More than 150 bands played their hearts out for the 25th anniversary of Punk Rock Bowling over Memorial Day weekend in Downtown Las Vegas. Thousands of punks from all over the world and representing all ages came out to partake in the annual nihilistic triathlon of fast music, drugs, gambling, and alcohol.

This festival is exclusively for the most devoted of punk rock enthusiasts, starting at 11 AM with free poolside shows—complete with aquatic mosh pits—and continuing until 3:30 AM, featuring supplementary club shows with different headliners than those performing at the main festival.

Many crashed and burned under the unforgiving Las Vegas sun and ended up on the Passed Out Punx Instagram account, but the ones that weathered through it all were rewarded with one of the most diverse lineups in years.

Nostalgia was a strong theme in general. Plenty of tears were shed as skinheads sang along to working-class anthems and punk lifers moved their bodies to Gang of Four's "Damaged Goods" before the band calls it quits for good after this tour. For legendary British band Cocksparrer, it was their last time ever to play the festival.

It was also the first time in five years that all three Stern Brothers played a complete Youth Brigade set on the Monster Street side stage. Additionally, almost half the bill consisted of emerging bands that had never played the festival, despite a handful of international bands having to cancel due to Trump's current immigration policies.

Perhaps in a bit of karmic retribution, there was even a Nazi getting punched in the face!

It's entirely arbitrary to power-rank the performances on such a stacked lineup, but we're doing it anyway, because fuck it. Here were the most goosebump-inducing sets of the weekend.

13. Laura Jane Grace and the Mississippi Medicals

Grace has been putting in work with her new rock-and-roll band featuring drummer Mikey Erg and Grace's wife, Paris Campbell, on backup vocals. They still managed to sneak in a couple of Against Me! songs in their short 40-minute set, which garnered the most enormous pits amongst festival-goers, who showed up early enough to catch her 4 PM set.

12. Gang of Four

The British pioneers of dance punk played one of their final performances, as the band is calling it quits after this U.S. tour. Their performance at Punk Rock Bowling was a memorable one. There were no circle pits for their set. But there were plenty of aging punks dancing like regular people to all the hits from their 1979 album, "Entertainment!"

11. The Briefs

The Briefs deserve an award for playing two back-to-back sets in a 12-hour window. First, at a club show opening up for Street Dogs at midnight, and then a pool show at noon the same day that they headlined. Both sets were explosive and tight, featuring a mix of their sing-along power-pop punk songs.

10. Bad Nerves

Bad Nerves’ set was probably the fastest and tightest of the entire weekend. The fans in the crowd at Punk Rock Bowling that were lucky enough to see the Ramones at their peak probably had to do a double-take to make sure it wasn’t a reincarnated form of the band, only poppier.

9. FIDLAR

FIDLAR’s modern skate-punk party anthems were a welcome addition to this year’s lineup. People sang along, and it garnered some of the most enormous pits during the daytime bands on the main stage, including a chick pit that singer Zac Carper called for when they played their hit, "5 to 9."

8. The Damned

The Damned could have easily ranked #1 in this list if it wasn't for my Millennial taste in punk. They sounded tight, Vanian wore a vampire Elvis-inspired suit, and seeing Captain Sensible effortlessly shred on guitar cemented him as one of the best punk guitarists of all time. Smash it up!

7. The Adicts

I've seen The Adicts half a dozen times and their performances never cease to entertain me, always evoking a little emotion when they play "You'll Never Walk Alone," whether you are piss-drunk or stone cold sober. They are still at their peak when they perform on stage and I love that they perform many of the quirkier songs from their theatrical-pop album, "27."

6. Flag

Flag was an unforgettable highlight of the weekend for many. This current iteration of Black Flag performed all the iconic classics and sounded terrific. Fronted by original singer Keith Morris and other original members, Dez Cadena (also playing with Misfits these days) and Stephen Egerton (Descendents and All) on guitars, Bill Stevenson (Descendents and All) on drums, and Chuck Dukowski on bass.

5. The Bouncing Souls

The Bouncing Souls win the best crowd category in this list because their loyal fans knew every single word to all the songs they played. It's impossible not to smile and feel a sense of catharsis throughout their hits that uphold all the values that so many punks hold dear: loyalty to your friends, having a good time, and, of course, being a hopeless romantic.

4. Frank Turner

Frank Turner is a one-man folk punk phenomenon that must be experienced in person to be truly understood. His recorded material does not do his grit and tenacity, which both emanate from him and an acoustic guitar, proper justice. His set was one of the most politically charged ones of the weekend.

3. Dillinger Four

D4! What else needs to be said for these Midwest kings of snarky pop-punk that have the power to charm through their melodic anthems and stand-up comedian-level stage presence? Their club show was stacked with Dead to Me and Swinging Utters, all of whom were excellent. It was one of the handful club shows that sold out immediately and for good reason.

2. Lynval Golding

Lynval Golding's rooftop performance of The Specials classics, under the warm Las Vegas moon, backed by the highly talented Aggrolites, was one of the best shows in Punk Rock Bowling's history. I can say that as someone who has been going for the last 15 years. At one point, every single aging skinhead and mod who showed up in Fred Perry regalia from head to toe was skanking so much that the floor at the Downtown Grand hotel was shaking. There were also plenty of tears and ganja smoke during his cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song."

1. Cock Sparrer

It was their last performance ever at Punk Rock Bowling, and the East End boys who started the Oi! movement in 1972 are still the absolute best at it. Most of the band are still the original members, and they let it all out on both Punk Rock Bowling's main stage and the extremely sold-out club show the night after, where they performed until 1:30 AM. They teased a U.S. tour before their American visas expire at the end of this year, so keep your eyes peeled to run and buy those tickets before they sell out. They simply don't make bands like Cock Sparrer anymore and there will never be another band like them.

Honorable Mentions

Youth Brigade

All three of the band's Stern brothers returned to the festival for the first time in five years, and their loyal fans showed up. Their set was explosive, fast, and the perfect soundtrack for event-goers to show off their slam dancing skills, which many undoubtedly learned from the infamous scene in Youth Brigade's and Social Distortion's seminal documentary, "Another State of Mind."

Béton Armé

Béton Armé attracted all the tough-guy skinheads to sing along to their Québécois working-class anthems. Singer Danick Joseph-Dicaire takes home the "most flamboyant and entertaining front-man of Punk Rock Bowling" award, dancing across the stage like an Oi-fueled male ballerina. They are returning to L.A. in the fall and you bet L.A. TACO will be there. This time, we are buying a shirt!

Teenage Bottlerocket

Teenage Bottlerocket's contagious strain of Ramonescore is always a great time. The Wyomingites brought their usual high-energy performance poolside, full of pogo-ing and catchy hooks on a 90-degree morning under the Vegas sun at 1 PM. Their pool pits were the biggest of the weekend.

All photos by Noe Adame for L.A. TACO.