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By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Lit singer A. Jay Popoff, gets into the spirit of
Poi Fest with a lei adorning his tattooed body.

A crowd of 8,300 showed up
at Turtle Bay Hilton to soak up
the sun and good vibes

By John Berger
Special to the Star-Bulletin

YESTERDAY's "Poi Fest 2000" maintained a uniquely Hawaiian theme for much of the afternoon: Adam Paskowitz of The Flys grew up here and mentioned several times that the show was a "homecoming" for him. Paskowitz's parents were among the entourage that came up from Waikiki to celebrate with the band.

Jimi HaHa of Jimmie's Chicken Shack performed the first half of his group's set wearing a tourist souvenir grass skirt.
Everclear headlined as a sextet with three players joining Art Alexakis, Greg Eklund and Craig Montoya; among the add-ons was an explosive percussion in very loud lime-green, aloha-print pants.
The Poi Fest dancers -- Maggie, Gina, Felicia, Tess and Claudette -- provided pre-show entertainment, also in grass skirts, bikini tops and plastic leis. The group improvised a comic pseudo hula to "Tahiti Tahiti" and in general upheld the "tacky tropical luau" theme of Poi Fest 1 in 1997.

The dancers later helped some of the KPOI jocks throw plastic leis and similar souvenirs into the crowd. Many of those fortunate enough to snare a lei wore them throughout the afternoon.

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Everclear frontman Art Alexakis puts a little
body language to work during a set that included
tunes from "Sparkle and Fade" and "So Much
for the Afterglow."

On a more somber note, the show sponsored by KPOI 97.5, was dedicated to the late Cliff Richards, long-time Honolulu radio personality, who died of leukemia last week.

Richards couldn't have had a better memorial concert. Poi Fest 2000 was as close to perfect a field festival as we've seen here in recent years. It started close to the announced time of noon, the bands all seemed fully into being here and there was an interesting mix of bands and personalities.

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Right: Adam Pakowitz of The Flys signs the
chest of 8-year-old fan Apollo Fleming.

In one of the few cases in Honolulu's rock festival history, there were no no-shows or last-minute cancellations! A crowd estimated at more than 8,300 people got a great show.

The Flys made the most of their opening band slot. Songs from their new album, "Outta My Way," dominated a tight 40-minute set that included crowd pleasers "Helluva Time," "Fire In The Pit" and "Pakistani Man Says" as well as the title track.

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Jimi HaHa, left, dreadlocked wild man of
Jimmie's Chicken Shack, performed
in a grass skirt at Poi Fest.

The Flys -- Adam Paskowitz, Peter Perdichizzi, James Book and Jack Holder -- performed as a quintet with guitarist Mazair Mohammed Ali Kasiravi as the fifth Fly. Paskowitz and Book later explained he is a long-time friend who is both "the world's worst roadie" yet "excellent musician."

A highlight for hardcore Flys fans was an abbreviated version of "Hawaiian Dreams," the expansive 9-minute collage that closes the album. It isn't standard concert material but the arrangement worked to change the mood and underscore their ties to Hawaii. Oahu ukulele player William Kaimi sat in with good effect.

Jimmie's Chicken Shack followed with an equally impressive performance that added a keen comic edge to the show. Lead man Jimi HaHa kept the set hot and funny even after he lost his skirt. He wrapped one number with the announcement, "big rock ending," just before taking a flying leap off the drum platform, doing it a second time before the song ended.

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Dust in the mosh pit prompted security
to don masks.

"Lazy Boy Dash" was introduced as an ad "to any girl out there who's lazy." The mixture of rock, pop, ska and reggae made it a fine midpoint change of pace as HaHa and his partners -- Double D (guitar), Che Colovita Lemon (bass) and Sipple (drums) -- delivered a striking cross)section of songs off their current "Bring Your Own Stereo" album.

HaHa elicited a roar of approval when he announced "This is the story of my (obscenity deleted) life" and launched into "Do Right," the first hit off the album and a sardonic look back at life with his ex-girlfriend. He capped that by closing the set by diving over the drums and onto Sipple while Sipple hurled his drum sticks over the incoming singer.

"It doesn't always work out right," HaHa explained backstage." Sometimes I jump too soon and that's it."

Dave Wakeling hosted a fine history lesson for the many teens and pre-teens in the crowd with a set that featured his classic work with the English Beat (a k a The Beat) and General Public. The impact of Wakeling's English ska remakes of "Tears of A Clown" and "I'll Take You There" was even felt in the mob down front as the "crowd surfers" were replaced by an old-style mosh pit.

Lit reversed the polarity back to "crowd surfing" and modern rock with such an intensity that the dust rose higher than stage scaffolding. Everclear closed the show with the strongest songs from its "Sparkle And Fade" and "So Much For The Afterglow" albums but played to a shrinking audience. Such is usually the fate of the band that plays last in Hawaii.

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