RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jordan Segundo became the first Hawaii singer to make the finals of "American Idol."
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
It was a big year on the concert stage
and for a guy named Jordan
The year 2003 was eventful in local entertainment. There was little excitement on the Waikiki showroom scene, but plenty of action elsewhere.
Top stories of the year
>> News: Bus strike
>> Sports: Michelle Wie
>> Business: Hawaiian Airlines
Here are top events in 10 categories:
1. Traveling acts in concert: Tom Moffatt continued to reign as Hawaii's top concert promoter, and his aptly titled "Rock 'n' Roll Super Show" with rock superstars Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis in Blaisdell Arena was the year's biggest and most significant concert.
The year's other memorable concerts are as diverse as the venues in which they were performed: Lionel Richie in Blaisdell Arena, Tower of Power at the Sheraton Waikiki, Willie Nelson at the Waikiki Shell, Martin Nievera and Regine Valasquez at the Hawaii Convention Center, Margaret Cho at the Waikiki Shell, Tube at the Sheraton Moana-Surfrider, Lisa Loeb at Kaimuki High School, David Doucet at Orvis Auditorium, Jack Johnson at Pipeline Cafe, Jerome Grey's "Voices of Samoa" at Kapono's, Bobcat Goldthwait at Pipeline Cafe, Kenny Loggins at Longhi's, Lucky Dube at Kapono's, Ashanti in Blaisdell Arena and Los Tigres Del Norte at Kapono's.
2. Local acts in concert: The most notable big concerts were the Brothers Cazimero May Day concert at the Waikiki Shell in May and the Makaha Sons' "Take A Walk in the Country" extravaganza in Makaha in June.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Chuck Berry headlined with Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard in the local concert of the year.
Martin Denny drew an overflow crowd to La Mariana in April, and appeared with Augie Colón as guest of honor in the "Primativa!" finale at Hawaii Theatre in October.
3. Local records: The local record industry bounced back a bit despite illegal "burning." Almost 200 new titles were released in 2003. Record producer Shawn Pimental was the big winner at the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in May as his acts, Na Palapalai and Three Plus, won seven Hokus between them.
The most memorable local albums of 2003 set high standards in presenting the artists and music of Hawaii to a worldwide audience: "Kanaka Maoli" by Weldon Kekauoha & Tapa Groove, "Sounds of the City" by the Honolulu Jazz Quartet, "The Circle" by Natural Vibrations, "Ki Ho'alu" by Makana, "One Foot on Sand" by Justin, "'Ohana" by Noel Okimoto, "Ke'alaokamaile" by Keali'i Reichel and "I Mua E Na Poki'i," a compilation produced by Randie Fong and the Kamehameha Schools Hawaiian Cultural Center.
Michael Cord's HanaOla Records continued to define excellence in anthologies with "John Kameaaloha Almeida," "The Legendary Raymond Kane" and "The Legendary Leonard Kwan."
4. Local theater: Diamond Head Theatre's spring production of "Follies" won in six categories at the 20th Annual Po'okela Awards in July. Manoa Valley Theatre's whimsical "Honk!" tied with DHT's "Chicago" for second place with four each. DHT won a total of 14 awards; MVT, 10; and The Actors Group, seven.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Cathy Foy starred in "Follies" at Diamond Head Theatre.
Playwright Alan Sutterfield deserved a Po'okela Award for "Original Script" for "King Kalakaua's Poker Game," but was not part of the competition because the work was presented by Kumu Kahua, one of two local theater groups that refuse to have their works adjudicated.
Joe Moore's controversial "Dirty Laundry" was a hit at the Hawaii Theatre in April despite allegations that he had plagiarized dialogue from a 1986 TV movie. Moore acknowledged before the show opened that he had used the same basic plot of an anchorman's conflict with a station manager over coverage of a story, but a comparison of the movie and play showed that he had not stolen dialogue.
Kelly Hu returned home from L.A. to star with Starla Bedford and Amy J. Curtis in "The Vagina Monologues" at Hawaii Theatre. Eden Lee Murray directed a larger all-local version that included a male cast member at Leeward Community College.
Paliku Theatre at Windward Community College was a perfect venue for the 2nd Annual Hawaii Shakespeare Festival. "Macbeth," "Henry IV -- Part 1" and "Twelfth Night" were all staged and performed with imagination. Director Tony Pisculli's take on "Macbeth" was the best overall.
Gerold E. Solomon (Coalhouse) and Crystal Williams (Sarah) brought Broadway-caliber talent to DHT's impressive production of "Ragtime."
The other top productions of 2003 were "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (DHT), "War" (Honolulu Theatre for Youth), "Art" (TAG), "King Kalakaua's Poker Game" (Kumu Kahua), "Bat Boy: The Musical" (MVT), "Moral" (University of Hawaii), "Obake" (Kumu Kahua), "All My Sons" (HPU), "Man of La Mancha" (Army Community Theatre), "Apartment 3A" (MVT) and "'Tis Pity She's A Whore" (UH).
5. Nightclubs: Weekly and monthly events continued to proliferate. Russell Tanoue's monthly Piranha Room parties drew overflow crowds to the Ocean Club throughout 2003.
Elsewhere, Justin Yoshino (Partymasters) made "Feng Shui" a success at Ciao Mein, and he then partnered with G-Spot (Double-O-Spot) and Blaise Sato (Architechs) to make it a weekly event in December. Flash Hansen (Pussycat Projects) launched "1" at Studio 1 with Russ (Veejay Entertainment) and SubZero and Gdog (Stone Groove Family) in July. Flash and G-Spot joined forces with Matty Boy (Doorman Productions) and KomoLow to present the Star Bar at Longhi's.
G-Spot and Mike G of The Joynt hooked up with I-94 and made "Phat Tuesdays" at Volcanoes the hottest and safest alcohol-free all-ages club event of 2003.
George Kail shut down the Maze at summer's end after a great series of concerts by DJ Lars, DJ Storm, D:Fuse, DJ Rap, Christopher Lawrence and Peanut Butter Wolf.
On the more traditional club scene, Fred Piluso celebrated Scruples' 20th anniversary in May. Jack Law marked the Wave Waikiki's 23rd anniversary in November.
6. Showrooms: John Hirokawa received the 2004 Merlin Award for "Most Original Show" from the International Magicians Society in October.
7. Hawaiian music: At the Hoku Awards ceremony, traditional Hawaiian acts won in almost every possible category. Danny Couch (Best Contemporary Album) and Kalapana (Best Rock Album) were as mainstream as it got.
8. Local talent: Jordan Segundo got national notice as one of the original 32 American Idol finalists in February.
Outside the national spotlight, Imipono Cabrinha took top honors in the 9th Annual Frank B. Shaner Hawaiian KINE Falsetto Contest in July. Christina Youngs won the Don Ho's 2003 Talent Search & Karaoke Contest in December.
9. Island radio: Local music took a major hit when owners of 99.5 "The Breeze" replaced Mahlon Moore's innovative Hawaiian/local pop oldies programming with a by-the-numbers Top 40 oldies format.
10. Milestones: Cecilio & Kapono marked a big 3-0 anniversary (yes, it's been that long) with a three-nighter at Kapono's in June, performed with the Honolulu Symphony in October and returned to Kapono's in December for a two-nighter to support the release of a new "live" album.
Others going the distance included Jerry Byrd, Buddy Fo, Raymond Kane, Linda Dela Cruz and Lydia Ludin, who received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts in March. Nona Beamer was honored at the Ka Himeni Ana 20th Anniversary Concert in August and received the Duke's Waikiki Ho'okahiko Award in December.
Bandmaster Aaron Mahi was presented with the German Bundesverdienstkreuz in April for reviving the Germanic heritage of the Royal Hawaiian Band.
On a personal note, Melveen Leed celebrated her 60th birthday with a local-style party at Chai's Island Bistro in July. Sonny Kamahele was honored with a great going-away party as part of his final performance at the Halekulani in August.
Genoa Keawe commemorated her 85th birthday in October with a Hawaii Theatre concert one week and an informal party/show at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort the next.
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