My first Saturday I went to see a movie. There is one movie theater on the island, and it shows two movies at a time. The day before, High School Musical 3 had just left (after a 3 week stint) and was replaced by the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. Movies are big here as there’s not much else to do in the evenings. After the movie we weren’t ready to go home so we wandered over to this little bar next door called Pilcher’s.
Nobody had ever been there, and it was clear why. Pilcher’s is what can only be described as a Samoan dive bar. All the lights were off, and the only light came from blue Christmas lights around the ceiling. There were a few tables and a bar off to the left. It was a small place, with maybe three or four tables. The ceiling was made of tiles, most of which were discolored and maybe even moldy. There was a tile floor and a large stand-up fan in the corner. In the back of the room was some sound equipment, microphones, and a keyboard. A TV hung from the corner illuminated by a purple neon light. In the opposite corner sat a small table with a lamp. The bulb was a black light, and the shade was installed upside down, so it resembled a satellite.
When we walked in (a group of 6 white kids) everyone turned around and stared at us until we sat down. By everyone, I mean the four people at the bar and the bartender. There was a Samoan couple and two old drunks, both white. We sat down and ordered a bucket of beer, which was six bottles of Vailima. Through the course of the night we ordered two more buckets. The second order had 4 beers, and the third bucket had 5 beers.
Someone at the table joked that this was the kind of place that probably had really great sushi, and a couple minutes later the bartender brought out a couple plates of sashimi, though nobody heard the comment except us. I went outside for a smoke and met the Samoan couple. They were both radio personalities and said their names expectedly, as if I should recognize them. I explained that I just arrived and didn’t have a radio. We chatted for a bit about random stuff, like race relations in the south.
After being there for a while the owner came out; he was also the chef and talked to us for a bit. He just bought the place and was trying to drum up business. In Samoa, there’s no better business that pilogis. Then he went to the back and picked up a bass guitar. Another guy came out of nowhere and set up the keyboard. The music had been random to begin with, but this took the cake.
The two of them began playing random songs, many of which I recognized, but didn’t know that well. The best was when they played “Low” by Glamourcide. The owner was wearing a skirt and a blue shirt with white flowers. His long hair was tied in the back with a bun, and he was Samoan big. Another group of Samoans came in at some point earlier, and the fattest guy got up and sang along with them for a while. When they first started, I had to go outside just to laugh.
No comments:
Post a Comment