Our Picks for the Weekend Star-Bulletin staff

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MUSIC
Bernstein and Gershwin fill symphony bill

Leonard and George, the talk of the town. Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin, that is, and their piano compositions are part of American popular culture. Accordingly, the next Honolulu Symphony Orchestra package is "American Delights," with James Paul, conductor, and Ian Parker, piano.

Paul is music director and conductor of the Oregon Festival of American Music and music director of the Oregon Coast Music Festival. Parker is a youngish Canadian lad who nonetheless has walked away with scads of mantle brass, including the grand prize at the 2001 Canadian National Music Festival and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition.

Bernstein and Gershwin need no introduction. The program includes Bernstein's "On the Town" and "On the Waterfront," and the Gershwin Piano Concerto and the classic "An American in Paris."

The concerts are 8 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Sunday at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. Admission starts at $15. Information: 792-2000.

FREEBIES
Check out the new PS3 at the Sony Expo

For the first time in its history, the Sony Expo moves from its traditional mid-week scheduling to the weekend.

Electronics fans are invited to the Ala Moana Hotel's Hibiscus Ballroom from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday to check out the latest and greatest from Sony, including the highly anticipated Playstation 3.

Other products that will be on display are Sony's flat-panel Bravia LCD televisions, Grand Wega SXRD rear-projection television and Blu-Ray disc player. Admission is free, and the first 100 attendees will receive coupons good toward the purchase of Sony products.

THEATER
Young Kaimuki players cry 'Wolf!' this weekend

Remember the Big Bad Wolf? The one who chased Little Red Riding Hood, or perhaps the one who huffed and puffed and blew down the house of the Three Little Pigs?

Well, there's more.

The Kaimuki High School Performing Arts Center presents an original script by Peggy Anne Siegmund that brings together several famous wolf stories.

"Wolf Tails" will be presented at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the high school theater, 2705 Kaimuki Ave.

The show is directed by Siegmund, with set design by MJ Matsushita and choreography by Deanna Luster.

Tickets are $8; $5 for children, students and seniors. Preschool children are free. Call 733-4913.

DVDS
'The Land Has Eyes' is released on DVD

"The Land Has Eyes" -- a film set in Rotuma, Fiji, about a young woman's fight for justice for her family -- has been released on DVD.

Written and directed by Vilsoni Hereniko, a professor at the Center for Pacific Island Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the film made its world premiere at the celebrated Sundance Film Festival in 2003, the first feature film by an indigenous Fijian filmmaker to be shown at the prestigious festival.

DVD launch events will be at noon Saturday at Borders Waikele and 2 p.m. Sunday at Borders Ward Centre.

Special features on the DVD:

» Commentary by Hereniko on Rotuma's cultural, historical and political background.
» A slide show taken during the making of the film by Emmy Award winner Grace Niska Atkins.
» A 17-minute documentary on Rotuman indigenous justice, "The Land Has Teeth."

The DVD was released by Te Maka Productions and sells for $29.95.

FOOD
Pearl

Ala Moana Center Ho'okipa Terrace / 944-8000

Conceived as both a nightclub and restaurant, Pearl raises the culinary standard for clubs in Hawaii. Separate lounge areas allow late-night crowds to spread out comfortably and organically instead of bunching up around the smallish dance floor, bordered by V.I.P. tables.

The pau hana crowd can talk story over Vegas mixologist Francesco Lafranconi's specialty cocktails and Donato Loperfido's pupu, and may find themselves settling in for dinner on appetizer or entree portions of grilled Colorado lamb chops ($13.50/$24.50) served with roasted figs; or prosciutto-wrapped Kurobuta pork tenderloin ($11.50/$17.50) topped with sun-dried Bing cherry and served with a port wine sauce and roasted Yukon gold potatoes.

Tapas-style appetizers, such as Dungeness crab cakes ($8), stuffed mushrooms ($6.50) and mini Kobe burgers ($8.50), will appeal to both crowds.

Open 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesdays through Sundays (open until 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays). Dress code enforced Fridays and Saturdays after 9 p.m. That's no slippers or sneaks plus nice pants and collared shirt for men and dress to impress for women.

Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks

Ala Moana Center Ho'okipa Terrace/ 943-6670

If it's late Friday or Saturday, you're hungry and you're turned away from Pearl for the wrong footwear, knobby knees or whatever, don't worry, you'll still find a home (and probably save some $$$) at Islands.

The California-based restaurant chain offers a Pacific and South-of-the-border-inspired menu of tacos, quesadillas and salads, though burgers are the main draw. Start with the "Big Wave" ($7.49) with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and mustard, to get a taste of the 7 ounces of Angus beef. Other selections include the "Sunset" topped with barbecue sauce, and "Kilauea" ($8.79), which piles on the heat, starting with a smoldering volcanic crust of chopped jalapeños and crushed black peppercorns, pepper Jack cheese and chipotle aioli. Thick-cut fries are a natural complement.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays, and to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; happy hour 4 to 7 p.m. in bar and lanai only, with half-price pupus and free chips and salsa. Costs $12 to $15 per person without drinks.