Party at Bam's

As long as I can remember, I've thought it's important to hang out with a wide variety of people. That was perhaps never more evident than when I was tailgating at the Cheshire Point-to-Point with my Unionville pals and received a text from a young friend inviting me to a punk-rock art exhibit at his friend Bam Margera's compound in Pocopson Township. He sent me the gate code.
Well, who could say no to that? The only gate I usually have to deal with is the one at the Mr. Wizard Car Wash. And after all Bam, a West Chester native, is something of a celebrity and Renaissance man: he's a skateboarder, a television and radio personality, a musician, and an actor and has made a name for himself -- and a considerable fortune -- celebrating the cool hipster lifestyle. He has developed an interest in painting and was hosting an art show that featured his own work and that of his friend, the more traditional painter John Hannafin.
So late Tuesday afternoon I drove over to Bam's. Cars were parked along the road and the gate was wide open. I parked and walked to the indoor skateboarding park where the art show was being held.
The guests were an eclectic and very friendly bunch: young, bearded, pierced, tattooed guys in hooded sweatshirts, some of the local art crowd (I saw Julie Dixon), and some more conventional curiosity-seekers (like me). Even County Commissioner Terence Farrell was there!
Bam's dark, graffiti-inspired paintings depicted wraithlike, tortured figures and a lot of symbols and curse words. John Hannafin's provided a vivid contrast, especially his paintings of sunflowers and tulips and West Chester scenes. A portrait he did of Bam was marvelous.
At one point I wanted to get a closer look at one of Bam's paintings and started walking up a skateboarding ramp. I quickly realized that was a big mistake, as my high-heeled boots gained absolutely no traction on the ramp, which was as smooth as a ballroom floor.
Unfortunately I had to leave to cover a West Marlborough township meeting, so I missed the performance by Bam's band, FFU (you can guess what one of those initials stands for), which will be touring in England in July.
On the way back to my car I noticed that one of the garage doors was open. I can now say that I attended a punk-rock art show where there was a bright-blue Lamborghini parked in the garage.