Support for Safari Sam’s

Safari Sam’s in Huntington Beach faces closure due ultimately to the lack of a “live entertainment license.” Certain individuals claim that Sam’s clientele is allegedly guilty of noise, disorder and misconduct. If we apply these same standards, the Pacific Amphitheatre in the more conservative city of Costa Mesa should be considered a greater public nuisance, since it is the home of more misconduct, traffic jams and much louder shows.

Safari Sam’s is in the middle of a commercial district. On the other hand, the Pacific Amphitheatre faces residential districts on two sides. I’m not criticizing the Pacific Amphitheatre, a fine arena which has many worthwhile events--I’m simply pointing out the dichotomy that exists in the attitudes cities have toward entertainment halls: the Pacific Amphitheatre generates a considerable amount of revenue for Costa Mesa and is therefore a commodity, whereas Safari Sam’s operates on a shoestring budget in Huntington Beach, and so is considered a minor annoyance in the city fathers’ dreams to construct a high-rise yuppie haven.

The restrictions placed on Safari Sam’s have elicited much more of a reaction from concerned individuals than the similar strong-arming that resulted in the closure of the Golden Bear, Flashdance, Radio City, Galaxy, Cookoo’s Nest, Woodstock Concert Club and the Concert Factory in various Orange County municipalities. This is indicative of the special relationship between Safari Sam’s, its entertainers and its clientele. “Live entertainment” might be defined as the interstice between the performing arts and money. To their misfortune, the management of Safari Sam’s have placed a higher concern on the aesthetics of art than the security of increased revenue. On the other hand, we may safely assume that Irvine Meadows and the Pacific Amphitheatre will still be with us five years from now.

The concept of an entertainment license sounds suspiciously like the suppression of free speech in a different guise. Music, art and literature have the possibility of lifting the human spirit to the heavens, a place much higher than the highest penthouse of the proposed downtown Huntington Beach high-rises.

WILLIAM JACOBSON

Costa Mesa