Never Enough’s album release for, “Turnstile,” was just a fun, lovely show. And Otto was in town! I’m so happy to be able to see him play. And to have sat and chatted with him on the radio. Met a few cool people at the show and saw several homies too. It was a dope time. More on that show sometime on SUBSTACK. ​

     An early show, on a Tuesday for St. Paddy’s Day? All the right bands. This is going to be super fun. ​

     Finally, a release from Banana Jazz. I lost count the amount of times I’ve seen them play and it would usually be at Manifest of Bevy. One of those places…and once (or twice?) at Proof. Such a lovely band. One of these days I’d love to hear them tackle any Gradius and/or Life Force in their set. I would absolutely go bonkers. ​

     This mini rock fest looks sick. And it’s gonna be at Rock Bottom? I’d walk past that place a bunch of times, on my way to and from class at UH. I’ve only been in there for a birthday party. And the lineup is stacked. I’m curious as to how the crowd will be. It feels like it’s gonna be different. And it starts early afternoon. On a Sunday. WONDERFUL. ​

This is a list of every show I plan to attend in February. I like my new work schedule, it will allow me to achieve this. I'll be missing Circle Jerks though; I'll be off island for work. But some changes were made to that work schedule too which will allow me to catch Screeching Weasel on both nights. Hopefully too, but it wasn't announced yet, Banana Jazz be playing 3rd Thursday at Bevy *fingers crossed.
​I screened shot all these flyers, can you tell?

This should be a fun one, a showcase of music videos produced by the student bands at Kailua Music School. Should be a fun time! I'm sure all the students put in a lot of work and time into making this happen. 

I still have yet to check out a show at Skull-Face. It looks like it could get tight in there, and maybe hot, but it looks like it's always a fun time there and packed! Very cool venue for all-ages shows and 3 bands too. SMITZ will always be a good time. Cesspool Democracy V2 have been putting in lots of stage time as of late, and no doubt will be in full-time shredders soon enough. This would also be my first time seeing Sumor, if I'm able to make the show. I've seen a couple of the members play in other bands such as Tuesday on Mars and Taboo Zero (just online stuff, have yet to see the band in full form). 

Final show? Damn. Crowd hits a little extra hard during a Weight of Sin set; either I go a little extra too or keep out haha. I think the singer is moving (relocating for work?), safe travels to ya! It'll be nice to see Fastidium again, always a wonderful set as are Third Degree and Switch. And by this time, I'll have my weekends back and can make this wonderful early show. 

Imma run to this right after the Manifest show. Hopefully not too much overlap or none at all; would love to catch these sets in their entirety. I can't recall if I've ever caught an 82fifty show. I feel like I have, possibly at the old Downbeat lounge? When it was still called Downbeat. I think it's currently The Otherside (HNL?). This is a solid punk-pop and rock bill. And it will be nice seeing the guys in Kill Tuco, very friendly dudes. Oh and I finally found my go-to parking spots for Harbor's. I'm not telling. I still don't want to chance it at Safeway lol. 

It was announced Lagwagon was going to be playing in Hawaii, March 2020. I remember wondering if it was going to be a possbility. Unwritten Law were in town, I remember watching Feeble open up and having to leave right after their set. It was supposedly the Knumbskulls final show (turned out it would be 4 years later...or not??) and Unwritten Law played (and they were here just months ago again). COVID was getting serious and the Lagwagon show was cancelled. The stars have realigned and Lagwagon is returning! And the best part, 13th Legion will be opening up. This is a WEDNESDAY SHOW, sooooo nice. I love 13th Legion, they are such a rad LIVE BAND. I lost count how many time I've seen them already and it's always solid. This is going to be a dope show. 

Never heard of this band until recently through a post from 808imposters. Nice&Swell have some pretty solid tunes and I think it'd make a fun date night at either Secret Spot (maybe, that's a Sunday) or at Anna's. I like the flyer. 

This should be a cool show, although, I get done at work right at 7:00pm, so I'm missing the opener whoever that is, which better not be Emergency Contact. I missed Frankengirl's first set. I don't really want to miss Emergency Contact's first show. Not sure how Secret Other's is going to go, is it their first show too? I think it's overlapping members of Convoluted Planes and Mara Bloom...and probably (secret) others. Last time I saw Saydie was at This is 808 Fest, the first and last of its kind. Very solid group. It was Kat (the singer) and Mara Bloom basically. I think she travels between Philippines and here and travels the world as Saydie. Dope. Should be a good mix of heavy, scremo and shoegaze. 

I have the Pettyfords to thank for introducing me to Screeching Weasel. Thank you. I'm also looking forward to both nights. Originally, I was only going to make it to night 2 due to work, but some changes were made and it looks like it's going to be a fun weekend of shows! I'm especially looking forward to seeing Square Shapes from Kauai. Never thought that was going to happen, but thank you Jason Miller! These shows are especially cool because of all the outer island bands coming out to play these shows. And it's Screeching Weasel's first time in Hawaii? Crazy. 

After Screeching Weasel night 2, Imma run down to Irish Rose for Once a Month Punk, which is happening on the 4th Saturday instead of the 3rd. Good, cuz I want to see all these bands again. And I'm glad to see that Once a Month Punk is still happening. But how about twice a month? 

February is going be a fun month. 
Also, check out my substack
Thanks for reading. 

It's the end of December and a few shows coming up that look real good. First off, the last ever Once a Month Punk? That can't be. I hope it's not true. But I think it's because of the owner of Irsh Rose Saloon is gonna be retiring? That was the home of OAMP since it left Tsunamis due to that whole building being closed down...and it's still there, a somewhat eyesore on Kuhio. I hope that something comes up for it. And becuse of OAMP, I got to see many bands for the first time, and Mistermeaner a whole bunch of times. Like a lot, like I lost count how many times I've seen Mistermeaner. And thankful for every set. I got to see Dicks of Doom, Old Habits Die Hard, Pimpbot, 2Face4, the Knumbskulls, Load tha Chamber, Grapefruit, Hiriz, and like choke more. And that's just at the top of my head. If I see a flier, I'm confident enough to confirm if I've been to a particular one or not. Cheers!

Another happening this weekend. Satsang, playing three shows in Hawaii. He's originally from Montana. Acts like these rarely come through, and I think it's usually a good opportunity for locals to check out. Some soulful acoustic vibes. 

Oh snap. I feel like this next show came out of no where, but glad it's happening. Ten Things I Hate About You be playing next week. Last time I saw them was a couple years ago. And it was Soon's last show. Feeble and Aswang played too. I remember this drunk guy getting tossed out. What was he doing? Any way. This would be a delight. And the lineup of bands is solid too. And that's next weekend. 

I screenshoted all these flyers. Credit due to the creators of these dope flyers. 

So I went to see the Get Up Kids a few months back. And it was pretty stellar. Local band, Turning Roots, opened up the show. Missed the band's set entirely, got there a bit late because dinner was pushed back. But it was dope nonetheless. 

A few shows happening this week. I know, I know, I can't go to ALL OF THEM, but I can try. OR, just go to one of them. 

I haven't been to one of these events, well, not EMO KIDS. Is that different than Emo Social? Not sure. But Summer Street playing and that's always a good time. Very solid pop-punk. I still have yet to hear the band member's Green Day tribute band. And of course, a couple members do participate in Goat Punishment, a very solid Weezer tribute band. 
Now three different events happening on Saturday. 

In-store performances are always fun to go to, especially when it's in celebration of a record release! An acoustic performance by Party Foul inside of Hungry Ear Records this Saturday. An early show too! 

The Elevations are gonna embark on their first tour in the mainland. I think it's for a handful of shows, and they gonna be bringing their unique 3-part harmony of island funk and soul. And Hell Caminos gonna be opening up. Wounds is such a good album. 

Been wanting to check out Awa Hou Kave Lounge for a bit now, I know they've had a bunch of open mics (and on a Monday too!). I made it to one once, but I think they were all ready done for the night. Or in between sets. My girlfriend and I got to the venue and everyone was cruising, so we got food instead. The venue is on S. King st. on the left side after 7-11 if you're driving towards Market City. It looks like a solid lineup. Been wanting to catch the homie, Mophead, live for a bit now (he does Post-Music Radio on KTUH, Friday's, 12pm to 3pm). It would be my first time seeing Over Grey, although, it's members of Faux de Tail, who I got to check out at Sailor Jerry in 2024. Dreamy indie-pop that's magical and poppy. And Feeble gonna be playing. They posted on IG that's it's gonna be the band's last show for a LONG while. I want to hear shamowowza live one more time then. Please. 

I won a pair of tickets to see the The Get Up Kids in September! Pretty stoked about that, thank you to bamp project for that. This would be my second time seeing them live, the first being the last time the band was here back in 2019, same venue. 

April was filled with lots of good shows. 

Went to see Chrisette Michele with the love of my life. Eating dinner (and not just french fries) during someone's set is still a little weird to me, but not that night. The food was top notch and the set was amazing. TEAM PRIME RIB. Michele's set was packed with lots of positive vibes, soulful gems and R+B jams. Great service from the staff too. ​

Picked this up recently, I've always been a big blink-182 fan. Not sure what I want to learn more about Mark and blink-182 because so far, it's stuff that I've heard or read about all ready. Granted, I'm still early on in the book, right now I'm at the part about the Josie video shoot. Reading about Scott and how that all went down just kind of confirmed everything I read about that up until this point; pretty bummed to read how that went down. But it seems that the moment blink started, it was just a steady ascent to rock stardom; not to forget all the work that went into the band up until that point, happily, it all paid off in the end, and still the band gets to create awesome music. 

Once-a-month-punk was a blast as always. As you can see, the lineup below. I got to see John Doe and Wally Brando play for the first time, and Yolo Ono too, when she stepped in to do vocals during Wally Brando's set. Full Send and the Granite Saints, solid as always. 

Went to check out a punk crust and shoe gaze show. Fastidium, YUH, Lesbian Dads and Violent Beach played (in that order), a lot of overlapping members and it was Lesbian Dads' last show too. It was a solid set, the crowd vibed and lots of good energy in the room. 

Lots of cool shows coming up.

This May 4th at Harbors Vintage, ASWANG, THIRD DEGREE, LOAD tha CHAMBER, and WEIGHT OF SIN. ​That's going to be a fun one. 

SWITCH turning one, show at 3rd Space, May 10, alongside, MARA BLOOM, and GAUZE from Maui. 

Gonna be a fun month. Then summer starts, then summer school. PEACE. 

Just a few things I'm looking foward to:

CHRISETTE MICHELE at BLUE NOTE Hawaii on APRIL 12. 

I've been to Blue Note only a couple times, the last time was last year to see Kaleo Wassman and friends. It was a good show, I got to see Kaleo's dad do Pepper renditions and Wayne Lothian (bassist of The Beat) play too. 

My girlfriend got me into Chrisette Michele. She mentioned it was a pretty stellar show last time Michele was here. Looking forward to this!

On April 26, YUH, FASTIDIUM, VIOLENT BEACH, and LESBIAN DADS be playing at Anna's. That is going to be a fun show for sure.

A bunch of other shows happening too, later this month and in the next few months, which have already been announced. But I can't go to ALL OF THEM. *sigh

     The debut record for Oakland trio, Facet, is a solid 10 tracks of post-punk/post-hardcore noise rock. Formed in 2019, the band early on wrote and released an EP titled, Duck, eight songs of noise mayhem. On the new record, they expand on that noise and more. The bass guitar is such a driving force and bears most of the weight on a lot of the songs. It’s thick sounding and fuzzy, a bit sludgy, but really wonderful to hear. The guitars rip through lots of dissonant riffs, noisy feedback, and nice heavy tones (Automatic, Triple Check and Yoga). And it’s persistent from track to track. The album plays like a warm drive on an empty highway, weaving in and out of ambient melodies and aggressive tempo changes (Bury and Smong). The vocals are screaming out words, but they’re harsh enough to keep you interested, and usually followed by long instrumental breaks. A cool chaotic sax plays in the closer, Clothier. A solid debut for sure, for this Oakland trio. 

​The album, facet, is set to be released this Friday, 08/11/2023, through Hex Records. ​

LINKS
Hex Records
​face BANDCAMP

03/04/2023
Blood Money EP release Show. 
Bands that played:
YUH
Smooth Taka
Badass Noise
Blood Money
Aswang
The Ala Wai Virus. 

This was the first local show I went to in a long while. I can't recall the last one I went to...but, the lineup was too good to pass up. 

     This is my first time seeing YUH w/their newest singer. Other affiliated acts include Lice, It all returns to nothing, Violent Beach, and likely choke more. Of course, I arrived at the show midway through what may have been the bands' first or second song. Great set from these grindcore enthusiasts, a really tight onslaught of sharp musicianship and violent vocals. 

     This would be my first time watching Smooth Taka perform. His sound consists of pop/electonica, dreamy vocals and soothing beats. Pretty chill stuff, very enjoyable. He had a video playing in the background, I think he said he just looked up "VHS Japan," on youtube and played the first thing that popped up. 

     Badass Noise is a 4 piece punk/hardcore band from Big Island of Hawaii. I've seen them at least a couple times before...can't recall when...Municipal Waste? And another time before that. Affiliated project, Old Habits Die Hard (saw them once at a OAMP show in Waikiki) and possibly more? This is also when someone spilled their entire beer on me (all good yo) and a cool dude named John (from Waianae), who witnessed the incident, buying me a beer after the set. Thanks homie! 

     My first time seeing Blood Money perform, and I think it was only their 2nd show, first one was in, I think, December. Pretty dope set. I got to jump off the stage and all I got was floor (LOL). All good tho, but I think security had to run up stage and stop people from doing that shit, I think it got a bit rowdy, all good tho. No physical release of the EP, but it's up on Bandcamp and other streaming services. Affiliated acts include the Darlingtons and Oceans Deep. 

     This would be my first time seeing Aswang play (you know what Aswang is? Look it up). Been listening to them for a bit now and catching some live sets online, so it was good to finally catch them live. Lots of energy in this band, and a pretty chaotic set too. Caught them a few times afterwards. Also, picked up a copy of their latest release on tape. Good stuff guys. Affiliated acts...I think get plenty.

     First time catching this band with this lineup and its new name, originally Drink from the Ala Wai. They brought the same energy as its original formation, a lot more lively and now with some dual guitar action. I think they have an album in the works. Looking forward to that. Keep listening to get infected. Affiliated acts...get plenty too, I think. 

     A new indie music compilation is out right now titled, Stop Making Cents, by CorpoRAT Records. The label launched in 2018 by Kris Martin as a way to help empower local musicians in the community. Based in Spokane, Washington, CorpoRAT is home to more than a handful of local Spokane artists which include: Indian Goat, Itchy Kitty, Bad Motivator, thrpii, Vanna Oh!, and Kung Fu Vinyl. Like past compilations such as the Punk-O-Rama series (Epitaph), the Fat series (Fat Wreck Chords), or the few titles from Nitro Records, Stop Making Cents features a dope set of tracks that make up the Spokane music scene. The comp is made up of six bands and 17 tracks. It features a wide range of sound covering a lot of ground with the noise of rock n' roll, punk rock, hardcore and hip-hop. This comp serves as a nice introduction to new indie music or a small peak into the world of CorpoRAT. Whatever your cup of tea, Stop Making Cents, will surely help you find your new favorite band.

Website - CorpoRAT Records

     The band is called ILS (pronounced ilz) and they are a 4-piece based in Portland, Oregon. They just debuted a track off of their upcoming album, Curse, set to be released July 4 this year. Pre-orders are up now on BANDCAMP. 
     Based on this first single only, I know this is going to be a banger of an album. It sounds heavy, loud and intense, just the way it should be for a group of noise rockers. 
     For fans of Jesus Lizard, Drive like Jehu, or Unsane.