OAKLAND — Mosswood Meltdown lived up to its name with scorching temperatures on Saturday, the first day of the two-day alternative culture celebration, topped by The B-52s.

The annual queer-friendly punk festival curated by transgressive filmmaker John Waters offered up a slate of bands as well as food, libations, a drag show and some of the best people watching in the Bay Area as temperatures approached 90 degrees.

“This is hell. Hope you appreciate it!” legendary Bay Area drag queen Peaches Christ said to attendees sweltering in the mid-afternoon sun after lamenting an outfit choice of “black goth leather.”

This year, the festival consolidated the usual two stages into a single main stage. Instead of crowds moving back and forth, there was increased downtime between sets, leading to long lines at food concessions serving everything from pizza to fried chicken and tofu noodles. Another change from previous years included more merch booths, with everyone from Amoeba Records to Jello Biafra’s Alternative Tentacle Records and activist publisher PM Press setting up shop.

There was also a pop-up salon offering free bangs trims, an after-school music program selling guitars and local artists shilling custom clothes and various freaky or punk knicknacks.

The B-52s took the stage as the last rays of sun faded and temperatures dropped quickly. With an aesthetic that managed to be both campy and glamorous, the legendary new-wave band glittered while a video featuring cosmic imagery and psychedelic patterns was projected on a large screen behind them.

Vocalists Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson wore satiny outfits and sported elaborate technicolor hair styles, while frontman Fred Schneider wore sunglasses and a suit jacket. With an impressive light show and fantastic stage sound, the vibe felt a little like a formal dinner after the punk show as the band opened with “Planet Claire,” one of its earliest tunes. The song combined the guitar riff from the “Peter Gunn Theme” with stabs of organ and, eventually, a thoroughly schlocky science fiction melody, doubled perfectly by Pierson and Wilson.

The band drew songs from its entire discography, spanning nearly five decades. As a result, the music ran the gamut between the languid garage-rock chug of “Lava,” from 1978, and the polished and synthesizer-heavy “Roam” (1989’s Cosmic Thing) to the minimalist stomp of its biggest hit, “Rock Lobster,” which closed out the show with a human-sized lobster mascot joining the band onstage.

The crowd, which age-wise managed to span the five decades the band has been around and then some, danced and cheered throughout the set, forming a dense human sea.

Redd Kross took the stage earlier as the setting sun cast long shadows and attendees shaded their eyes from its glare. The influential punk band, whose career is also closing in on the half-century mark and who played previous Meltdowns in 2013 and 2017, blasted the audience with a set drawing from its older records as well as its latest self-titled album, released late last month.

Brothers Jeff and Steven McDonald and vocalist Jason Shapiro were joined by Melvins drummer Dale Crover, who has thankfully returned to making music after being sidelined with spinal surgery in 2023.

Shapiro ramped up the crowd’s energy levels right from the outset when Redd Kross kicked off with 1993 single “Switchblade Sister.” Wearing white outfits splattered with bright-colored paint, the band turned in a dynamic and aerobic set, which musically drew on everything from The Go-Go’s to T. Rex. Bassist Steven McDonald quoted Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander, saying “This next one is the first song on our new album,” before launching into “Surrender.”

Seth Bogart’s band Hunx and His Punx were introduced by emcee John Waters as “The Mosswood Mouseketeers” as the band has become a mainstay at the festival. After a touching speech about how much Waters’ movies and bands like Pansy Division had shaped his life, Bogart posed a less serious question to the crowd: “Who’s horny?”

The crowd cheered raucously in response.

This year, Bogart’s backing band included Shannon Shaw of Shannon and the Clams on bass. In many ways, the set was a split performance with a mix of Hunx songs as well as several of Shaw’s.

Musically, the set was a strange and haunting mishmash of ’60s teenybopper pop and seasick punk rock. One of Shaw’s tunes included a new one called “On Acid,” which Bogart said would be on a record “in about five years.” The band closed with the haunting ode to teenage libido, “Lover’s Lane.”

Bogart also sent several flesh-colored beach balls with animal-striped undies drawn on them into the crowd, which first began to emit great bursts of smoke and vapor upward during the set.

Peaches Christ hosted a drag show earlier in the day, which consisted of karaoke-style performances by a number of contestants and was judged by John Waters. Outgoing champion Kafka X relinquished her crown to this year’s winner, Poppy Churro, whose act culminated with an ejaculation of silly string into the crowd.

Earlier in the day, the likes of Pansy Division, Go Sailor, Trap Girl and Hot Laundry turned in energetic performances.

The original version of this story incorrectly attributed a quote by Redd Kross bassist Steven McDonald. McDonald quoted Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander.

Follow photographer Karen Goldman at Twitter.com/Xposure120 and Instagram.com/karenshootsmusic.