NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
It was a hell of a night for punk rock at Mohawk Place on Thursday with a trio of Sad Place, Skating Polly, and Together Pangea. Whether you call it emo, ugly pop, or garage rock, it was hard, heart pounding punk rock. I had been following Skating Polly since their collaboration with Veruca Salt in 2017 and was so glad they were playing in Buffalo. Mohawk Place is such a great place to showcase young bands, with enough space to rock out but not too big for a crowd to seem thin.
Opening the evening was LA based Sad Park who, upon first look, could have walked out of your local frat house. Their sound, however, was kicking, with lead vocalist/guitarist Graham Steele alternating between smooth easy vocals to screams! Check out their 2021 album “It’s All Over”.
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For me, the main event was the young family trio that make up Skating Polly. They formed in 2009 as the duo of step-sisters 14 yr old Peyton Bighorse (vocals/guitar) and 9 yr old Kelli Mayo (vocals/bass). They came up in that old school punk way, young kids learning instruments on their own and just figuring it out as they go. Brother Kurtis Mayo joined on drums in 2017 and rounded out the sound as they their released their fifth studio record “The Make It All Show” in 2018. Skating Polly kicked off their set with “Louder in Outer Space” from their Veruca Salt collab EP “New Trick”. Peyton was exceptional on lead vocals for this song, reminding me of Alanis Morissette, and I’m hoping to see more of her on lead in the future. Kelly Mayo, however, is often the face and voice of this band, with her raspy voice and furious bass playing highlighting many of their performances. On this night, I believe Kelli was feeling a bit under the weather but you sure couldn’t tell by the way she bounded around the stage. Their high energy set was way too short though, ending after just eight songs. The band is working on new music and I hope to see them on a headlining tour in the near future. If you haven’t heard of Skating Polly, you really need to see this future of 2020’s punk.
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The crowd at Mohawk Place really kicked it into high gear when Together Pangea took the stage. Like Skating Polly, they also formed back in 2009, and have been gaining popularity ever since. Their music seems to have something for everyone, whether it’s hard rocking songs with heavy guitar riffs, power ballads, or even songs reminiscent of the 60s. Their most recent record “DYE”, written during the pandemic and released last year, is no exception. I think this is probably the only show I’ve seen where there were people swaying to the music, others dancing, and a mosh pit in the center…ALL ON ONE SONG!! They definitely were a crowd-pleaser and an incredible ending to a wonderful evening. I’ve been listening to their latest on repeat so go take a listen!
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