares. For most of it’s history, it’s been a trans-local phenomenon anyway.

2 Likes

Detroit would’ve been a great choice! There’s precious little ruin-porn available to gawk at these days, a full-time tourist attraction would be be good for the city.

Before you ask, yes, it’s quite safe. Unless you’re right outside Ford Field as a Lions game is ending. That’s not a safe spot to be. Drunk suburban white men are very dangerous to be anywhere near.

2 Likes

This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.