What's that I smell? Maybe some burning cheese, a beer-soaked leather jacket, and... Jell-O? Either I left my oven on, or PizzaFest2011 is just one day away. And here you're asking, "What the fuck is PizzaFest?" Well, Bucko, it's kind of like OktoberFest, OzzFest, and OnionFest, just with awesome bands, awesome pizza, and shitty beer. PizzaFest is where you'll find pot-bellied joysey bullies Personal and the Pizzas, over-the-counter diner darlings Shannon and the Clams, slack charmer King Tuff, the not-so-whatever Slutever, and 18 other bands shredding their raddest songs inside the legendary Uptown dive, The Funhouse. These bands, who come from near (Tit Pig, TacocaT, Stickers, Witch Gardens) and far (Los Angeles, Texas, New Jersey, Vermont), also come from death. Recently reunited surf-n-turf munchers Coconut Coolouts will support Personal and the Pizzas for the third year in a row on Saturday, the final night of the three-day long fest, immediately after the pizza eating contest. Additionally, the decomposing toxic basement punk of The Trashies has been resuscitated from a sweet, moldy air these age-old buddies have long inhaled together, and they'll be celebrating the release of their latest CD/LP, Space Jam, as well as kicking off a tour with Shannon & the Clams on Friday.

All 22 bands have been lured by the promise of pizza, booze, and other additional toppings that may come at an extra cost. Challenges have been made (a poll conducted shows that 38% voted for me to win, while only 32% of you voted for last year's champion, Owen Straw, to win). Derek Erdman's pizza art will be displayed. Big Mario's will sell hot, fresh slices. Someone, somewhere on the Funhouse property, will puke (quite possibly me). And you, the garage/punk rock music lover/purveyor of limited edition singles and silkscreened t-shirts, should treat yourself to a slice of something you know you love, a slice of something you haven't heard, a slice of pepperoni, and two slices of cheese. PizzaFest offers plenty of pies to take a bite from.

Day One (cheap date night - $6 cover) comes outta the oven at 8pm tomorrow with TacocaT, Pudding Pops, Tit Pig, Stickers, Apollos, Manic Attracts, and Slutever. Three-day passes are still available from brownpapertickets.com for $25.