It's been two years since it debuted in Milwaukee at the Turner Hall Ballroom and if you still don't know what Mondo Lucha is, you'd best read on and catch up.
To be honest, the event is a bit difficult to pinpoint, exactly. It's a variety show of sorts -- a non-stop spectacle of delusion and insanity, highlighted by the art of masked Mexican wrestling, the sass of burlesque and the curious intrigue of carnival freak shows.
As co-founder Andrew Gorzalski once explained to us, "We kind of envisioned it like watching the 'Donny & Marie Show' on acid."
So there you have it. Mondo Lucha, happening this Saturday, Sept. 11 at Turner Hall Ballroom, welcomes back the high-flying Lucha Libre wrestlers, a slew of sideshow acts and Milwaukee's favorite accordion player, Pezzettino, and throws them into a blender to create a nonsensical, yet totally mesmerizing experience.
If you've never been, don't arrive expecting a polished showcase; this is an anything-goes environment that draws inspiration from performance art's strange, seedy past with enough retro kitsch to fill a historic ballroom.
Like all vintage and contemporary pro-wresting events, the evening follows a loose agenda that pulses back and forth between the matches and various other scripted vignettes. But unlike the predictable conventions of modern day WWF, Mondo Lucha takes you back to the speakeasy days of Betty Page pinups and vaudevillian variety.
The night doubles as a record release party for Pezzettino and LMNtlyst's new album, "Lub Dub."
"It's going to be a big production, and Pezzettino has a lot of tricks and surprises in store," says Gorzalski.
Doors open at 7 p.m. and the zaniness begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $18 and no one under 18 will be allowed in. The official after party is happening at Buckhead Saloon, 1044 N. Old World 3rd St.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
