Takin' A Ride

I always say that LA is a nice place to visit, but wouldn’t want to live there. I know, because I lived there from 1991 to 1996 (and spent almost every weekend driving down to San Diego). BUT if I was to live in LA these days, I would be hanging out at the Maui Sugar Mill. Such a great scene and vibe there. (And great lighting to take pictures!) Everyone seems to know each other, share some drinks, and just want to have a great time rocking out. Very friendly and welcoming place.

We made the drive up there on August 1st, because the Ape Hangers were playing. They reunite once a year for their bassist Bob’s wife, Kim’s birthday. They were dating for a couple years until she found out he used to be in a band and when she found out, she wanted them to play for her birthday. So Pete (guitarist; also currently in Muck & The Mires) and Dennis (drummer; also was in the Slaves and the Prime Movers) fly out from the Boston area and the Ape Hangers play. This has been going on for a few years now. (Last year’s event was actually in Boston, which we missed).

Lights Out Levine started the night off. Last time they played without a drummer, so it was nice to see them as a full complete band. They play straight up rock ‘n roll, no strings attached. They had Kim’s son Jimmy come up to play a few songs on guitar and also Bob on some background vocals. Lots of fun!

The Ape Hangers were up next and were just simply a blast of kick ass rock ‘n roll punk garage rockin’ rock. As stated before, Pete and Dennis flew in for this gig for Kim’s birthday, but they also have some other gigs lined up in the Boston area this November. And a new single and an EP out on Rum Bar Records, which is quickly becoming the premier record label (in the US) for all this great new music that’s coming out. Here’s a track:

A few things of note about this kick ass show. Lawrence was in the audience. He was the booker for Raji’s back in the day (and now helps book gigs at the Maui Sugar Mill). The Ape Hangers mentioned that they used to hang out at Raji’s with the Superkools. WHAT?! I used to hang out at Raji’s with the Superkools! I wonder if our paths had crossed back in the ’90s. I probably have seen them back then! (They moved to Los Angeles for a little bit in the ’90s when they had a record deal). Small world. Hard to remember, because I was drinking a lot more back then and I have seen (by my most conservative estimate) over 3,000 live performances. I’ll have to check my Flipsides to see if I wrote anything about them back in the day. Anyways, they covered “I’m Gonna Miss You Someday” from the Superkools, which was, well… wait for it… super cool!

Here are some pictures:

Closing the night off were the Paper Hearts. Yeah, there’s a few bands with that name, but this is the one from Los Angeles. And they were also GREAT! More full on rockin’ punkin’ roll! They had great sound (all the bands had great sound tonight). Turns out they play San Diego quite a bit and I will definitely have to make sure I see them next time they’re in town.

After the set, we hung out with the Ape Hangers and talked about the Superkools, El Duce, the Slaves, and Jeff Monoman Conolly from the Lyres and DMZ who had just passed away the day before (I’m trying to get my wife to do a write up about him). All in all, it was yet another epic night at the Maui Sugar Mill in Tarzana!