Lux Interior benefit Cramps the Graveyard’s style

Friday night’s Lux Interior Benefit at Graveyard Tavern brought out much of Atlanta’s punk past and present, all to pay homage to the late Cramps frontman. Most of the venue was transformed into a virtual shrine to Lux, with the front lounge hosting a photo shoot where bikini girls with machine guns posed with patrons in front of a bright green backdrop emblazoned with Lux’s name.

In the side gallery, original works of art ranging from paintings to woodcarvings hung on the walls along with what looked like someone’s collection of vintage Cramps vinyl. Screens throughout the Graveyard showed exploitative films, including footage from a Cramps performance at the Napa State Mental Hospital in 1984. It made Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison appearance look like a picnic in the park.

Local bands also paid tribute. Luchagors frontwoman Amy Dumas donned a leopard-print hoodie and curly red wig a la Poison Ivy, and guitarist Shane Morton wore facial prosthetics, makeup and a Don King-like wig for a monstrous look. Dead Elvis played a mix of original songs and Cramps classics as the audience dismembered a large teddy bear, leaving its snow-like innards strewn across the dance floor.

DJ Killa Mockingbird, in a werewolf mask and vintage Dead Elvis shirt, spun Cramps and other garage rock boogie to the delight of dance fiends. At one point, the bartender said someone had asked her if Lux was actually going to be there. Though we got a laugh at the expense of the guy who was clueless to Lux’s death, it felt as if Lux may have been actually there in spirit, despite the lack of full frontal male nudity.

(Photo courtesy Splatter Cinema)