At the end of June, I flew to Oakland, California for the Mosswood Meltdown music festival hosted by John Waters. It was a whirlwind trip and the first time that I’ve flown out of the country in years! I met up with my friend Heather and her coworkers at Vancouver’s Happy Cat store.
This festival had the band Le Tigre headlining, a band that I absolutely loved as as a teenager. The lineup included Bratmobile (reunion show!) and Gravy Train!!! Plus a number of other bands that I wasn’t totally familiar with. It felt like a blast from the past, listening to songs that I used to play in my car while driving around as a teenager.
The festival was outdoors and was a lot bigger than I thought it would be! There were two stages, one main stage and a smaller one nearby that had a concrete amphitheater set up, which helped ensure that everyone standing in the crowd had a great vantage point. The first thing I noticed when arriving at the festival was how everyone was dressed incredibly fashionable. It made my heart sing! Fluorescent yellow hair, Bettie Paige bangs and angular bob cuts; doc marten boots, pastel sneakers, platform sandals; pencil skirts paired with band tees, wild, patterned dresses, glittery and iridescent accessories; bright red lipstick, winged eyeliner, gemstones dotting foreheads and cheeks, bright eyeshadow; tattooed legs and arms, pierced lips and noses. I wanted to take photos of everyone that I saw to use as references for my drawings!
I also saw so many people dressed the way that I used to as a 20-year old. There was a particular riot grrrl style that I loved which paired 1950s-60s silhouettes with a punk aesthetic. Ringer tees with pearl buttoned cardigans adorned with one inch buttons that hinted at indie bands or subculture slogans. Fishnets under shorts or miniskirts, mod A-line dresses and bee hive hair-dos. Red lipstick that screamed a signal for feminist rhetoric. I became so nostalgic while walking through the crowd.
The festival happened over two days total and it was bright and sunny and hot for the entire weekend. We found shady spots throughout the day and were happy to nurse a beer while watching the stage from afar. In my 20s, I would have been bruising my knees and shins from standing against the gate that held the crowd back from the stage.
By the end of the festival, I was spent and it felt good to go home. But I definitely will consider coming back to this festival in the future, maybe not next year but soon. And I will absolutely be there if Beth Ditto decides to perform there with the Gossip.
