Safari Sam's, the new venue/bar/restaurant combo located on Sunset and Kingsley (between Western and Normandie) went through hell to open it's doors but we're stoked that it's now rocking. Located in the same parking lot as that giant 99Cent store that shines oh so brightly into the Hollywood night it's a hard club to miss.
Scissors For Lefty and The Giraffes played there last night for the CHECK YO' PONYTAIL / I HEART COMIX series of art/music shows that is apparently hoping to become a weekly mainstay at Safari Sam's. We think it's safe to say that after last night's turnout, they shouldn't ever have a problem with that.
First off, the parking was free. Thank you. Thank you so much. Finally, someone got it right. The place itself is completely unappealing from the outside and, frankly, seemed quite sketchy. But we never judge a book by it's cover! The inside is great. GREAT. It's got a great stage (though we personally found it to be too high), a pretty awesome menu of food to eat before midnight (we spied spicy hummus and pita and vegan meatloaf on it), and a jovial and polite staff who actually seem to want to be there. (We even spotted one of the doorman joining the dance party after Scissors For Lefty left the stage.)
Much much more after the jump!
Besides offering two pretty decent bands, there was live art from Food One and Friends and a satisfying set from DJ Franki Chan. (Anyone who goes straight from the Descendents to Fugazi gets an A+ in our book.)
But on to the show! The Giraffes, from New York, played this bizarre metal/punk hybrid, complete with plenty of hammer-ons and pull-offs and drunken shenanigans. At one point, the singer threw a bottle of beer to the floor. When one of the Safari Sam's staff members began to clean up the mess, he proceeded to pour another bottle of beer on the floor directly behind him. "I wouldn't even bother doing that," he said. "You might as well just wait until the end of the set." Awesome.
At one point, they seemed to drag a bit with some of the sludgier songs, but they were an enjoyable band. I was actually more mesmerized by the fact that their guitarist is left handed, so he plays a standard guitar backwards and upside down. Do you realize how much harder it is to form chords that way? Dude ruled.
Scissors For Left came on next and played for only 30 minutes. Imagine if Franz Ferdinand covered a shitload of Killers songs. Sorry to give you that mental image, but yeah. They seemed to be simply going through the motions the entire time until the final song, when vocalist Bryan Garza decided to ditch his guitar and sing. The band finally seemed alive. Nice dudes, though.
After that, DJ Franki Chan brought out the beats and the jams and the dance party began. (That totally rhymes. I rule.) The highlight: Some guy jumped on stage to lip synch all of "Don't Stop Believin'" and people sang to him, hands outstretched, as if he was Steve Perry himself. That's the very definition of a good time.
Go to Safari Sams. Support it. The cover was $5 if you RSVP'd before hand, $10 if you hadn't. Most nights, from the fliers we saw, entrance was less than $5. Oh and Bud Lights were free until 11:00PM. Really, now. Can you beat that?
Jolie Holland plays Safari Sam's on June 29th.
