Mexican Wrestlers Tijuana Bibles rolled into the Tequila Lounge on Saturday night to gear up for their upcoming European tour.

Having been fashionably late (or early for a Saturday night), I was only able to catch the last few songs of opening band, The Midways, set. A typical rockabilly group, The Midways were solid and fun. They looked a little green to the stage but with more gigs and experience, I would expect this band to blossom into a reliable live act.

The biggest waste of ejaculate this side of a peep show, Riot 99, was next. This band is seriously in need of an image consultant. Not only do they not do anything original, they are almost painful to watch. Plagued by frequent stage problems (two mic stands falling apart and the pedal for their bass drum breaking) I got the feeling the universe was trying to tell them something along the lines of "go back to school" or "get a real job, you loser".

Riot 99 does British style punk rock complete with the Brit lead singer. Well, almost. He's actually from Australia. And his audience is apparently in the ceiling because that's the only place he looks while singing. The rest of the band did a fine job of picking up the pace during various stage failures, but still gave off the vibe of a high school garage band. The bottom line is, if they want to make it as a punk band then they have to do something more interesting to stand out than just being annoying.

Complete with a Mexican flag backdrop, the Tijuana Bibles took to the stage with their peculiar brand of Psycho-billy rock meets wrestling schlock. Their last Canadian show until December, The Bibles did their best to overcome the laid back vibe of this lazy Saturday night.

From the spooky opening of Felina Negra's keyboards on "Jet Pack", The Bibles were on a roll, busting out instrumental surf rock grooves and rockabilly tunes with campy lyrics. Did I mention that all five members wear wrestling masks ala El Santo, the famous Mexican wrestler? Ah, the plot thickens.

But it's not just outrageous get-ups. The Tijuana Bibles take their brand of pummeling seriously. Songs like "The Pain Train" and "We're Gonna Tangle" bring folding chairs as ultimate weapons to life. The between song banter alludes to other bands that are talking trash about the Bibles, as if there's a big rivalry stirring amongst the wrestling bands. What do the Tijuana Bibles say to these so-called pretender contenders? "We're gonna rock ya, gonna sock ya, gonna knock your head right off".

The Tijuana Bibles claim to have the world's oldest drummer, a.k.a. Super Destroyer. He often recalls tales of the Korean War, and it was this said war that is given as the inspiration for the song "Topless Tokyo". Super Destroyer is so old, in fact, he frequently forgets the tempo of their songs, having to confer with other band members The Crippler (vocals, guitar) and Blue Demon (bass) as to how fast the beat is. The banter is all done tongue-in-cheek and overacted with a lot of panache, generating laughs from the audience over and over.

The special guest of the evening was a mini-burlesque show featuring Lana Conda. Appearing in her own wrestling mask and tiny bikini for her first performance, she performed a strip tease while the Bibles kept pace musically. She then donned a hula skirt, strummed a ukulele, and gyrated next to a gorilla (or rather, a man in a gorilla suit) for the encore of "Gorilla Stomp"

Perhaps because he walks with a cane and was last to leave the stage, Super Destroyer was able to coax the crowd into cheering the Bibles back for a second encore. Blue Demon's turn to show off on vocals, he grumbled his song through his skull-face mask and threatened to tangle with anyone in the place who dared. Despite his minimal three-word lyrics, he still had more charm than Riot 99's lead singer.

The Tijuana Bibles live is truly a spectacle to witness, the music is first class and the show is simply a good time. From the femme support of Felina Negra on her many instruments (saxophone, double handed tambourine, and keyboards) to the hammy shtick of Super Destroyer, the Tijuana Bibles have stumbled upon a crowd-pleasing combination. Catch them in a ring near you!