[ MOILIILI FAVE ]
Anna Bannana's celebrates its 35th anniversary with a money grab, a special edition of Open Mic night featuring free music gear and an encore performance by Warsaw.
Party’s still on,
35 years later
Imagine getting cold, hard cash for just for being in a nightclub! Anna Bannana's is offering what may be the next best deal this coming Wednesday, when the longtime Beretania Street nightspot celebrates its 35th anniversary.
"We're going to throw money in the club," said Renee, Anna's single-monickered spokesperson. "You don't have to do anything special, just move your body and make the effort. No silly trivia questions ... (or) showing your butt. None of that -- it's just money for nothing."
The money grab will take place on the official day that Anna's originally opened for business back in 1969. Other events during Anna's anniversary week include a special edition of Open Mic night Monday (with giveaways of musical gear and gift certificates), an encore performance by Warsaw on July 10, and, a true club promotion if there ever was one, a chance to frolic with the Coors girls in a pool of beer on July 11.
Anna Bannana's 35th Anniversary Week
Where: Anna Bannana's, 2440 S. Beretania St.When: Monday through July 11, doors open at 9 p.m. (except July 11), 21 and over
» Monday: Open Mic and Musicians' Appreciation Night, $2 cover.
» Wednesday: "Dirty Money" with Potty Mouth and the Miltons. $500 cash "and other valuables" will be thrown into the crowd during the evening, $5 cover.
» July 10: Warsaw, $6 cover.
» July 11: KIPO Blues Fest, with "a pool full of beer" and food by Kevin's Two Boots. Doors open at 2 p.m., $5 cover for public radio members and $7 non-members.Call: 946-6959 or 946-5910
How many other local nightspots can claim to have been open for 35 years or longer? How long did old-time nightclubs like Club Hubba Hubba, the Swing Club and the Anchor Bar survive back in the day when downtown Honolulu was thriving as the center of local nightlife?
The best-known runners-up to Anna's record these days are the Wave Waikiki, Gussie L'Amour's, Rumours and Scruples, all of which have been in business for more than 20 years under their original management, and Hula's Bar & Lei Stand, which is older than all of them but which had to move from one end of Waikiki to the other when it became a victim of a problematic "redevelopment scheme."
Renee notes that Anna's, too, has struggled to cope with challenges that include a location that's just a little too far to draw college students away from Puck's Alley and Bedroq, and changing demographics that have steadily eroded the original college-age clientele of the late-'60s to early-'70s.
She said that Anna's got a new lease on life in 2001 when it was purchased by Tom Piranha Gierman, part of the foundation of the veteran Piranha Brothers band. Gierman has strengthened Anna's position as an incubator for new bands and original music of all types. He also negotiated a deal that allows his customers to park for free on the vacant lot at the corner of Beretania and Isenberg.
(Another improvement, unrelated to music but important to darts enthusiasts, has been general manager Lisi Gonzalez's decision to revive Anna's tradition as home of authentic steel dart competition. Renee says that the downstairs bar is currently one of only two on Oahu where steel darts are available.)
BUT UPSTAIRS, live original music is the thing.
"We're trying to push Anna's as a supporter of original music and an original music venue. You'll never see a cover band at Anna's," Renee said.
"It's really hard when you're an original music writer to get your stuff out, and a lot of places won't support you, and so we want to cultivate some of the artists that are coming out of Hawaii by giving them a forum to be heard. I guess Anna's has always supported original music, but nobody ever really came right out and said it before," she said.
"We give free rehearsal space to bands that get booked ... and Anna's is one of only four clubs on the island that has its own (sound system)," Renee said, explaining that this spares musicians the grunt work of having to haul in their own sound gear -- and makes Anna's an option for neophyte acts that don't have their own equipment and a personal sound man.
And so, in line with the club's tradition, Anna's is showcasing two bands next Wednesday that have had a hard time getting gigs in mainstream clubs , Potty Mouth and the Miltons.
"I guess our lyrics are kind of offensive in a way -- not too mainstream -- and we get kicked off stage (at other clubs)," Noel Aquino said as he talked about the Miltons' problems trying to book at other clubs. A promised half-hour showcase gig at one club was cut after three songs. A battle-of-the-bands performance at another also got cut short.
"We're kind of X-rated, but (our lyrics) are kind of tongue-in-cheek. We talk about sex and stuff, and I guess some people get turned off. ... Hawaii is pretty lame with that kind of stuff, but Anna's is pretty much open to it."
Carsten Vogel, leader and spokesman of Potty Mouth, seconded Aquino's sentiments.
"It's the only place that will have me," Vogel said cheerfully, explaining that, considering his band's lyrics, he doesn't even attempt to find bookings elsewhere.
"I know they're not gonna like it. (Anna's) is a great place for being who you are and doing what you want to do on stage. It's a free-spirited place."
IT TURNS OUT that Vogel is also the emcee of Anna's Open Mic Night on Mondays, and the event this week proved to be as eclectic as he promised. Vogel got the show started by playing the drummer in an ad hoc trio that jammed for over 20 minutes as the warm-up act. From there on, the cavalcade of talent proved well worth the $2 cover charge.
There was an earnest quartet fronted by a singer who had to read most of his lyrics off a sheaf of 8x11 paper. Their girlfriends -- one wielding a mini-cam down front -- cheered them on.
There was an enthusiastic fiftysomething guitarist who enlisted Vogel, guitarist Dan Hale, and bassist Tim Lee as his sidemen while he shouted his version of the blues, and a obviously nervous solo guitarist who seemed more comfortable when he gave up trying to sing and used his guitar for percussive accompaniment to an improvised rap.
The crowd was either supportive or politely oblivious to one and all. There was plenty of applause for some. No heckling for the others.
The most polished act by the time I had to leave was another blues combo fronted by guitarist Robbie Ray and saxophonist Sonny Beethoven. Ray sang "Stormy Monday" with an authenticity rarely heard in local blues circles, and Beethoven was a standout on sax. Hale, Lee, and a drummer named James filled in the rest of the short but powerful set.
In short, Vogel and club soundman Drew Partikian proved the point that Anna's is serious about providing a quality forum for both aspiring and veteran musicians who are looking for place to jam.
For that, I say "Congratulations, Anna's!"
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