Workingman’s Metal

in Miracles.” The show capped off with Henry Rollins and Steve Jones bringing the rock on “Judy Is a Punk” and “Blitzkrieg Bop.”

Rollins left the stage declaring, “Ramones number one forever,” and we believed him enough to earn an encore of “Pinhead” with CJ on the microphone. Two Zippy mascots appeared; black and white balloons fell and were noisily popped. It was one hell of a memorial service.

—Shelley Leopold

KAIJU BIG BATTEL at Avalon, September 8

Think Godzilla, think Mothra, think King Ghidora. Then think again. The skyline-trouncing creatures of Kaiju Big Battel are the unrequited love children of Toho movies, anime cosplay and professional wrestling. Brought to you by Boston’s Studio Kaiju, this battle (I mean battel) between mutated monsters inside a chainlink-fenced wrestling ring — complete with miniature cityscape — was not unlike catching the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in a drunken barroom brawl. The evening’s MC, Louden Noxious, and painfully mustachioed referee, Jingi, did their best to keep order (“This is completely unexpected!”), but the evil Dr. Cube, the cardboard-box-headed mastermind intent on world domination, would not let his minions fail. Much punching and kicking and body-slamming ensued: Robox vs. American Beetle vs. Neo Teppen vs. Call-Me-Kevin (the lobsterlike loser).

In his Los Angeles debut, disco-dancing, hand-clapping boogie monster Super Wrong hustled his way across the ring only to get kayoed by “walking compost heap” Gomi-Man within seconds. And as smiley-faced heroes Los Plantanos — twin plantain peels in camouflage pants — joined “J-pop idol” Chikako in a tribute to previously defeated and wheelchair-bound Silver Potato, her lip-synched track (“Peel Me Now”) started skipping and she fled the stage, commencing a banana-bashing free-for-all.

While the frequent merchandise sales

pitches could have been cut (the crowd was subjected to video-screen “commercial breaks” promoting Studio Kaiju’s DVDs and T-shirts before nearly every matchup), the adrenaline-inducing finale was worth it: Unibouzu, a “one-eyed demon from the dark side” (picture Hulk Hogan coifed like a sea urchin); a too-drunk-to-fight Hell Monkey; soup-can-bodied martial artist Kung Fu Chicken Noodle; a Super-Dimensional Slug; and three Dr. Cubes! It was almost like ballet, if ballet were a lot more violent.

—Derek Thomas