Rockabilly Wheels

Forget this $50 pay-per-view mixed-martial-arts biznatch. If you really want to see a throwdown, invite a bunch of aftermarket tuners to a hot-rod convention. The two camps are divided by ideology as much as décor, with the former favoring neon and nitrous and the latter favoring chop-tops and rockabilly culture. The seventh-annual Greaserama is a hot-rod extravaganza with explicit criteria: “No high tech or muscle cars. No billet. No silly modern wheels.” In other words, it’s a flaming wet dream if your trigger is tripped by pre-’65 hot rods, lowriders, low-buckers, modified wagons, pinstripers or choppers. But one hardly has to be a hardcore punk-rodder to get revved up about the all-day event at the Boulevard Drive-In (1051 Merriam Lane in KCK, 913-262-0392). Bands scheduled to perform include the overdriven rockers in Federation of Horsepower, psychobilly purveyor Royal Dead, old school punk outfit Outlaw and big one-man band B.O.M.B. Vendors will help you stock up on car parts, pomade, jewelry, leather apparel and handmade goods, and an art show will accompany the main event. If that’s not quite enough, $10 is sure to slip out of your pocket at the notion of winding down the evening with screenings of Mad Max and Thunder Road. Greaserama Boulevard Drive-In

Mon., Oct. 1, 2007