Understand that you will be like those whom you surround yourself with. Your environment is stronger than you are. That was the appropos “affirmation” we got on a strip of paper inside a corn tortilla at Marcus Kuiland-Nazario’s 13th annual Pop Tarts performance lab at Highways on Saturday. The Mexican food (for thought) was given out via a “Tacos de Truth” stand, but it seemed that the truth theme ran thru the two-night show as well, which featured touching skits from Velvet Hammer vixen Selene Luna and Mariel Carranza, a politically hued group of sketches from “Jewish-American Lesbian Folksinger” Phranc (who crooned a beautiful ballad to Condoleezza Rice) and NEA Four-man John Fleck doing a fabulous f(l)ag medley of patriotic ditties. Nazario and co-host Chloe Webb (of Sid and Nancy fame) introduced each act while wearing beauty-queen sashes that read “art slut” and “cult fave,” respectively — a reference to last week’s L.A. Weekly Pick. Also tarting it up both nights were electro duo Dirty Sanchez (via video) and in the flesh: former Pickmeup peeps Tawny Featherstone and Jerry McKenna, Derby Doll/Eyelashes member Dawn Maureen and Nightranger mentor Belissa Cohen. La Dee Da to ya!

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