Cleveland’s Horriblefest has a reputation and most of it dates back to its first time ’round in 2005 when a near riot broke out after a member of the band Rot Shit tossed a live eel into the crowd. The Black Lips and King Khan and The Shrines BBQ Show were headliners. People tend to forget that part.

Ever since that first year, however, the promoters have had a hard time hooking the casual music fan who thinks of Horriblefest as a binge drinking event with music. Sure, the bands and the fans will get wild, and this year’s edition, taking place at Now That’s Class and Mahall’s 20 Lanes, May 16th – 19th, features an omelette bar opening at 6 AM on Sunday for those who want to keep the good times flowing, but it also has a solid lineup of punk, hardcore, garage-rock and indie that should appeal to those who aren’t in it (just) for the blackouts.

Timmy’s Organism (Friday Evening at Now That’s Class) Rippin’ garage rock, past releases on In The Red and Sacred Bones Records.

Nervosas – Unstable (Saturday Matinee at Mahall’s 20 Lanes) Columbus garage rockers who straddle that fine line between pop and punk without being the dreaded pop-punk.

True Sons of Thunder  (Saturday Evening at Now That’s Class) True Sons of Thunder feature Eric Friedl, founder of Goner Records, and Oblivians.

Richard Papiercuts  (Friday Evening at Now That’s Class) Richard Papiercuts’ “River of Shit” is not embedded below, although I’m sure it’s a perfectly fine jam.

Pink Reason (Saturday Evening @ Now That’s Class) Remember when shitgaze was a thing and Columbus bands Times New Viking and Psychedelic Horseshit were in the headlines? Pink Reason was a part of it, too.

Obnox  (Saturday Evening at Now That’s Class) For those who don’t know, Obnox is the solo project of This Moment in Black History’s Lamont “Bim” Thomas where Bim mixes up punk, noise and hip-hop into one nasty stew. That’s a compliment.

UV Race (Friday Evening at Now That’s Class and Saturday Matinee at Mahall’s 20 Lanes) The weekend’s headliner’s are not only doing sets on consecutive days, but they’ll be around Thursday night when a movie starring one of Melbourne’s finest up-and-coming bands plays at Now That’s Class.