On July 3rd 2022, Black Blub Magazine held the block party event “Glizzy on the Block” at
Stage 722, a jubilation of Independence Day in Portland, celebrating POC-owned businesses and
showcasing performances from musical artists of all genres, pro-style wrestling, hot dogs, ice
cream, and interactive art.
Going from noon to 4 p.m., the event drew an estimated six-hundred people during a perfectly
bucolic day of sunny skies and warm weather at the hybrid indoor/outdoor venue. It served as a
sort of follow-up to Black Bulb’s last event “Mega Fest”, but in many ways it was the opposite,
held during the day and mostly outdoors. Attendees were able to cycle between the indoor bar
area and the outdoor section of the venue as body temperatures fluctuated and could always cool
off with ice cream from black-owned AC Cream and Venezuelan-owned Nico’s Ice Cream.
Local hip-hop artist, Andy Breshears, who also performed at Mega Fest, was one of many local
musicians who took to the hybrid stage/wrestling rink as part of an alternating circuit of music
and indie-wrestling matches. Included in Andy’s set was his brand new song “Seasick” which he
produced with his brother with whom he comprises the music duo The Xamples. Andy said that
“the crowd was buzzing, drinks were flowing, the sun was shining, and it felt like a true Portland
summer day” and that “rapping in a wrestling ring [was] iconic”, something he never imagined
he’d ever be doing. Later that day, Andy went on to perform another set at the King Farmer’s
Market.
Black Bulb reached out to the other local Portland musical artists who’d performed at Mega Fest
such as Pleasure Curses, but the holiday weekend drew them out of town, leaving room on stage
for a freshly outstanding assortment of Portland talent to rock the block. There was the genre
defying and soul-searing metal-core hip-pop of Echo the Savage, the mindfully wavy free-
flowing rap vibes of Korey B., and the dreamily sweet slow-core tones of the grunge-gaze band
Ray Ramano. Like Mega Fest did in the past, Glizzy on the Block’s lineup featured artists with
sounds all over the music map, representing the cream from every corner the Portland music
scene.
In between each musical set, Glizzy on the Block featured pro-style wresting matches headed by
JD Mason and his band of indie-wrestling circuit ruffians who dazzled the crowds as they threw
down in the rink. Audiences were able to take a break from getting down to chow down on
hotdogs and what one attendee called “the best vegan tacos in town” as they watched some good
old American style professional wrestling. The spectacle exceeded the expectations of Ian
Williams—owner of event sponsor Deadstock Coffee—exclaiming that he couldn’t stop
watching and that it wasn’t supposed to be as good as it was.
Ian, who used to work in the “sneaker industry”, brings the aesthetic of sneaker culture to his Old
Town café, and was just among the multiple representatives of different artistic energies which
culminated the atmosphere of Glizzy on the Block. Another was acclaimed visual artist Bryce
Wong who contributed an interactive art installment where attendees hurled hot-
dogs—affectionately called “glizzies”—filled with red and yellow paint resembling ketchup and
mustard at a giant wooden canvas with a “paint-by-numbers” image of a hotdog that blended
together into a post-modern Pollackesque mosaic representation of cross-cultural ecstasy.
The term “glizzy” originated in the Washington DC area hip-hop scene and has evolved through
several incarnations to its current meaning of the all-American food, the “hot-dog”. With Glizzy
on the Block, organizers Alex Moan and Joe Dimeo of Black Bulb Magazine serendipitously
carved out a space to celebrate what it means to be an American without some of the pitfalls of
modern patriotism’s turbulent implications. Alex stated that “it was a mix and blend of cultures
that isn’t supposed to make sense but it does, it worked out because it’s America”.
Glizzy on the Block was not the usual Independence Day celebration of waving American flags
and blowing shit up, but it was a celebration of all things American nonetheless. It was about
free expressions of individuality in a way that celebrated the diverse melting pot of America in a
city that many often view as a monoculture. Most of all, it gave Portland people a place to party
and just let loose and forget their problems. “Anyone that showed up was trying to just have a
low impact good time,” says Joe Dimeo. “I mean it’s a hotdog themed wrestling party, there’s no
real pretentiousness there, it was just ‘show up and have fun’”.
You can find follow Black Blub Magazine and the performing artists and vendors mentioned in
this article online at the following:
On Instagram:
@blackbulbmagazine
@andybreshears
@bbbrycewong
@deadstockcoffee
@echothesavage
@koreyb_
@jd.masonnwp
@nicosicecream
@rayramano
@therealaccream
