Saturday (Dec. 3), 8:30pm, Oceans Bar & Grill (1819 S. Kihei Rd.); $15
Angry Samoans is the sort of band name that at face value might—oh, I dunno—anger some Samoans. Though most in the 808 know that every Samoan joke starts with a glance over the shoulder, in a band vs. blalahs battle (of wits, at least), my money’s on the Los Angeles-based progenitors of punk.
But look, dear Mauians: I’m treading some dangerous territory for you—and I’m not talking Happy Valley. Why? I’ll get to that. But not before prefacing the impetus is because I like you—and like you, I think we all deserve a good tosh in the mosh now and again; notwithstanding our few and far between chances.
See, “if you’re a music writer, don’t start writing about them. Because they set booby traps,” wrote my editor’s former but beloved OC Weekly colleague Chris Ziegler. “Scissor and scalpel your way through all the sneering and juvenilia, through the wall-of-fuzz guitars and that marching-band stomp-stomp drumbeat, through 20 years of breakups and breakdowns and legends gone totally sour, and what do you find? Not a streets-of-Hollywood punk, not a skate rat gone bad, not a slumming rich boy… no, worse than that: you find another music writer just like you, pointing up from the abyss and laughing his ass off.”
Fuck, that’s terrifying.
Now I can’t say anything—and I’ve probably already said (or at least, said what others have said) too much. But I will say that Wiki says their first gig was opening for Roky Erickson—and if it ain’t true, it’s the kind of lie I don’t mind perpetuating. Let the red lights riot or whatever. (Note: their website hosts scrapbook excerpts, including a copy of their inaugural, Oct. 28 1978 show’s handbill, backstage pass and set list—notably with an online description that simply says “Minus Roky!” I suppose that’s a shame, but for a sicko paper-hoarder like me, the keeping and posting of such gorgeous provenance makes up for it.)
Blah, blah, blah. Me, me, me. The petty bullshit of creative types’ (as if we all aren’t). You don’t give a fuck, right?
Of course you don’t. Thank you for that. And for whatever it’s worth, thanks for indulging me.
Here’s what you really need to know (beyond the dateline at top): Our isle’s own Arise and Minor Setback open the Angry Samoans show. Also: advance tickets are available online at underworldevents.com and at all Groove Ticket outlets.
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