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On the Scene John Berger |
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICHAEL!: The party started at Aaron's with several bottles of wine but picked up momentum when fueled with other beverages at the Wave Waikiki as Michael Bright, third from left, celebrated his 30th birthday early Saturday morning. Among the well-wishers joining Bright by the downstairs bar were Richard Keifer, left, actress Donna Sallee, Jerry Caloroso, Bright's wife, Rachael, Michael Ashow, behind Rachel, and Paul Smyth.
DIGGING THE POWER: D.J. Pratt, left, Ernie Cruz Jr., Kata and Janet Maduli, and Jeffrey Apaka enjoyed the Tower of Power concert at one of the VIP "nightclub" tables in the Blaisdell Arena on Saturday. TOP played for almost two hours; "You're Still a Young Man," "You've Got to Funkafize" and "This Time It's Real" were highlights in the encore. Also partying in the VIP area was Kim Au, who reports that her son, Isaac Calpito, is currently in "Mamma Mia" on Broadway.
BACKSTAGE WITH TOP: Kamasami Kong, left, visiting from Osaka, talked with Tower of Power founding members Stephen "Funky Doctor" Kupka and Emilio Castillo, and concert promoter Tom Moffatt, in Castillo's dressing room after the concert. Another backstage VIP was Bruce Hamada, who talked shop with TOP bassist Rocco Prestia and then met with Castillo to get his signature on a photo that had been taken of the two of them after a TOP show here in 1974 .
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
John Berger has covered the local
entertainment scene since 1972. Contact
him at jberger@starbulletin.com.
