Old school! If you’ve only ever seen the Texas Rollergirls skate at the Austin Convention Center, you never saw the old, smash mouth, punk rock, chaotic days of Roller Derby. For one night only, the original flat track league revives that early madcap energy with a special bout at their South Austin training facility, the Blood Shed. Skaters will be setting aside uniforms for the DIY ethos of homemade boutfits, the crowd will be close enough to hear the wheel bearings squeal, and there’ll even be live music, courtesy of fuzzed-up garage rockers the Ghetto-Birds. But if the feel of the night may be like back in the day, the rivalries are right up to date. The Hustlers will play every vintage card in the pack to take down last year’s league champions, the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers, when they line up in the opening bout. After that, the Hotrod Honeys may be this year’s front-runners to take the Heartbreakers’ title, but when they face off against the insurgent Hell Marys in the night’s main event, it’s certain to be one for the history books.
Sat., May 31, 5pm. The Blood Shed, 6110 Trade Center Dr. Ste. 101-B. $15-40 ($10-20, kids). www.texasrollergirls.org.
This article appears in May 30 • 2014.
