…in the right place at the right time–last weekend couldn’t have exemplified that concept any better. Sure, I was pretty bummed to be working on the North Shore while artists and creative brains were presenting at Pecha Kucha at the Academy of Arts. That event only happens once in a while, and is such a fantastic way to spend an early evening. Later Friday night, there was a soul band I’d been dying to see called Underwater Radar performing in Chinatown. I keep hearing great things about this act, which has a female vocalist some compare to Maria Remos and a reggae/jazz sound that’s perfect for swaying. Alas, I was committed to the Billabong House and tons of beautiful ocean faces for a SurfAid International fundraiser. Damn damn damn.

Skip ahead to the next night, when I was wavering terribly after drinking all day to the five rounds of BJ Penn and ostrich-crotch fighter Diego Sanchez. My bed looked awesome and that’s where I was when I got the bat call to check out a holiday party in Manoa. Anytime I hear “party in Manoa,” I go. The success rate of those parties is about 98 percent–the houses are old and beautiful and huge and everyone has board games and bakes their own bread. This one was no exception, and as I was wandering through the large rooms stuffed with awesome people who were dressed in suspenders, glittery dresses and fedoras, I found myself squealing with delight under my breath as I walked downstairs and saw Underwater Radar warming up to play. The old brick walls surrounding the band opened up to 15-foot ceilings and just enough space for everyone to sway. It was the perfect place to see them play.

Later, as I was gazing up from the lanai at the meteor shower, artist Rujunko Pugh sat down and told me a story about her recent trip to Nairobi, one she didn’t have time to talk about when she presented her photos Friday at Pecha Kucha. It was an incredible voyage for her, having no idea what she was going to shoot when she planned the trip. I wonder if the people who got to see her photos even realized how serendipitous the whole thing was. So even though I missed out by being away from town on Friday night, my Saturday made up for it in the best way possible, though I can’t believe I would ever actually be happy to miss a Friday night in Chinatown.

Timing was also on my side when I happened to be outside Coffee Talk last Monday and bumped in to Brett “Biku” Shimabuku, who slipped me some tickets to his Rising Melody show at a new location. I was wondering how his crowd (who used to sit on the floor at thirtyninehotel) was going to look at Level 4. They looked great, and there was no half-moon blank space on the dance floor in front of the bands, which is kind of a pet peeve of mine. The stage and lighting and sound was totally pro and more than 300 people came through to see acts like Sabrina Velazquez and Black Square perform their best 15-minute sets for the musical showcase. “It looks like we’re performing on Mars,” musician Josh 86 quipped from the stage. Intergalactic or not, the space was ideal and I hear Biku has been asked to have the event there again. I’ll be stalking him online to see when it happens. There’s no way I’m leaving that to chance.

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