Jawnts: Surf punk bar is hosting A.C. party for food bank

Atlantic City holds a very specific, some would say sleazy, space in the national imagination. But there is life in this small beachside city beyond the casinos, scenes entirely lacking in cinematic mobsters or decrepit gamblers.

One of the best features of the non-casino landscape, for those who aren't in the mood for delicious soul food (Kelsey & Kim's is the best I've ever had), is the Boneyard, a small surf punk bar that's a parking lot and a block away from the Boardwalk.

On Tuesday, a cadre of local acts will be playing the Boneyard's Thanksgiving Benefit Show to raise money for the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, across the bay in Egg Harbor Township, which will receive 100 percent of the proceeds.

The fund-raiser features Esquina Rosada, which does poppy bossa nova (lyrics mostly in Spanish); Team Way of Life, with MC Equality Brown, for all your South Jersey hip-hop needs; and Lua, which plays reggae and ska. The show will probably last two to three hours, and is then projected to deteriorate into a big, sweaty dance party until everyone feels like stopping. (Gasp in awe, Philadelphians: The bar is open 5 p.m. to 7 a.m., just as it is every day of the week.) The Boneyard sells alcohol - including massive glasses of beer for $5, a perennial favorite - so the show will be open only to those over 21. There's food, too, of your standard barroom variety.

The event starts at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Boneyard, on Virginia Avenue between Pacific and Atlantic. Price: $10.