As I rolled up to another filthy and fun year of Mosswood Meltdown, I could hear charismatic NIIS ringleader Mimi’s powerful screams from down the block. Bringing together a melange of punk, grunge, and garage rock, NIIS opened up the pit for an already large and excited crowd for the first time all weekend. While their set was winding down to a close, Mimi guided the audience through chants of “F*** ICE”. After getting sweaty in the pit and the hot July sun, it was time for Los Angeles-based band Bleached to take the stage with their ‘fun in the sun’ garage rock tunes. These rockers were no stranger to the Mosswood stage. Sisters and bandmates Jennifer and Jessica Clavin reunited their long disbanded group, Mika Miko, for the first time in over 10 years on the Mosswood amphitheater stage back in 2023.
“Punk, putrid, and perverted,” says John Waters of the Barcelona-based, egg punk legends known as Prison Affair. They made their way through sound checks of various “oohs” and “blerghs” before diving into a flurry of short but sweet songs. Immediately, the crowd was amped up, throwing water bottles and other things at each other and in the air. Up next, another band who recently reunited in 2023 after over a decade of hiatus, The Exploding Hearts. The band’s initial run was short lived when soon after the release of their first album, 3 out of the band’s 4 original members died in a car crash following a show in San Francisco at Bottom of the Hill. Guitarist Terry Six is the only surviving member and was joined by musicians Murat Aktürk, John Tyree, and Chad Savage. Even though the crowd had mellowed after Prison Affair’s short and frenetic set, there was a hum of excitement for a band that many thought would never return.
Whether you spell it Thee Oh Sees or Ohsees or Osees (or maybe you’re an OG OCS?), this band is a must see! Hailing from San Francisco and then Los Angeles, frontman John Dwyer is a force to be reckoned with (and his fans are no joke too! One girl in the audience asked me if I would relay the message that her name was tattooed on his chest!). This is probably the sweatiest performance I have ever been to, and I don’t mean the crowd was sweaty. Dwyer pummels through psychedelic frenzy with such fury that by the end of just the first song, he was already a puddle.
And at long last, the band on everyone’s lips today was finally set to step onstage. Are we not men? No it’s DEVO! Looking out into the crowd, there were energy domes (the red pyramid-like hats DEVO are known for) as far as the eye could see. Their set started with a video of the DEVO boys 40 years ago in a sleazy record executive’s office being told they were too weird and unmarketable. Cut to the present day, we see the same record executive on a Peloton bike explaining how these guys were the worst business decision he ever made. And that’s DEVO’s cue to burst onto the stage. The entire crowd was up on their feet and dancing the whole night long. Onstage, DEVO had many sci-fi inspired costume changes (one of which involved them ripping each other’s yellow jumpsuits completely off their bodies until they were all in shreds). DEVO’s strange childlike character, Booji Boy, even made an appearance at the end of the night. Overall, this eclectic new wave band was the perfect energetic end to the first day of Mosswood Meltdown 2025.
I arrived on Day 2 to overcast skies and chiller vibes throughout Mosswood Park. Sundays tend to be less busy at Mosswood Meltdown, with only the diehards sticking around after partying all day and night on Saturday. The first band I caught was Giuda, a 70s glam punk group from Rome, Italy. The crowd was amped: pumping their fists in the air and chanting along to Giuda’s anthemic hooks.
Drag competitions are becoming a staple of the Mosswood Meltdown lineup, this year coming in last as a replacement for Snõõper pulling out of all their July shows (hopefully they’ll come back next year after the release of their new album). This year’s drag entertainment comes courtesy of Haus of Libations and their drag wrestling competition LipSmack hosted by Oakland drag artists Franzia Rosé and Cherry Cola. Before the games began, I saw Cherry Cola out in the crowd handing out handmade cardboard signs that had messages such as “DIVA DOWN” or “Give they/them the chair!”. The smackdown was to be judged by John Waters himself and each contestant was given the opportunity to smack talk their competitors. Round one featured La Chucha versus Mudd the Two Spirit who wrestled and humped for John Waters affection. La Chucha came out the winner thanks to the front and back skid marks on their tighty whiteys. Up next, Piss E Sissy and ChEEesE LoUiSe OuTTaCoNtRoL battled it out in Round two through a classic arm wrestling contest. ChEEesE took not only round two but the entire crown with their daring signature look and freaky drag.
Despite announcing their retirement at Mosswood Meltdown two years ago, Twompsax is back and better than ever. They played Mosswood’s shortest ever set back in 2023, and this year was no different with Cher Strauberry on and off the stage in less than 15 minutes. Much to the audience’s excitement, Twompsax pulled out a cheeky cover of blink-182’s “What’s My Age Again?” which transformed into a raw speech about the current political atmosphere for trans people in the United States. Because Twompsax left the stage in a punk flurry, what was set to be a large gap of time between bands turned into a surprise set from Tokyo, Japan based garage rock group The Fadeaways. I was sitting in the grass with some friends when I noticed what sounded like a live band coming from behind me. I thought maybe there was someone playing from outside the festival gates, but as I got closer I realized that there was an entire band set up inside the grounds right by the medical tent. The Fadeaways donned matching red and white striped shirts with black leather vests as they pounded their way through originals and covers. It was hard to tell how sanctioned this set was by Mosswood organizers considering they had someone mixing their sound from the med tent and many of the head honchos of Mosswood made an appearance in the audience. This impromptu set garnered quite the crowd, and made for a great way to always keep Mosswood Meltdown fresh and in the spirit of DIY culture.
Without exaggeration, this next artist to take the stage was my most anticipated musician of the whole weekend (and maybe of any Mosswood Meltdown lineup ever). My friend asked me on Day One who I was most excited to say, and without hesitation I said, “Kreayshawn”. She seemed kind of shocked that it wasn’t one of the headliners like DEVO or Bratmobile or one of the Meltdown recurring characters like Twompsax or Shannon and the Clams. She told me that Kreayshawn was one of the artists that she was least familiar with on the whole lineup. She definitely ate her words after this once in a lifetime performance. Kreayshawn took the stage Sunday for what would be her first performance in over 10 years. The crowd was completely buzzing from start to finish. Her performance was beyond mind-blowing, and the crowd was the most electric I had witnessed all weekend. From the mosh pit during “Go Hard (La La La)” to Hello Kitty twerking onstage to a whole posse of people from backstage, including Cher Strauberry, jumping on stage during “Gucci Gucci” to dance along. The Bay welcomed Kreayshawn back with wide open arms.
Bringing the audience back down to earth, Seattle-based La Luz took the stage after Kreayshawn for a dreamy set of garage rock jams. It was nice to relax in the grass, with some grass, and catch up with friends while La Luz guided us through their self-described surf noir tunes. The mellow vibes continued with none other than the queen of Mosswood herself, Shannon and the Clams. It wouldn’t be Mosswood Meltdown without her (or her beloved dog Spanky Joe who sported the cutest dog-friendly noise cancelling headphones in the side stage area)! I am so glad I got to see my favorite song, “The Boy”, live under the overcast sky. After tearing up the amphitheater stage in 2023, Bratmobile was back with a vengeance and headlining Day Two of the entire festival. Allison Wolf, the ferocious lead singer of Bratmobile, has become somewhat of a Meltdown regular herself (last year she DJ’d under the pseudonym Real Baby Donut). Donning a brat green dress, Allison and the gang were ready to make this Mosswood Meltdown a Bratmobile summer. Many guest appearances were made throughout the set by many Meltdown alumni and rabble rousers such as Brontez Purnell, Drew of Trap Girl, The Linda Lindas, and one of the mummies from The Mummies. Bratmobile marked a fabulous end to such an amazing local treat. Get yourself to Mosswood Meltdown next year, or else!
Words by Sam Long and photos be Aleeza Ravéh
