by Nicole Gluckstern
Though the biggest (to date) Burger Boogaloo did not go off without a single hitch (there security fence issues, and inadequate trash receptacles), we had a great time taking in the spectacle of tiny Mosswood Park teeming with rock-and-roll aficionados, from the six-year-old girl who threw headliner Iggy Pop a pair of devil horns, to the various white-haired attendees old enough to remember when Iggy was just a young upstart from Detroit with a penchant for peanut butter.
With Burger Boogaloo's cofounder’s father, Chuck Ribak, sharing MC duties with the incomparable John Waters, the tone of the day was set: dad jokes, innuendo, gentle trash-talk, and all-in enthusiasm, for the little music festival that could, and does.
Other highlights of Saturday’s show were heartfelt sets on the smaller “Gone Shrimpn” stage especially NYC’s rocker babes Baby Shakes, and the incomparably weird and wonderful Nobunny, whose masked exhibitionism is eclipsed only by his manic musical energy a fantastic garage-guitar set from Sacramento’s Losin’ Streak, a decent nostalgia trip from Redd Kross, and a high-octane appearance by Nagasaki’s Guitar Wolf, who arrived onstage in Godzilla masks, spent time surfing the crowd, and pulled a (possibly unsuspecting) member of the audience onstage to play guitar while lead performer Seiji menaced the sky with the microphone stand and brought the crowd to writhing appreciation.
OC Weekly also just declared Burger Boogaloo "a DIY festival for the ages."
In short, it was the perfect way to kick off the 4th of July weekend, and hopefully you didn't miss out. But there's always next year...
Previously: Do The Burger Boogaloo: Iggy Pop Headlines And John Waters Hosts This Scrappy Oakland Punk Fest
