Friday nights, pau hana
At an unnamed venue
A group plays traditional Hawaiian music
The crowds come in droves
Jam the inside seating area
Jam the adjacent bar area
Jam the concrete walkways
Jam the lawns —
The venue is jam-jam-jam-jam-packed
A thronging multitude of devoted followers
Management asks the four musicians
To come up to the office for a meeting
One Friday evening
After the crowds have dispersed
They offer the group quiet Tuesday nights
Instead of Fridays because
You draw people who share their pupu buffet plates
Each person who eats has to pay for a plate
And they don’t drink fast enough
The group mentions that the venue is still raking in big kala
That’s beside the point
You bring in the riff-raff
What did you call our fans?
Riff-raff
As one, all four stand up:
You can keep your Tuesday nights
Your Friday nights, too
And with that the group departs the venue
Moves on to other places
Where they draw capacity crowds of devotees
Keep bringing in big money
Lanning Lee 