Last night we had the honor of having Honolulu rockabilly/punk legends the HELL CAMINOS grace the stage at Willie’s Hot Chicken in Kailua-Kona. That was a night that will go down in history for sure!
Today is Greg’s 50th birthday, and we wanted to do something fun for him, so we put on a punk rock show. Willie’s Hot Chicken is our favorite spot on the island to play for many reasons – the food, the atmosphere, the crowd, the staff, this place is just magical. Usually, Willie’s has just one band a night, but we decided to bring four bands for this free show!
First up was Kyle Strngz and Trouble in Paradise. Kyle plays some killer alternative island reggae and this was an awesome way to start out the night. As the sun was setting they played some chill grooves. Normally when we play at Willie’s, we get all stressed out getting the PA system set up, running a soundcheck and figuring out all the problems while the crowd is staring at us impatiently. This time we got there early, got all the stress and setup out of the way and then kicked back to eat some chicken and drink some beer while Kyle and his crew from Hilo did their thing.
Next up were our Ocean View homies Kauz of Affliction. They just released their fifth album Unhinged and played a lot of songs from it. This is my favorite album from KOA, it is really focused and full of energy/anger. KOA has had many iterations over the years and their current lineup, which includes a robot on drums, is my favorite. We had a few sound issues during their set which kept me running around adjusting the PA as best as I could, so I didn’t get to enjoy their set fully. The Kona teenage punk rock crew was out in force for their set, it is good to see that scene starting to grow!
We came on next, and I have to say we have really captured the four-to-ten year old demographic in Kona. The dance floor was a sea of tiaras and princess outfits. This is one of the many reasons I like playing at Willie’s – it is a nice, safe outdoor space where the punk rock parents can bring their punk rock children to enjoy punk rock music while eating chicken tenders. We jammed through a pretty quick set to make room for the headliners from Oahu: The HELL CAMINOS!
Right when the Hell Caminos took the stage, the skies opened up and a torrential downpour started. The Willie’s staff jumped into action quickly and set up pop tents over the equipment. This is not an uncommon occurrence in Kona, playing at an outdoor venue has it’s risks. Most bands pack it up when this happens, but the Hell Caminos kept playing right through the rain. Three songs in, the power breaker flipped and we lost all electricity. But they were determined to keep playing, so we pulled a minimal set of gear inside the Willie’s bar (this place is tiny) and they kept going. Willie’s usually shuts the live music off around 9, but the crowd kept dancing and the band kept playing until almost 10:30.
Today we’re drying out the PA equipment and hoping nothing got too damaged!