Total Trash Productions and Burger Records proclaimed 2016 the “summer of filth” and brought back the Pope of Trash himself, John Waters, to host the Burger Boogaloo. Now in its fourth summer at Oakland’s family-friendly Mosswood Park, the Boogaloo weekender has become somewhat of an annual pilgrimage for budget rockers, goners, and garage punks around the world. Meet-and-greets by B-movie babe Traci Lords and schlocky off-color comic Tony Clifton (yes, that one!) added extra spice to an already sizzling line-up of rock’n’roll trailblazers. (If you missed out on previous incarnations, you can look back on 2015 here, 2014 here, and the second day of 2013 here.)
Each day saw 12 bands divided between two stages (Dirty Mouth amphitheater, Tassel Castle stage) and this year we somehow managed to catch each one, although we were sad to miss some of Waters’ delightfully bawdy band introductions. Here’s a recap of the first day, which includes the return of the Mummies, the Trashwomen, Thee Oh Sees, and The Thunderroads’ graceful amp dive. (Here’s Day 2. Check out the many faces of Burger Boogaloo here!)
THE OKMONIKS
This San Francisco quartet kicked off the festivities with Farfisa-infused garage-pop confections such as “Not That Good” and “Teenage Timebomb.”
PSYCOTIC PINEAPPLE
Berkeley’s zany party rockers shared the stage with a giant dancing pineapple.
AMPLIFIED HEAT
This Austin trio channeled Lemmy Kilmister’s bluesy side.
YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS
Seattle goofballs, including the Fastbacks’ Kurt Bloch on guitar, bounced through their poppy set. Their drummer, who wore a bulky white spacesuit, somehow defied both gravity and heatstroke.
INTELLIGENCE
Angular post-punk by Lars Finberg and friends
ANGRY SAMOANS
Metal Mike and his cohorts riled up the pit with ’80s punk staples such as “My Old Man’s a Fatso” and “Inside My Brain.”
REAL KIDS
The Boston legends had trouble hitting the high notes on anthems such as “Solid Gold,” “Do the Boob,” and “All Kindsa Girls” but their fans were singing along so loudly they probably didn’t notice.
LYRES
Tokyo upstarts The Fadeaways backed up Jeff Connolly’s garage-rock screamers.
THE THUNDERROADS
These Tokyo garage punks’ third consecutive Boogaloo appearance featured their now-legendary amp dive.
FINK WITH THE THUNDERROADS
Fink of Teengenerate joined The Thunderroads for classics such as “Mess Me Up,” “Dressed in Black,” and “Let’s Get Hurt.”
THE TRASHWOMEN
Bay Area surf queens rocked the tonsils off the Dirty Mouth.
THEE OH SEES
John Dwyer, double drummers, and enthusiastic fans shredded the Tassel Castle.
THE MUMMIES
With the help of a bonafide marching band, the Bay Area’s bandaged budget rockers surfed to their exclusive stage atop their mummie-mobile, an old ambulance emblazoned with their handiwork. They cranked out crowd favorites atop the mummie-mobile and, on occasion, a sturdy Farfisa. As far as we know, the only casualty at the end of their raucous set was a sunburst guitar.
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