
5

"At 1422 Western Avenue in downtown Las Vegas, the Punk Rock Museum is a two‑story, 12,000‑square‑foot space that’s been years in the making: the stars who founded it donated old merch and instruments, now lead tours, and the exhibition is laid out mostly chronologically, beginning with the 1970s New York scene and ending with contemporary acts on the second floor. I meandered through displays (past a tattoo parlor and a chapel) and saw both glass‑safeguarded memorabilia and a lot meant to be touched, including a jam room where visitors can pick up guitars — even Fat Mike Burkett’s — or sit at a keyboard, two rows of chained leather vests you can handle or try on, and an upstairs faithful recreation of Pennywise’s garage complete with drum kit, amplifiers, posters, and a photo of Kurt Cobain above a black couch that Burkett invites visitors to sit on and photograph. The museum grew out of a concept Burkett had more than two years ago for a punk shop, evolved into the Punk Rock Collective of about 16 people who solicited T‑shirts, fliers, combat boots, and guitars, and on opening day punk legends like Don Bolles led tours while pausing to point out personal artifacts with affectionate anecdotes." - Janna Karel