There are two absolutely perfect days for the annual rite of Halloween: Friday and Saturday, each allowing for unfettered fun & frolic. Halloween 2009 falls on Saturday October 31st so there is absolutely no excuse not to party especially when the party is in the Honolulu Arts District and more than seven bocks in and around Nuuanu Avenue will be closed to vehicular traffic. An easy walk from the heights surrounding downtown or a $15 or $20 cab ride away from most anywhere in urban Honolulu you cannot ask for greater convenience or opportunities for fun & frolic.
This is a free street festival with plenty of entertainment on tap. Five stages will host fifteen or more bands, ten or more DJ s spinning music, and unlike the ‘bull’ the City & County gives its citizenry there will be an actual mechanical bull one can ride. Hallowbaloo kicks off at 5PM and runs to 10:30PM but the partying will continue on into Sunday at the various watering holes in the district. For those that imbibe there is a special $10 ‘Club Crawl’ that will mosey on to 2 in the AM.
Five stages play host to the most awesome variety of music to be heard anywhere on the planet. Kona Brewing Company presents the Loloweeny Stage at the corner of Nuuanu Avenue & Pauahi Street. 80’s flashback Band ‘Ferris Bueller Band’ launch the fun at 5PM, then at 6PM one of Hawai’i’s hottest new bands ‘Painted Highways’ dazzle with a mix of Americana/Springsteen/Hard-Rock. The headliner though is nationally known ‘Blitzen Trapper’ whose 2008 release, ‘Fur’ was ranked by Rolling Stone # 13 for the year, while NPR listeners placed them in the top 25, the band lands in Honolulu after a dizzying Summer tour that touched downed at Coachella, Austin City Limits, and Seattle’s Bumbershoot. ‘Blitzen Trapper’ plays at 7PM, to be followed by the raucous sounds of ‘Haberdashery’ at 9PM.
Better Brands presents the Grandest Spectacle Stage at the corner of Hotel & Bethel Street where Celtic Rockers ‘Doolin Rakes’ kick open the festivities at 6:30PM. Then at 8:30 the outrageous ‘Cherry Blossom Cabaret’ performs their seductive mix, followed by New Orleans legend ‘Anders Osborn’ with special guest ‘Kirk Johnson’ at 8:30PM. Anders Osborn has released two acclaimed albums, Coming Down & Bury the Hatchet, a ‘Soul Maestro’ adept with acoustic as well as ‘Stratocaster’ guitar, a gifted songwriter, certain to make Hallowbaloo 209 memorable.
The Nuboo Stage on the corner of Nuuanu Avenue and King Street erupts at 6PM with 5-time Na Hoku winner Ernie Cruz Jr, followed at 7:15 by singer-songwriter Johnny Helm. Then at 8:30 it is time for a costume contest offering up more than a thousand dollars in cash & prizes. After the contest roots-reggae/funk will be on tap courtesy of local fave ‘Dub Phylum.’
The Mercury Stage on the corner of Chaplain Lane and Fort Street Mall will surge with vintage surf music via ‘Tiki Taboo’ at 6:30 PM followed by the power rock & blues of vocalist Kasi Nunes and Kings of Spades’ at 7:30. Hawai’i Underground Music Award Winner ‘Black Square’ takes the stage at 9PM with dance inducing Ska.
The Dance Cauldron on Hotel Street midway between Nuuanu & Smith Street is home to a variety of DJs: Logoe, Sovern-T, Compose, and @EKASE, performing from 6PM thru 9PM. Scope out ‘Bull’s Revenge’ starting at 6:10PM, mechanical bull rides for a bargain $3 a ride.
Another great deal for $10 a wristband opens the door to seven clubs each hosting an incredible array of DJs and bands. A small sampling: Ursula 1000, DJ Benzi, Kitty Lee, DJ Mr Nick, and much more. BAR 35 hosts a COSTUME CONTEST at 10:30 with $500 cash awarded along with ‘major loot,’ get there early to register. Other sites to wet your thirst for HALLOWBALOO 2009: Ursula 1000 and Blitzen Trapper
HALLOWBALOO offers a bit of everything for everyone so troop on downtown for the fun Saturday October 31 2009.
Tags: ALternative Music, Arts Cultural District Honolulu, Blitzen Trapper, Chinatown, Ernie Cruz JR, Free Street Festival, halloween, Honolulu, Nuuanu, Oahu, Things To Do, Ursula 1000
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