Day Two proved to be more docile, but by night’s end, people tried to relive the highs of Iggy Pop's set. Burger Records’ act Patsy’s Rats were up first, rousing us from hungover lethargy with their bouncy rock. The all female-band La Luz shimmered in the mid-afternoon sun with their surf rock. After a heavy dose of newer bands, NRBQ reminded us they’ve been at it since 1966. Then what followed looked to be a puppet show, but Quintron & Miss Pussycat’s music portion of the show was the most genre-defying of Burger Boogaloo. With ample amounts of distortion and disorientating compositions, the duo may will either give you a headache or send you on a psychedelic trip. FM Knives brought us back down to earth with a traditional rock instrument lineup. Hometown garage punks Shannon and the Clams performed the last set on Shrimpn and drew the biggest crowd.
As the daylight faded, Butt City was once again feeling the congestion in anticipation for two of the most revered punk bands, X and Buzzcocks. John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom and DJ Bonebrake may be in their 60s, but their energy commanded the most crowd surfing of the weekend. Kicking off with “Beyond and Back,” the Californians effortlessly executed restless anthems like “Your Phone is off the Hook But You're Not” and “Los Angeles,” closing the set with “Soul Kitchen.” Buzzcocks continued the raucousness established by X, commencing with “Boredom” and weaving through fan favorites like “Fast Cars,” “Orgasm Addict” and “What Do I Get.”
Burger Boogaloo is where you’ll find a concentration of the generation that grew up in the age of punk and postpunk; many came dressed as if they never left their high school wardrobe behind. These are the folks who didn’t trade in their anti-establishment values for a stable life that came in an Ikea box as they matured, just as Iggy Pop never resorted to wearing a shirt. Waters said during one of his intros, “It’s hard to be original and punk these days.” We may not all be originals but at least we can be punks at Burger Boogaloo.
