Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Happy birthday to me. You know those Facebook contests where you respond to a post to win something? That’s how I got on the list for Shonen Knife’s show at The Echo, courtesy of Big Wheel Magazine. (Thanks, dudes!) Of course, the band from Osaka is not new to me. They have been featured in the pages of Giant Robot numerous times and I’ve also blogged some of their more recent shows–not to mention have my daughter and her cousins and friend dress like them for Halloween two years ago. So it was rad to see them on their 30th anniversary tour, starting off with the “Good morning, Shonen Knife freaks” intro to the timeless 712 album that introduced their music to a generation of indie punks and grunge rockers.
Way back in high school, Fishbone‘s self-titled debut EP was the first cassette I ever bought. When I went away to college at UCLA, I got to see the band all the time: opening for the Chili Peppers at CSULB’s cafeteria, playing the massive Scream club at the Park Plaza Hotel, headlining an outdoor festival at UCSB… There were a few Trulio Disgracias shows, too. The last time I saw them was at Raji’s with Rage Against The Machine opening. Talk about bands going in different directions. Fishbone never became an iota as big as any of its peers or bands it toured with (RCHP, No Doubt, Primus, Beastie Boys…) yet soldiers on to this day. A new and excellent documentary, Everyday Sunshine, details the Los Angeles band’s existence–evolving from ska to funk to free jazz and prog rock but always with a punk rock attitude–and the struggles it has faced. Yes, they are a unique and awesome band that could only emerge from the City of Angels’ cultural melting pot and original punk scene, but they have also been cursed by the town’s conservative entertainment industry, unimaginative mainstream media, and very real race issues.
A few photos that illustrate the day of a visitor like myself in Hawaii. That’s Goh Nakamura below. He played an awkward set at a bar that was louder than he was, but then he figured out the amplification and made it work. Anytime walls are red, you get interesting shots. This took place at a bar called Ichiriki.
Yes an SLR can catch moments like this. I like the light from the phone. It was quite dark, but it still showed up.