If you like your wheels flashy, your cult movies so large and tacky John Waters would squeal with delight and your music drenched with rockabilly attitude, then the Drive Invasion was the place to spend the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta. Held at the historic, yet charmingly dilapidated, Starlight Drive-In on Moreland Avenue, this festival pays homage to all that is truly BADASSS! There were plenty of tricked-out hot rods, beefy bikes, dainty vintage Vespa scooters, and of course, vast quantities of PBR.

Now in its fifth year, the Drive Invasion was a triumph over last year with a greater focus on diverse music and themes for each day of the festival. Plus, the addition of overnight camping made this festival more likely to attract people outside the Atlanta metro area. And hey-what's more romantic than tent sex on hot, sticky asphalt? Furthermore, trash-movie baron Joe (von) Bob Briggs was the MC for the weekend, introducing bands and flicks while still chatting with fans about films of all sorts, and spinning yarns about celebrity-hobnobbing and his early reporting days back in East Texas. Great stuff!

Things were more low-key with the bike and scooter crowds on Sunday. People on hogs, as well as restored Vespa and Lambretta scooters (my favorite) were more about chatting and exchanging numbers for spare parts than machismo. But, it was still fun.

On the cinema scene, Saturday's eclectic choice of movies was less than stellar. After seeing true cult classics like Blood Feast and 2000 Maniacs last year which were based around a common theme of banned, early controversial horror, this year's picks like Repo Man, and 13 Ghosts were an ill-prepared and boring laundry list of "what's trashy AND cult." An aimless teenage stoner sent into the video store could've picked better.

Still, Repo Man was good as always, and 13 Ghosts with its cute Illusion-O 3D glasses were great fun-for those under 12. But despite this harsh criticism, Sunday night's focus on classic cinema of the young, wild and rebellious (The Wild Angels, The Wild Ones, Easy Rider, and Knightriders) more than made up for Saturday. Continuity works. I hope they keep this in mind next year.

All in all, my second visit to Drive Invasion exceeded my expectations. And while the focus is shifting more towards promoting and celebrating a culture and a way of life with a great, diverse soundtrack, the movies may just have to lag behind as a consequence. It's still always a great way to relax and hear some great sounds over Labor Day Weekend. Can't wait till next year!