Bang Boom Bash
SeaPort Marina Hotel
11/12/2016
Bang Boom Bash invited all barelegged, burlesque beauties and rugged rockers for a weekend of endless entertainment at the SeaPort Marina Hotel in Long Beach over the weekend. The event was filled with music, dirty dancing, booze and vendors. Every component of the festival oozed punk rock.
One of the main attractions of the night was Burlesque Bingo, and it’s exactly what you’d imagine it to be. The glamorous Audrey DeLuxe called out numbers on one of the four mats that displayed numbers, and they would light up on the flashy, pink bingo board. Everyone had a bingo sheet and kept track of their numbers all the while dancers ripped their dresses off. Despite winning or losing bingo, the venue was filled with nothing but cheers.
“Here we bring you boobs, burlesque and even a dating site. We’re doing the Lord’s work,” DeLuxe said to the crowd.
The following act was Punk Rock Karaoke, a supergroup that plays punk hits live and has members from the audience come up to act as the front man (or woman). The crowd was in awe from some of the riveting performances, especially during those who sang “Search and Destroy”, “Bad Reputation” and “California Über Alles.” They were just as good, if not better, than the originals. Yeah, I said it.
Prior to watching the Punk Rock Burlesque showcase, I couldn’t help but get distracted by the dozens of DVDs, records, dresses, art pieces and candles with David Bowie, Johnny Cash and Lemmy taking Jesus’ place.
All DVD’s and CD’s from Feedback Records were only $5 – some DVD’s included live concerts by Judas Priest, Motley Crue, David Bowie and Fleetwood Mac. There were hundreds of records, ranging from genres like metal, rock and punk to strictly Beatles. There were books written by punk rock legend himself, Rikk Agnew, which read Daddy, Where Does 420 Come From? and Daddy, Where Do Strippers Come From? Next to these books were Christian Death, Adolescents and Rikk Agnew Band records.
There was merchandise sold by Organic Punk, a company that sells clothing, jewelry and candles. Another clothing company that had plenty of attendees browsing was Paper Doll Productions. They sold Misfits, Social Distortion, and Iron Maiden dresses for babies and had adult sized skeleton dresses, skirts and shirts available for purchase. Hell, just when I thought this place couldn’t be any more rock ‘n’ roll, I checked out Atomic Café’s menu and saw they were selling an “Atomic Punk” – a name referenced after Van Halen’s song.
I was prepared to see topless women at Punk Rock Burlesque, but I was not anticipating on seeing a guy with six pack abs wearing nothing but a ski mask, underwear and ECW belt around his waist to introduce all the dancers. It was entertaining, nevertheless.
The first girl to go up was Brandy Snifter, who rocked a smeared makeup look along with white bottoms that were made to look like a period stain. It got quite the reaction, but hey, anything goes in burlesque. Audrey DeLuxe and Madeline Sinclaire, the masterminds behind Bang Boom Bash, performed and won the crowd over with their sensual dance moves and elegance.
Ms. Redd had an extraordinary costume with a dazzling red dress, spiked headband and dance wings. Petite rocker chick, Diamondback Annie, sported latex and a Lux Interior hairdo and danced along to The Cramps. Headlining was none other than Kalani Kokonuts. Her entire costume, corset, hat, tape and all, was all black, which went along well with her song – a darker, slower cover of Rod Stewart’s “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”.
JFA, ‘80s hardcore punk band, headlined upstairs and played songs off their albums “Blatant Localism” and “Valley of the Yakes”. After their release in the early ‘80s, the albums became the anthem for many punk skaters. Lead singer, Brian Brannon, stuck to his roots and repped a DLH (Dean Lane Hardcore) shirt. They played some of their old hits like “Cokes and Snickers”, “We Know You Suck” and “JFA”. Their covers included “I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown and “Low Rider” by War.
A woman yelled, “The Dictators are playing!” numerous times and had friends and others rush upstairs to see the one of the most influential punk bands as soon as they went on, drawing in the largest crowd throughout the night. Front man, Richard “Handsome Dick” Manitoba, still looked punk as fuck at 62 years old in his beanie that read “Bronx” and jean jacket. He asked fans to help keep rock ‘n’ roll relevant by listening to it, buying records and getting the kids to listen to it.
“Save the music that we love so much. I’m talking about rock ‘n’ roll…We got a job to keep rock ‘n’ roll alive.”
It’s no doubt that events like Bang Boom Bash help keep punk culture alive, along with bringing subcultures like burlesque more exposure.
Yvonne Villasenor is often in a sleep deprived daze daydreaming about ’90s heartthrobs, dogs, upcoming album releases, and what she’s going to eat for dinner. When she snaps back to reality, she writes about OC’s latest music and artists.