Renegade rock by the sea: the frisk/the swing-ding amigos.

THE SHOW WAS A HASTILY-PLANNED generator gig at the bottom of a steep trail, that ended at a storm drain in a cove, in the wonderful sea-faring urban nightmare of a town called San Pedro. This is the place where the smog meets the sea and the Vatos meet the suffers. Boys and girls alike lugged amps, guitars, drums, 12-packs, small children and themselves down the bumpy path so two out-of-town bands could bang on their instruments and sing, shout, and scream at the big blue Pacific. The north end of the cove blocks the prevailing northwesterly wind and the sun was fight overhead. Damn was it hot! Whew!

The Swing-Ding Amigos, one of Arizona's loudest, tore into a fine set of music that reverberated off the cliff wails and out over the kelp beds off Point Fermin, scattering gulls and pelicans in every which way High above at street level, power-walkers, bums and sightseeing folk strained their necks downward over the guard rail along Paseo Del Mar to get a glimpse of the source of the blistering rock. By the time the Swing-Dings were all swung-dung, four black uniformed gents with shimmering shades over their eyes were also seen peering down upon the storm drain turned concert stage. Yep, it was them coppers.

Thinking it was as good as over, the next band, the Frisk, hopped up on the slab and immediately broke into a quick, rocking set. This is Jesse Luscious' (of the Criminals, Blatz) new band, and they all wore black looking really anarchy-like a perfect contrast to the colorful surroundings they were playing amongst. My old pals Pancho and Redbone headed up the path and had a powwow with the officers, and come to find out they weren't planning on doing anything but watching. They were even willing to overlook the blatant public alcohol consumption if it meant they didn't have to climb down the long-ass trail. Love those lazy pigs.

When all was said and done, the place got cleaned and all the shit got hauled back up. In my eyes, the summer of '03 ended on that very afternoon. Thank the gods that the generator was on wheels, 'cause that bitch was heavy, mE/Beardo