Howlin' good time
POSTED: Friday, October 31, 2008
The historic downtown area is primed and ready for its big Halloween coming-out party.
Hallowbaloo Music + Arts FestivalPlace: Downtown Arts District and the Waterfront at Aloha Tower Marketplace
Time: 5:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Friday
Admission: Free along Nuuanu Avenue; for concerts (21 and older only), $25 advance, $30 at the door with costume and $35 without, plus a $3 service fee (limited $125 advance VIP tickets for admission to all three concerts also available)
Call: 271-9140 or visit www.honoluluboxoffice.com
Plus: ”;Halloweird”; short films and videos to be screened at corner of Hotel and Smith streets, treats from participating art galleries (see list at http://www.hallowbaloo.com) and entertainment for the keiki, including storytelling by Jeff Gere in the courtyard fronting the Art Board Gallery.
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Promoter Mark Tarone will see the fruits of his labor after a year of planning when the Hallowbaloo Music + Arts Festival kicks into high gear along Nuuanu Avenue and down to Aloha Tower Marketplace.
Working with the cooperation of the Arts District Merchants Association, Tarone is expecting a festive and costumed turnout Friday night to complement the multiple performance stages and gallery participants.
“;Virtually everyone who hears about the Hallowbaloo reacts by proclaiming how excited they are about having an 'A Level' Halloween celebration in the (downtown) arts district,”; he said. “;As shown by the popularity of First Fridays and other street festivals in the district, Honolulu residents and visitors love participating in events in the area. It also happens to be perfectly suited for Halloween with its wide, long streets, historic buildings and diverse collection of music venues, including room for three stages of free live music on Nuuanu Avenue.”;
Prime local acts like Ooklah the Moc and the Cherry Blossom Cabaret will be featured on two of the stages, and Haleiwa's Ron Art…is & the Family Band will be sandwiched between two mainland acts on the Nuuanu-Hotel stage. Rootsy Southern funk and roll will be featured there with Papa Mali, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and guest drummer Bill Kreutzmann, formerly of the Grateful Dead.
BUT EARLIER in the evening, it'll be the folksy musings of up-and-comer Brett Dennen.
Named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of its artists-to-watch this year, Dennen spent the summer opening for John Mayer. It was an opportunity that came on the strength of his well-received 2006 album “;So Much More.”;
Dennen, speaking by phone from his home in Los Angeles, said he will be playing not only album favorites such as “;She's Mine”; and “;Ain't No Reason,”; but he'll be performing songs from his just-released “;Hope for the Hopeless.”;
That album's first single, “;Make You Crazy,”; features an unexpected collaboration with Femi Kuti, the son of the late, legendary Nigerian firebrand Fela Kuti, known for his scathing Afrobeat songs critical of Nigeria's government. The younger Kuti adds some of his own heat during the bridge of Dennen's song, exhorting listeners in Nigerian “;broken English”; to never hesitate to speak their minds.
The singer-songwriter Dennen sees himself in the same line as “;a novelist, writer or painter, where we're still using the same messages, regardless of how we convey it. What I want to try to be is a reactionary to society by posing questions and inspiring people to ask their own questions. I come from a philosophy of hope and change, and as a musician contributing to the collective conscious, I want to be a positive force.”;
Building what he hopes to be a lifelong career, Dennen headlines his own tour early next year, playing in smaller venues. He may return to the islands if the tour includes stops in Japan and Australia.
HALLOWBALOO'S pay-in concerts include reggae dub legend Mad Professor at NextDoor and the lively electronica-tinged indie rock of The Helio Sequence at the Loft Gallery Lounge. And to top it off, Maceo Parker, with guest turntablist DJ Logic, will play at the Waterfront in Aloha Tower Marketplace.
While the alto saxophonist has played Hawaii before—once as a member of James Brown's band and later as a guest player with Prince—“;it'll be the first time with my (eight-piece) band, so therefore I'm very, very excited. ... The main thing about my group is it's made up of perhaps some of the funkiest musicians around.”;
Speaking by phone from his North Carolina home, Parker said he's looking forward to bringing the funk to Hawaii. He'll bring his decades of experience of playing with the Godfather himself, Brown, plus Bootsy Collins and George Clinton.
Parker plans to salute the soulful genius of Ray Charles, whom he honors on his latest album “;Roots & Grooves.”;
“;I do 'Georgia on My Mind' and 'You Don't Know Me' in our set,”; Parker said. “;I was lucky enough, in the mid-'90s, to open for him three weeks in Europe. During that tour, I got to do a solo set with him on stage, and I thought afterwards, 'Now my career can end.'
“;Even though I didn't want to wear out my welcome, I would visit his dressing room a lot. He's been my hero, and he knew I was always into him. What I remember is that he seemed to be laughing all the time, so much so that his head would sometimes go all the way down to the floor. The man was so full of life, and I keep him a part of my performance.”;
Parker is currently relaxing between jobs, but he keeps fit for his work.
“;Whenever I go, I go full throttle and give as much as I have. On tour, we play two hours every night, so when I'm home, I either exercise by doing two to three miles on the treadmill or three, four miles on a quick walk.”;
Being a spry 65-year-old, Parker said that “;I still love performing because it's the music that we do. I can look out into any audience and get what the music gives to them.
“;I love people, I really do. And when they hear me say on stage, 'On behalf on all of us, we love you!,' they know I mean it!”;
Lineup The Grandest Spectacle Stage (corner of Nuuanu and Hotel streets):
The Loloweeny Stage (Nuuanu and Pauahi):
The Nuboo Stage (Nuuanu and King):
Concerts:
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