In The Mix Jason Genegabus

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Augie keeps moving on up

Last year it was the Hawaii Theatre. This year, Augie Tulba is teaming up with Maui's Iao Theatre to take his career to the next level.

There hasn't been much downtime in 2005 for the comedian, who continues to tour both the neighbor islands and mainland U.S. on a regular basis. A Big Island gig last weekend took him to Kohala, where he performed alongside the Kekai Boyz, John Keawe and the Lim Family. Next weekend, he'll visit Palm Springs, Calif., before a Nov. 5 show in Las Vegas and another installment of "Augie T's Big Night Out" on Nov. 19 at the Kauai Marriott Grand Ballroom.

But back to Iao Theatre, where Tulba performed in August before returning this month for another show at the Maui Theatre. His August concert provided the footage for his latest CD, "Made in Hawaii," set for release on Nov. 4. He's calling it his best work ever -- better than "Da Comedy Kahuna" and "Locally Disturbed," both of which won Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.

Tulba also stars in a new movie, which makes its world premiere Oct. 28 at the Hawaii International Film Festival. "Sand Island Drive-In Anthem" is directed by Ryan Kawamoto and based on the book "In Good Company" by Cedric Yamanaka. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa makes an appearance as well ...

HERE'S A unique way to check out this weekend's Lifehouse show at Kapono's.

Promoter Bamp Project has four pairs of tickets up for auction at Ticketmaster.com, offering an exclusive meet-and-greet session with the band in addition to free Smith sunglasses, Mada T-Shirts, Local Motion hats and official concert posters. Winning bidders also receive special VIP seating at the show itself.

The rock star treatment doesn't come cheap, as bidding opened at $50 per ticket and has risen to $135. The auction ends at noon on Thursday ...

AND THIS week is a big one for local bartenders, as Jackie's Kitchen holds a second qualifier tonight for the "Quest for the Best" Hawaii regional bartending competition, with the finals set for 8 p.m. Thursday.

Brendon Sunada and Maui's Royce Lee Kwai have already made it to Thursday's finals; 2005 Iron Bartender Randy Embernate will compete in today's qualifier. The overall winner will travel to Florida this weekend to compete in the "Quest" world championships ...