Kim Gordon performs at Mosswood Meltdown in Oakland on July 2, 2022. Courtesy Meri Brin.

OAKLAND — Impeccably dressed in a shiny black and white suit jacket, legendary filmmaker John Waters stood on stage in the gathering dusk amid towering oak trees and plummeting temperatures Saturday night to introduce headliner Kim Gordon. “She’s the Joan Didion of indie rock! Who says punks can’t be intellectuals!” Waters yelled.

Although annual festival Mosswood Meltdown returned for a slimmed-down Halloween edition in 2021, the first day of the two-day summer punk and DIY rock show felt more like a real return after two years of pandemic postponements and a controversy that had everything to do with Burger Records and nothing at all with this event formerly known as Burger Boogaloo besides the name.

Swirling sheets of distorted, pre-recorded sounds blared from the huge arrays of speakers as Kim Gordon and her all-female band took the stage. The band launched into “Sketch Artist,” from the former Sonic Youth bassist’s 2019 solo album, No Home Record. Clad in sequined black shorts, a silver buttoned-down silver shirt and a black tie, Kim Gordon stalked the front of the stage, self-conscious and cat-like, part Talking Heads’ David Byrne, part Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde. 

The music was urgent, modern and vaguely malevolent. Other songs from Gordon’s latest solo album, like “Air BnB” and “Paprika Pony,” grooved with heavy, trap-style drumming and throbbing repeating bass lines. On “Murdered Out,” blown-out vocals and guitar noise wrestled with a heavy and ominous bass line. It felt thoroughly 21st century.

Gordon strapped on a guitar for the Sonic-Youth-like “Cookie Butter.” The jangly guitar soundscape warbled in and out of tune as the giant inflatable cones that served as the main stage’s backdrop swayed in the chill breeze. Behind the fans gathered at the front of the stage, some kids rolled frantically in the grass. Maybe they were inebriated adults; it was hard to tell in the dark with all the sonic chaos. 

Between songs, Gordon thanked Waters: “John is a prince among the world. Can’t we all applaud him? But he’s also not a prince. He’s with all of us.” 

Kim Gordon ended her set with a song she said was dedicated to the “American experiment in democracy” before remarking, “Fuck Texas, and, you know, whatever,” before conjuring a sonic maelstrom titled “Grass Jeans.”

In fact, the prevailing mood at Mosswood Meltdown on the first day, besides a desire to see some good music, was festivalgoers’ anger at both the U.S. Supreme Court and Republican politicians. Countless T-shirts and posters offered regressive lawmakers a number of suggestions.

The day’s nine bands alternated between playing the main field stage where the crowd watched from the lawn, and a Mosswood Park’s amphitheater. Throughout the day, the crowd moved between the two stages, ensuring we all met our step goals. The crowds were much more tightly packed at the amphitheater.

By the time, the festival’s penultimate act, Detroit’s The Dirtbombs, hit the amphitheater stage, the crowd was packed in like sardines. The two-drummer and double bassist rhythm section laid down a pummeling drum groove as guitarist and frontman Mick Collins put on a Stratocaster over his red T-shirt emblazoned with the message “Law is not Justice” and proceeded to melt faces with his raw overdriven guitar sound.

Collins, who formed The Dirtbombs in 1995 after the disbanding of his seminal garage punk band, The Gories, delivered a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up” that was so noisy and nasty it sounded like it originated in the evil parallel Universe where Mr. Spock has a goatee.

Earlier, on the main stage, Mosswood Meltdown regular Shannon Shaw, of Shannon and the Clams, brought a 10-member band that delivered a sophisticated and dynamic set. The band moved between country-tinged ballads like “Golden Frames” and glamorous disco-funk of “Freddies ‘n Teddies.” Shaw’s voice filled the Park with its sometimes syrupy, sometimes raspy dynamics.

“Congratulations on the hard pivot,” Shaw told attendees and organizers, lauding to the festival’s name change and brand move away from Burger Records.

The standout in Shaw’s performance was a cover of INXS’ “Never Tear Us Apart,” which entranced with its tension and power.

Earlier, on the amphitheater stage, L.A.’s Bleached, a quartet comprised of sisters Jennifer and Jessica Clavin, formerly of Mika Miko, delivered a powerfully pretty punkish set that included “Keep On Keepin’ On” from their 2016 album, Welcome to the Worms.

On the main stage, legendary proto-sludge act Flipper riled up the crowd with a grinding set of sludgy, sonic assaults. Fronted by Fletcher Shears of Orange County band The Garden, Flipper offered the afternoon’s most pronounced ’90s grunge nostalgia. Shears performed impromptu gymnastics on the stage as the quartet summoned dark, dirgey riffs on songs like “Way of the World,” which dates back 40 years to the band’s 1982 album, Generic Flipper. The band, championed out of obscurity by Kurt Cobain and others in the ’90s, has toured with a rotating roster of frontmen, with the Jesus Lizard’s David Yow taking the role before Shears.

On the amphitheater stage, Atlanta’s Carbonas ran through a fiery punk set, calling to mind the frenetic sonic destruction of The Sex Pistols. On “Sick Satisfaction,” vocalist Greg King’s sneer paired perfectly with the band’s slashing guitar and chugging bass.

 

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The Rubinoos were introduced with John Waters saying, “This band formed in Berkeley 40 years ago when there was probably a lot more freedom of speech on campus than there is now. Old punks make great soup!”

Snooper performs at Mosswood Meltdown in Oakland on July 2, 2022.

The quartet entertained the crowd with “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend,” off their 1979 album, Back to the Drawing Board. The band sued singer Avril Lavigne over the similarity in her song “Boyfriend,” eventually setting for an undisclosed sum. The Rubinoos also performed their punk-tinged cover of Tommy James and the Shondell’s 1967 hit, “I Think We’re Alone Now,” which was later transformed into a huge pop hit for Tiffany in the 1980s.

Oakland band Twompsax rocked the amphitheater stage early in the day with a blistering set of caustic, noisy punk. Using half of a bright pink phone receiver as a microphone, bandleader Cher Strauberry told the crowd between songs that the band’s mission was “to inspire trans people to do whatever the fuck you want,” before adding that “If you’re trans, you are valid, you are not alone, and we really fucking care about you!”

Nashville’s Snooper kicked off the day on the smaller amphitheater stage. The mostly mulleted and tracksuit-clad quintet delivered angular punk with a stumbling new wave vibe.