THE NIGHT STUFF
Missing Dave can't miss with fans
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| Left: Chris Hauser of Kane'ohe levitates during a performance by Missing Dave at Wave Waikiki on a recent Saturday. Center: Band member Misty P. finds a groove. Right: Lead guitarist Keith Monzen get into the party vibe. The band of three girls and two guys also performs at BedRoq Bar & Grill.
Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser |
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By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
I've been getting e-mail and voicemail messages about Missing Dave for about a year.
Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
"Check out Missing Dave at Wave Waikiki," suggested the writer of one of the first messages I received in February 2003. That's all she wrote.
The crowd reacts to Missing Dave's lead vocalist Daena Dempsey as she belts out a tune at the Wave Waikiki.
"Sure, (insert venue, DJ or band here) is good, but have you ever checked out Missing Dave at BedRoq?" went a few other e-mails from last summer.
"You got something against Missing Dave?" demanded a reader who left the downright scary moniker "swimfan" as his/her only identity.
To answer all three, respectively, "Finally, OK ... no ... no."
Missing Dave has been playing shows around Honolulu for about three years, most often at weekend residencies at Wave Waikiki and BedRoq Bar & Grill. A five-member collective (three girls, two guys), the band's shows are heavy on current modern rock and alternative covers, with a sprinkling of original songs.
WHERE: BedRoq Bar & Grill, 2535 Coyne St., 942-8822; but venues vary. For performance schedule, check out Missing Dave's Web site home.hawaii.rr.com/missingdave. OUR ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE: 11 p.m./12:30 a.m. COVER: None YOUNGER THAN 21 OK?: No AGE OF CROWD: 20s to 30s WHAT TO WEAR: Go casual. PEAK CROWD WHILE THERE: 75 to 100, in BedRoq's first-floor lounge QUEUE?: No BATHROOM ATTENDANT HOLDING PAPER TOWELS HOSTAGE?: No THE SOUNDTRACK: Current modern rock and some classic rock (Evanescence, blink-182, Hole, 3 Doors Down, Joan Jett) MISSING DAVE IS: Jozi Cristobal (drums); Daena Dempsey (lead vocals); David Letarte (bass); Keith Monzen (lead guitar); Misty P. (rhythm guitar) MISSING DAVE THIS WEEKEND: Tonight at BedRoq Bar & Grill, 10 p.m.-1:30 a.m.; Saturday at Pimpbot's CD release party at Wave Waikiki, 9 p.m. THAT NAME: According to Missing Dave's Web site, in honor of bass player David Letarte. Formerly the band's rhythm guitarist/keyboardist, Letarte concurrently played bass (his instrument of choice) in a band called Taro Patch. Finding membership in both bands time consuming, Letarte opted for his bass gig in Taro Patch. His former bandmates rechristened themselves Missing Dave. Though Letarte eventually returned, the name remains the same.
The scene we were greeted with on a recent Saturday night at BedRoq seemed intriguing enough. Missing Dave lead vocalist Daena Dempsey was wailing the hell out of Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker," floor-level with the rest of the band, while 15 or so sweaty college-age guys got up front and in her face shaking their fists and banging their heads.
WHO: Missing Dave
"You're the right kind of sinner ... to release my inner fantasy," sang Dempsey fiercely, bringing up her inner Benatar on every inch of her face. She was clutching her wireless mike as if for dear life, or preparing to beat college guys across the head with it if they got too close.
"I'm a sinner! I'm a sinner!" screamed a guy near us at the bar downing suds from a pitcher.
Of course we were staying.
I enjoyed my 90 minutes with Missing Dave. It wasn't just because Dempsey was great to watch and sweet enough to listen to while tearing through covers of Hole's "Celebrity Skin," Nirvana's "Come As You Are," and Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'N' Roll." (She even managed to make Evanescence tunes tolerable.) And it wasn't just because the rest of the band — in particular, lead guitarist Keith Monzen and bass guitarist David Letarte — seemed to be genuinely enjoying the house party vibe created by BedRoq's smallish confines.
Not surprisingly, given the e-mails, what I liked most about Missing Dave's gig were the fans and the band's (especially Dempsey's) rapport with them. When the fans playfully hurled curse words at Dempsey, she gave back as good as she got. When the stage-front males sang out every word of "Bring Me To Life" and "My Immortal," Dempsey eagerly shared the mike with them. The crowd screamed, shouted out requests ("Doll Parts! Doll Parts!") and ordered lots of beer by the pitcher. I wondered if Missing Dave knew any Smashing Pumpkins or Foo Fighters.
Explained Travis Moran, 24, of Missing Dave's appeal: "They're hard-working, they rock hard and they play stuff I like. ... They help me forget about the week I just had. And I really need to forget this week."
"I like it when chicks rock!" said one female fan, praising Missing Dave's all-girl majority of Dempsey, drummer Jozi Cristobal and rhythm guitarist Misty P.
I had to agree with both assessments. Missing Dave didn't give me a life-changing experience, but I did have a pretty good time.
You can all stop writing now.
Reach Derek Paiva at 525-8005 or dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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Night notes ...
• Lightsleepers — who always keep Trip the Lights a must-attend hip-hop monthly at Studio 1 — launches Q&A, a monthly DJ exhibition/question-and-answer session, Thursday at Prototype's Windward Mall store. DJ Solution, of two-time ITF world champion collective Nocturnal Sound Krew, will do live sets and answer questions. Lightsleepers hopes to feature different DJs at Q&A each month. Entry is free; all ages are welcome. From 6 to 9 p.m. More information at www.lightsleepers.net.
• A couple of weekend events at Studio 1 sound promising. Tonight's First Friday Live welcomes folks on the downtown gallery walk to harp stylings by Lisa Marie, live jazz from Amber Blue & Middle Street Merge and world beat from Drum Fusion. Entry is free from 5 to 9 p.m., $5 thereafter. On Saturday, the monthly Keaka Huna Hidden Theater features live performances from Communication, SIS's DJ Toki, Theatre 1 Players, Pentup Burlesque Troupe and Monkey Waterfall. From 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.; entry is $5.
• Looking for drum-n-bass and only drum-n-bass? Audiolab still goes unfiltered the first Friday of every month at Cafe Sistina. Tonight's edition matches Kause and Bass.X together from midnight to 2 a.m. DJ Ken is up at 10 p.m., DJ Lab at 11 p.m. Enemy, Staplemouth and Kelvin-Zero provide the words. Entry is $5; 21 and older.
• The April 3 blink-182 show at Blaisdell Arena is sold out. Mark, Travis and Tom, I'm sure, send their regrets. Tickets for the trio's April 4 rock show at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, however, are still available by calling (808) 242-7469. Road trip!
