By Daina Darzin Manning

Cal State Fullerton
Fullerton, Calif.
Saturday, July 5 and Sunday July 6, 2003

Snappy '50s shirts for guys & gals, fuzzy dice, Betty Page clocks, punk wear for toddlers and rubber chickens were just a few of the items available at a huge, well-appointed merchandise mart at the Hootenanny, a two-day festival of rockabilly and punkabilly.

In fact, the crowd seemed more captivated by the merch than the bands, at least the ones scheduled early in this three-stage, all-day extravaganza. An impressive car show -- the highlights of which included a metallic purple hearse and the Batmobile -- and an ongoing audience fashion parade (high temperatures mandated a lot of Marilyn Monroe-ish sundresses and parasols) served as further distractions.

Hootenanny organizers wisely presented bands in half-hour segments on two main stages, with no down time between acts. A third stage in back grew more and more popular as concertgoers realized it featured a large canopy to shield them from the 90 degree sun.

Saturday's lineup featured more traditional rockabilly artists, though a punk influence was apparent both on and off stage.

Fronted by perennial L.A. icon Exene Cervenka, the Original Sinners sounded like -- well, like someone wrote some new X songs, which is good news indeed. The woman who pioneered the connection between rockabilly and punk still does it almost perfectly, with a new band that displayed that familiar Billy Zoom-ish oomph.

Exene's former bandmate John Doe also channeled X, opening with the classic "The New World." The Blasters powered it up with percolating James-Bond-theme-gone-wrong rave-ups like "The Boneyard," while the Cadillac Tramps turned it up yet another notch with a high velocity, almost metal-sounding set.

But the Day One crowd reserved their big cheers for headliners the Stray Cats, who made a star entrance wearing black leather jackets -- and immediately took 'em off to avoid heat stroke. (Well, almost all of 'em. "(Drummer) Slim Jim is so tough he's keeping his jacket on," quipped frontman Brian Setzer.)

The Stray Cats treated the audience to a crowd-pleasing array of their big hits, including "Rock This Town," "(She's) Sexy + 17," "Runaway Boys," and "Stray Cat Strut," as well as a laid-back, plaintive reading of "The Star Spangled Banner."

Sunday put the punk back into punkabilly, especially with early afternoon selections like the Manic Hispanics, who covered the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen" (though the chorus of "no futura!" didn't quite have the ring of the original.)

Nekromantix presented a furious, nuclear-energy blast of a set, bristling with metal riffs (and managed to keep mohawks intact despite the temperature).

Stray Cats' bassist Lee Rocker also proved a hit during his solo set, which was marked by stellar work on acoustic bass. "Here's a song about my car," he explained before "She's Gone." Other highlights included a cover of Elvis' "That's Allright" and, amusingly, the theme from "Smokey and the Bandit."

A 20-minute delay before Dave Vanian's set sent the crowd on a search for beer/bathroom/Philly cheese steaks, and they never did quite return for the Damned frontman's eclectic rock set, thus missing a swell, mangled cover of "Secret Agent Man."

Former Blaster Dave Alvin's more traditional country/bluegrass/honky-tonk set changed the mood yet again, with electric violin and accordion adding a unique sound to the mix.

Rocket From the Crypt gave the crowd a wake-up call with a scorching flash of punk rock fury, powered by multiple guitars and a horn section (!) for maximum cool and an inimitable sound. Like a speeding car screeching around sharp turns but managing to hang on somehow, RFTC had a loose, menacing, manic air that made them one of the big hits of Day Two. Frontman John Reis' charmingly sarcastic personality ("I have a bad tattoo fetish -- I'm in heaven right now!" he quipped to the much-inked crowd) was also a plus.

Veteran Junior Brown and his band proved tougher than the Stray Cats' Slim Jim Phantom -- they performed their entire set in suits and ties. Brown's virtuoso guitar skills, eclectic choice of material (including surfer classics) and iconic presence were much appreciated by the crowd -- who didn't like it one bit when organizers pulled the plug on the legendary performer to get back on schedule for Little Richard.

Though he remained his perennially flashy, exuberant self, Little Richard didn't have his best reaction from the disgruntled audience (who soon began loudly clamoring for Social Distortion). However, oldies like "Lucille," "Tutti Frutti," "Blueberry Hill," and a cover of the Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" sounded as good as ever.

Social D's bouncy, percolating punk/pop brought the evening to a happy conclusion. The enduring L.A. band dedicated a zippy reading of "Road Zombie" to the "hot rod boys and girls" in attendance -- and kept the energy up for a boisterous, enthusiastically received (and of course, sweaty) set.