I have been meaning to get this review up for a while, but life has been CRAZY recently. So a couple months ago I was walking through the best bar in downtown Vegas (The Griffin) and as I go up to the bar to get a drink (Dos Equis with lime just in case you ever see me out and wanna be nice) I happen to notice a familiar face. Now I don't mean familiar like a friend, but someone who I HATED and then grew to love on HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Yea sitting in my local bar was none other than FBI agent Nelson Van Alden, aka Michael Shannon. I proceed up to the bar and as my buddy Sean walks over with my beverage of choice I ask him what Michael Shannon is doing at The Griffin. It turns out he was filming a movie in town and he had been coming into the bar nightly after they wrapped. Then he told me, "you know, he's got a band called Corporal and they're playing here on Sunday night. You should come through and snap some pics." So that's just what I did.
I had little luck finding them on Spotify, and for whatever reason their link on their website (http://corporalband.com/) to buy their album brings up an iTunes prompt saying the album is not available in the US, so if you would like to hear their recordings there are a few live videos on their youtube channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/corporalband. They were a very fun band to watch live though, the settings in the back room at The Griffin made it a very intimate show with the band playing on the floor with the crowd surrounding them. It actually reminded me of a lot of punk and hardcore shows I went to as a kid, but with you know, less violence haha. They played a variety of original songs as well as covers of bands like The Rolling Stones, The Velvet Underground, David Bowie, and more. The crowd was moving around and having a great time and the band continued to fuel their desire to dance and sing a long. If you get a chance to catch them ever, check them out, their live performance is a great time.
Words and Photos By: Anthony Ryan Tripoli