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Hawaii
IT'S been a week of being on tenterhooks, which Fasten your
seat beltsaccording to my dictionary is "a state of uneasiness, suspense or anxiety." The ten-dollar word somehow makes it seem even worse. And which set of tenterhooks would you like? We have the presidential set, of course, with America being stressed out over who will be running the country for the next four years, something left to the mixed bag of residents who make up Florida. Some wags have suggested just keeping Bill Clinton in office as the last guy to win an election without controversy. Or perhaps you'd have enjoyed working for the past year under a cloud as to whether your job or your newspaper could be saved by public and political uproar over leaving Honolulu a one-newspaper town. That situation has now been resolved by the arrival of someone akin to the Royal Canadian Mounties. It's been the kind of week one could only approach by recalling the Bette Davis line in an old flick, "Fasten your seat belt. It's going to be a bumpy night." She didn't know the half of it ...
THE 21st recording of Henry Kapono, "Evolution of Poi," is out, but the accompanying bio of the singer seems to be aimed at mainlanders. While noting Kapono is pure Hawaiian, it goes on to note he was born and raised "in the small town of Kapahulu, located just outside Waikiki." The music, while focusing on Kapono's songwriting and messages within, are pure island based ... Then we have the strange case of Keith Haugen, a Minnesotan who came to Hawaii, learned the language (fluently) and writes songs in Hawaiian, suddenly going country, and I don't mean North Shore. His new country music CD, "Cordell Country," got a thumbs up from numerous musicians including Nashville's Jerry Byrd. Next up, a full cycle of Prairie Home Companion pieces? ...
That evenin' sun
LAST year I joined some friends for the first Sunset Jazz Etc. at La Pietra, enjoying a picnic on the lawn -- well, actually on blankets on the lawn. And now comes the second fest on Nov. 19. Again, Shari Lynn and Jimmy Borges will be featured, accompanied by Fascinatin' Rhythm and special guest Gabe Baltazar. The event is from 5 to 7 p.m., and besides the music, there'll be an art show and sale by the Tagami & Hart Gallery. The $25 admission charge includes dessert, wine, coffee and soft drinks, with proceeds going to La Pietra's scholarship program. And there's nothing like lounging on the lawn of an old Florentine mansion -- this one formerly the home of Walter and Louise Dillingham -- and pretending you own it ...ALSO on Nov. 19, but between 1 and 5 p.m. so it won't conflict, is the annual "Pasko" Filipino Christmas celebration at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Performing will be Rocky Brown from the "Miss Saigon" original Broadway cast, and Amado Cacho, a member of the musical's touring company. Also featured are the Filipiniana Dance Company and the Silangan Singers ...
Finish my day
IF the above isn't enough to satiate your musical taste for Nov. 19, here's a fine way of capping it off. Maestro Samuel Wong, who is off on a Far East tour with the Royal Philharmonic of London, will be back for a Nov. 19 concert at Blaisdell with the Honolulu Symphony and special guest; 17-year-old Korean-American prodigy Han-Na Chang ... A final note: Let's just hope next week isn't as hectic as this one has been ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.
His columns run Monday through Friday.Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com