Mexico and Punk shows
So much has happened since my last update. I want to start by saying that none of us can really believe how Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city of New Orleans and ruined so many lives. This is a terrible tragedy for the residents and their families. I hope it doesn’t seem insensitive to write my update as normal, focusing on fun, music and nightlife; but I 
will continue as usual.
I am going to start with the latest news first. I just spent 5 days in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, and it was really incredible. To read all about my Mexican holiday and see photos, click here.
There have been a bunch of great shows and fun happenings lately. Last weekend, I went to the Bay Area Derby Girls Benefit at Studio Z where 2 of my favorite Bay Area bands played: Hammerlock and The Black Furies. The crowd was a bit sparse, but the show was great. I think more people would have been there if they weren’t charging so much at the door. It was great seeing al the Roller Derby Girls skating through the crowd!
I don’t know if I am biased, or if I am as right about this as I believe I am; but it’s my feeling that The Black Furies are extremely talented, and they are not as recognized as they should be locally. I would really like to see them touring the country with a good publicist behind them to help them get their name out there and begin to be appreciated for how good they are. They are just as good in my opinion as Electric Frankenstein, Turbo ACs, Black Halos, and other well known and respected bands of the punkish rock n roll genre. I hope they will gain the fan base they deserve. Check them out. www.blackfuries.com
Speaking of the Black Halos, I went to see them at the Lost and Found Saloon on Fri Aug. 26th. It was a fun show with a lively crowd, and the Black Halos were really good. I saw them last year in LA, and I loved that show. Their singer had reminded me then, of a cross between Lux Interior (of the Cramps) and Duane Peters (from US Bombs and the Hunns). At the LA show, he stripped down to a cheetah print thong, and rolled around all crazy, which I thought was great. The SF show was also very good, but he was more subdued. At this show, he reminded me of David Johansen (NY Dolls). Considering all these comparisons come to mind, The Black Halos are a band I thoroughly enjoy. www.blackhalos.net
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The following night, Sat Aug 27th, I went to see LA’s The Deep Eynde (on Duane Peter’s Disaster Records) at Kimo’s. I really love this band, but this was not my favorite show of theirs. They got the opening slot so a lot of people missed them, and I also have to go on record as saying that I always enjoy the Deep Eynde the most when singer Fate dresses up. He often wears make-up and punk fetish clothing instead of just jeans and a T-shirt, and he really does it well when he makes the effort. I know it probably gets old though, especially when none of your band does and the bands you tour with don’t either. But I think it helps him stand out from other bands visually, and I wish he’d keep it up. Regardless of dress though, he has a great voice, and makes some killer faces while perfoming! www.deepeynde.com
Since I mentioned Duane Peters indirectly twice already, I have to mention that I went to see his band, Die Hunns at Thee Parkside on Fri Sept 2, and they were fantastic! This was my favorite show I have seen Duane Peters front, and I have see his bands countless times. I first decided I enjoyed him when he was a big mess fronting US Bombs years ago and he fell on his face onstage, looking like I cartoon punk rocker clown for most of that show (back in like 98, I think.) Since then, he cleaned up his act and I’ve seen him repeatedly put on good shows that didn’t involve such messy shenanigans. He is one of the most resilient punk rock front men since Charlie Harper from the UK Subs, and I bet he will continue on for as many years. www.diehunns.com
His wife, Corey Parks (from Nashville Pussy) is in this band. (I used to see them as Duane Peters and the Hunns, but the name has changed for whatever the reason). At this show, she blew fire into the crowd again. (The last time I saw her do this was at the poorly organized LA Shakedown a few years ago, and the Fire Marshals had to come in and delay the Briefs from going on while they did a gratuitous safety check. I wrote all about it and you can go into my archives to read it.) Anyway, I wasn’t really expecting much from this show, but they sounded great and the energy was awesome. It was also very cool to see them at this club where there is no stage and they are on the same level with the crowd. I managed to get some great photos too. I’ve been listening to them more every since this show.
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Earlier that night, I went to see the Teenage Harlets at Café Du Nord (one of my favorite clubs) for the Harlets’ occasional event, "Plastic." (The Phenomenauts also played, but I had to rush off for Die Hunns). The Teenage Harlets are such a fun, energetic band to go see. It had been a while for me, and I had forgotten how they play a ridiculously high-energy set in just about 20 minutes! They cram in 2 hours worth of energy though! Singer Johnny changed his look, and I didn’t recognize him until he went on stage, which made me feel so stupid! He used to have a dark, full head of hair with big sideburns; but on this night, he had a blonde Mohawk and was wearing a tight white PVC New Wave jacket instead of his usual black suit. He pulled off this new look so well that I didn’t recognize him at first! His girlfriend fronts the band The Mouth-offs, and they were really fun to watch. She has a fun stage presence and quirky voice, and the band was dressed up all funny and festive. The keyboardist looked like part of Prince’s New Power Generation or something, which was totally hilarious. I love "Plastic," and will keep going to these events. It was really hard to tear myself away, but I am glad I did cause Die Hunns were awesome too. www.teenageharlets.com
I went to one of the BOB fest shows in Oakland on Fri July 29th, and saw a band from Holland called Fleas and Lice that I thought were really good. (I wrote last update about BOB fest coming up.) The show at the Red Door Warehouse was totally packed and sold out, full of smelly punks, and it was pretty great!
The next night I went to see old punk band, The Accused, at the new Balazo Gallery on Mission St and 18th. Balazo used to be on Mission at 24th and I really liked that space better. The new space sucked that night because it was totally packed and unbelievably hot. Because of noise complaints, there are no ins and outs, and they shut off the back patio, so no one could go get fresh air after 11pm. After the bands ended, the club staff screamed at everyone to get out at midnight, probably because of permits or something, but it really pissed me off. The band was good, but I couldn’t see them at all through the crowd. (The Adolescents played at another club that same night, and in retrospect, I wish I would’ve gone to that show instead. Although, I have a crazy schoolgirl crush on Billy Idol from when he was young in Generation X, and I saw a young boy who looked just like him back then. He was so cute! It almost made the annoying show worth all the hassle. I didn’t talk to the kid though, but man, was he fine!)
The weekend of August 12th, I hit several more fun punk shows. Friday the 12th, I went to see local favorites of mine, Everything Must Go at Kimo’s. Everything Must Go seems to me to have gotten a lot tighter musically, and they put on an incredible show. The sound was also surprisingly good, I thought. I really enjoyed this show and wish I had taken photos. (I forgot my camera again!) As usual, Jake, the singer, wrecked the place by pulling a bunch of stage lighting decorations down while perfoming. A band from Fresno called America’s Dirty Thirties played before them, and they sounded really good too. They are more hardcore than I personally really get into, but they are really good for that kind of band. Both times I have seen them play, they get very enthusiastic crowd reaction. www.everythingmustgo.us
The next night, there were so many things going on, that I had to just choose. I chose to go to The Insaints reunion show at The Red Devil Lounge with Flexx Bronco and The Whiskey Dick Darryls. I got there too late to see the Whiskey Dick Darryls, and was disappointed about that. Flexx Bronco was really awesome though. They are hard, fast, rock n roll, with a bit of a cock rock vibe. They had great energy and sounded awesome. I’d definitely see them again too. The Insaints were really great as well. Guitarist Daniel Deleon (who also fronts the Resurex and used to play with The Deep Eynde), is a great musician and has one of the best looking Mohawks I have seen lately! It’s freakin’ perfect. Singer Eva Von Slut (Amy) did a great job, and kept throwing bananas into the crowd. It was funny because bananas kept hitting people right in the nose! It kept cracking me up! Just a few blocks away at Kimo’s, psychobilly band, The Mutilators played. I kept running back and forth between the shows, and I was able to catch their last 2 songs. I had forgotten how good they are, because I hadn’t seen them in a long time.
Coming up, Sat Sept 24th is the opening reception of a photographic art show called ‘Jimi Hendrix- Can you see me?’ at the San Francisco Art Exchange. (www.sfae.com) The exhibit runs through Nov. 5th. It will be made up of works from various photographers’ shots of Hendrix, some of which are hanging now and are really beautiful. I have enjoyed this gallery for years, as they carry works by Alberto Vargas, various rock and roll photographers, as well as the original artwork of Rolling Stone, Ron Wood.
I am going to see Billy Idol at the Alice Radio "Now & Zen Festival" in Golden Gate Park on Sunday Sept 25th. He is playing with a bunch of horrible pop bands including Maroon 5, so I have a strong feeling that the crowd will be really stupid and horrible! I’m getting in free though, so how can I not go? I am sure I will have a lot to say later about this one!
Also coming up Punks Protect Kids hosts the Punk Rock Video Film Festival at the Zeitgeist on Monday Sept. 26th at 8 p.m. 400 Blows, Bar Feeders, Crosstops, Dwarves, RKL, Slender, Texas Thieves, and more. Proceeds benefit the National Association to Protect Children, an organization that recently worked to support the California legislature’s passing of the Circle of Trust Bill, an act that closed loopholes in California’s sex offender laws. www.protect.org – www.punksprotectkids.org
Richard Hell will be in town promoting his new book, Godlike: A Novel. He will be doing a reading at the Makeout Room Tues. Sept. 27th at 10p.m., and a signing at the famous City Lights Bookstore in North Beach on Thurs. Sept. 29th at 7 p.m. I am going to try to go the book signing, because that same night is the opening night press party for Tease-o-rama, a 3 day Burlesque Festival (Fri. Sept. 30- Sun. Oct. 2) also held in North Beach, at Bimbo’s 365 Club. I have friends performing, but am not planning to go because tickets are $30 a night or $100 for the weekend. For those into Burlesque, this is THE festival to attend. For more info on Tease-o-rama, check their website. www.teaseorama.com
This has been a very long update, but I love this city and all it has to offer, and I love sharing it with all of you.
Until Next time,
XOXO Alisha Amnesia
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