Dirty Hippie Radio: Best Punk Show Ever
Strung Out
All in all, the Strung Out show at Brixton last Saturday night was perfect for nostalgia-seeking punk music fans.
“The girls’ bathroom was atrocious; I slipped and fell in pee. It was the best show ever, took me back to when I was like 16,” said Katie of Redondo Beach.
What probably got fans hot and bothered the most, really taking them back to their oft-forgotten youth, was Strung Out’s energy and vivacity. While proud men felt empowered, the women were likely two seconds from throwing panties when Jason Cruz raised a bottle thrown from the crowd, saying “F… it, I’m doin’ it,” before chugging down the glory. By no means was Strung Out burnt out. The energized audience was not the only pumped and sweaty group in the house. Although, while the same can’t be said for the audience, no one in the band-crowd floated.
Aside from avoiding the pit like a hippo dipping a toe into ice water, as a snobbish beer connoisseur I decided the worst thing about punk music is plastic cups. (Drinking beer out of flimsy plastic is like waxing a surfboard with poison oak: it makes it awful.) A few minutes later, however, I was grateful to have a beer-soaked beard and t-shirt instead of glass in my eye after trying to diffuse a fight. Flailing fists, raging nobility, utmost chivalry, and blazing egos fit into the punk scene like Waldo at a red and white striped t-shirt convention.
“You know what’s so annoying [about the fight] is that the whole thing happened during one of their best songs,” continued slightly averted fan Katie.
Sticky stale beer-smell mixed with sweat and fart announced that the party was over (or maybe someone just turned the air conditioning off). At any rate, clearly the best punk show ever (in awhile) had just ended.
The legendary Zola Moon unleashes her latest CD Friday night at Starboard Attitude on the Redondo pier.
Committed to the Blues
As seasoned as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Zola Moon has been living the blues for a quarter of a century. Boys, stand aside; men, stand your ground (if you can), and ladies, hold on tight to your leashes. When Zola Moon takes command of the stage, voodoo permeates the crowd.
Moon’s live performances are renowned for producing a raw blues experience. Her sassy attitude and assertive voice, backed by rocking blues and Americana music, puts crowds in the palm of her hand. Like Joplin, Big Mama Thornton, or Janiva Magness, Moon exemplifies the power of female vocal prowess. And man, that slight country twang really adds some extra sass!
As a blues lifer, Moon has persevered through the years to enjoy a degree of success. She has been referred to as a South Bay legend and has even received a South Bay Music Award for Blues Artist of the Year. She’s received numerous other awards and accolades, as well as airplay throughout the U.S. and around the world, and has performed in myriad legendary venues and alongside numerous legendary artists. Her laundry list includes Albert King, Big Mama Thornton, Etta James, Albert Collins, Linda Hopkins, Al Kooper, and Eric Burdon.
The sassy blues veteran is an accomplished songwriter as well, though her newest and forthcoming album is a set of standards and classics. This latest effort is sure to please suckers of familiarity, though keeping things zesty by injecting the Zolafying touch. “Undercover” should be out any day and will be accompanied by a formal release party, May 21 at local blues hollow Starboard Attitude (on Redondo Beach Pier).
For more information on Zola Moon, visit www.zolamoon.com. For details about Starboard Attitude call 310-379-5144. To continue finding great new music and supporting the independent music scene tune into www.dirtyhippieradio.com.
Wet kisses and dry sand to dirtyhippie@dirtyhippieradio.com. ER