Maui News

Chris Lee

            The local economy is tanking, pigs are spreading the flu, most of your favorite television shows are airing their finale episode of the season and football season is several months away.  The prescription for these and other woes is Laughter.  Fortunately the comedic duo of Cheech & Chong have reunited and are on tour set to touchdown on O’ahu at The Waikiki Shell on Thursday May 29 2009 and on Maui at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center at the Castle Theater.

            Cheech & Chong’s Light Up America Tour was launched in 2008 and has carried the duo across the United States and Canada.  Their stoner humor and wry observations about life are a welcome tonic during these troubled times.  Tommy Chong a native of Alberta, Canada, a multi-talented musician and natural funnyman started an improvisational comedy troupe in 1966/67 in a Vancouver BC nightclub because, “It was a topless joint and I didn’t have the heart to fire the strippers,” recalls Tommy Chong “so when I turned the show into a comedy troupe known as ‘City Works,’ I put the girls in the skits. We had the only topless improvisational theatre in Canada.”

            Cheech true/name Richard Marin, born in the barrios of East Los Angeles, found his way to Canada and joined City Works, at a tremendous salary of $60 a week!  After two years the troupe disbanded and the two found that they could easily entertain an audience without an ensemble of strippers.  They made their way to Los Angeles where they became a fixture at the famous Troubadour Club where they were swiftly signed up by a record executive who soon had them recording their first comedy album, their self titled record Cheech & Chong debut in 1971 and was swiftly followed by Big Bambu in 1972, the Grammy Award Winning Los Conchinos in 1973, The Wedding Album in 1974, and many more to follow.

            Cheech & Ching successfully transferred their smoke fueled fun to the big screen with the 1978 film Up In Smoke followed by a slew of hilarious films including the grossly underrated The Corsican Brothers (1984). 

            Cheech and Chong are scheduled to perform at The Waikiki Shell on Thursday May 29 2009 at 7 PM.  Tickets are available via any number of sources, and prices have varied so it is best for you to research your best bargain, one option is via their website http://www.cheechandchong.com/.  

            Cheech & Chong are scheduled to perform at 7:30 PM at The Castle Theater at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, One Cameron Way, Kahuli, Maui.  Tickets are $59.50 and are available via https://www.mauiarts.org/tickets/ or call via 808-242-SHOW (7469)

Since the winds have been 20+ miles per hour for the past month, it only seemed right to visit one the best places in the world for windsurfing on my recent trip to Maui.  Located on the north shore of Maui off the Hana Highway in the town of  Paia, Hookipa Beach is where to go for excellent windsurfing.  This is also the site for two major world class windsurfing competitions.  Hookipa Beach is ideal for windsurfing because of the large well-shaped waves and strong winds.  Because of the powerful winds and strong currents this beach is not a place for beginners.

There are four distinctive surf breaks on Hookipa Beach.  The two breaks on the left closer to the lifeguard stand are  H’Poko and Lanes.  These breaks are reserved for the windsurfers.  Pavillions and Middles are usually reserved for the surfers off the lookout parking area on the rightside of the beach.

On my day as a Maui tourist, I got to see both windsurfers and surfers going at it.  The waves were chest high for the surfers there were lefts and long rights to be had.  On the otherside of the beach there were about 8 windsurfers taking advantage of the strong wind gusts.  I saw photographers out and many sightseers watching the action.

Windsurfers

Surfers

Whew! So much to do on Maui at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center that it takes three articles to list all of them. For tickets & more info check out their website http://www.mauiarts.org/ or email them boxoffice@mauiarts.org or call 808-242-SHOW (7469).

Dance is on tap, literally, at 7:30PM on Thursday March 19th when The MACC Dance Series presents “India Jazz Suites: Chitresh Das & Jason Samuels Smith,” a unique collaboration between Chitresh Das one of India’s foremost Kathak masters and Jason Samuels Smith tap dancer extraordinaire whose fast flying feet have earned him an Emmy. Together they “converge in the intricacies of each other’s footwork! The result is high entertainment which crosses all boundaries of age, race and culture, a blast of incredible speed and power, grace and beauty, epic storytelling, and the pure joy of dance. Both are traditionalists, yet both are innovators, and together they bring the house down!” Tickets range from $12 to $22 to $37, with special half price admission for youth under age eighteen. (Supported in part by National Endowment for the Arts, State Foundation for Culture and the Arts County of Maui, Capezio Ballet Makers Dance Foundation, Inc., Jhamandas Watumull Fund, and KISS Radio)

On Saturday March 21 2009 at 7:30 PM Grammy Award Winning singer/pianist Diane Krall will enthrall the audience with her alluring voice and “strikingly sensitive piano playing.” Diane Krall has more fourteen CDs to her credit with her newest, ‘Quiet Nights,’ to be released at the end of March. Diane has a gift for rediscovering songs, bringing Jazz classics into the 21st Century with a seductive energy that is utterly captivating. This is one concert you will not want to miss (in my humble opinion). Tickets are Tickets: $55, $65, $85, $125, $150. (Supported in part by National Endowment for the Arts, State Foundation for Culture and the Arts, County of Maui and KAOI Radio Group.)

After a night of Jazz & Pop, a return to dance at the Castle Theater at 7:30 PM On Sunday March 22 2009 when the Tau Dance Theater presents “presents SLAM 2009 5th Annual Hawai‘i-Japan Youth Exchange Concert, “Raiatea Helm headlines an exciting showcase of dance and music with the youth dancers of Tau (y2), HITS Dance Space, Yuko Anami Ballet from Japan, Kapolei Choral, Tau Dance Theater, and the winners and competitors of the 4th Annual Earnest T. Morgan Choreographers’ SLAM.” Tickets are a terrific deal, $20 or $10 for students, military, and senior citizens.

Chase away the Monday Blues with an Incredible Journey on Monday March 23 2009 at 7:30 PM at the MACC Amphitheater when veteran band Journey lands on Maui with their new lead singer, Filipino sensation Arnel Pineda who joins a line-up that includes founder guitarist Neal Schon, keyboardist Jonathan Cain, bassist Ross Valory, drummer Deen Castronovo. Arnel Pineda made his debut in February 2008 and with the release of the CD Revelation in June of 2008 Journey has had a resurgence that affirms their standing in the Hierarchy of Rock n’ Roll. Reserved seat tickets on the lawn: $55, $65, $75, $125 (plus applicable fees).

Just when one might think that the crew at the MACC has exhausted the list of big name acts and ran out of Maui this March!

For those seeking a good excuse to run away to Maui there are plenty of reasons to be found at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center located at One Cameron Way, Kahului, Maui. Throughout March 2009 there are a tempting array of concerts & comedy & film.

Throughout March on Wednesdays, the 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th, 5PM and 7:30PM, The Maui Film Festival presents ‘Candlelight Café & Cinema’ at the delightful Castle Theater. Though titles are ‘to be announced,’ one film that is quite buzz-worthy will be shown on March 4th. ‘Two Lovers’ might be the very last film to feature Joaquin Phoenix, it has already snagged the attention of critics who praise Phoenix and co-stars Gwyneth Paltrow & Vinessa Shaw for their riveting performances in a film hailed by the New York Times as, “Admirably Bold! There’s something grand about the film’s sincerity and the intensity of its emotions.” “For more info: 808-572-3456 or www.mauifilmfestival.com. Tickets: $12 single; tickets on sale one hour before each screening or Value Packages: MFF “4-click/$40 45-Day Passport” or “3-click $24 30-DayPass” Light dinners, desserts & beverages available at Candlelight Café 4:30 – 7:30 pm, Founders’ Court.”

Tuesday, March 3, is an opportunity to enjoy the ‘Lei of Stars Maui Choral Festival’ featuring ‘The Concordia Choir,’ seventy-two voices singing a cappella under the direction of renowned composer-conductor Dr Rene Clausen, they will have ventured from frigid Minnesota to join their voices with the Maui Choral Arts. Tickets are quite a bargain; $15, $25, and $35. The concert will be in the Castle Theater at 7:00PM, with food & beverages on sale before the concert beginning at 5:30 PM. Contact https://www.mauiarts.org/tickets/ or 808-242-SHOW (242-7469).

Thursday, March 5, at 6:30 PM at the Castle Theater, is a night for film and chat with author Dr Wayne W Dyer who will present his new film ‘”Ambition to Meaning: Finding Your Life’s Purpose, a compelling portrait of three modern lives in need of new direction and new meaning. In his first-ever movie (written by Kristen Lazarian and directed by Michael Goorjian), Wayne Dyer explores the spiritual journey in the second half of life when we long to find the purpose that is our unique contribution to the world. The powerful shift from the ego constructs we are taught early in life by parents and society—which promote an emphasis on achievement and accumulation—are shown in contrast to a life of meaning, focused on serving and giving back. Dyer appears in the film as himself and also stars Edward Kerr, Shannon Sturges, Michael Deluise and Portia de Rossi. Special appearance by Louise L. Hay. CommUnity- sponsored event. Tickets: $20”

What better way to celebrate Pau Hana Friday, March 6, with great Hawai’i’an Music? Venture to the McCoy Studio Theater where father Sam Ahia & son Howard Ahia share their many talents, songwriting, singing, guitar playing, as part of the on going MACC Mele Generations Series. Food & Beverage available from 5:30 PM, the concert begins at 7:30PM, the tickets are a terrific bargain, only $25.00, half price for the keiki twelve & under; https://www.mauiarts.org/tickets/ or 808-242-SHOW (242-7469). This terrific concert made possible in part by the support of “Endowment for the Arts, State Foundation for Culture and the Arts, County of Maui and KPOA Radio.”

Return to the McCoy Studio Theater the next night on Saturday, March 7 at 7:30PM for an eclectic stew of R & B, Blues, Folk, Latin and New Orleans Funk dished up by Mojo Gumbo featuring Steve Grimes, Ken Kennell, and Cliff Collins and Kerry Sofaly, and Latitude 21 N “A trio of Maui’s hottest jazz musicians (Bob Harrison, bass; David Choy, sax; Sal Godinez, piano)  will be joined by percussionist Estaire Godinez and drummer Stokley Williams for some great jazz, Latin and R&B. Tickets: $25.

Finally on Sunday, March 8, check out the Maui Pops! Spring Fest at 3:30PM at the Castle Theater. “From Rock to Rachmaninov, the Maui Pops Orchestra presents its Spring Concert under the baton of guest conductor Jim Durham. “Las Vegas” comes to Maui with a magician, an Elvis Presley contest, and the best of Frank Sinatra, all accompanied by the Maui Pops Orchestra. With the superb piano talents of special guest artist Hyperion Knight playing the beautiful and romantic Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2.. Join us at the Maui Pops! Tickets: $10, $21, $26, $36, half price for kids 12 & under”

Plenty of reasons to run away to Maui and that is only the first week of March! Once again for ticket info check out https://www.mauiarts.org/tickets/ 808-242-SHOW (242-7469).

The fine folks at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center are stoked that the Steve Miller Band will be performing at the A & B Amphitheater on Saturday February 28 2009. The A & B is a delightful outdoor venue providing the perfect ambience to enjoy one of rock n’ rolls true treasures. Though Steve Miller and band have been performing since the 1960s they have lost none of their drive & energy and are always looking to the future.

Steve Miller has been a professional musician since his teens during an era of musical turbulence when the music of his parents generation was swept away by the flood tide of rock n’ roll. Steve Miller’s father was a prominent proctologist whose patients were most often friends and many of them were famous musicians, among them Les Paul & Mary Ford, T Bone Walker, and Charles Mingus. Encouraged to dive into music, as long as he kept up his school studies, Steve Miller formed his first band at the age of twelve and by his teens was performing for dances & parties, along with a boy hood pal, Boz Skaggs.

Steve Miller continued to juggle music with school, attending college, attaining a solid grasp of what was truly needed to succeed in business, which remains the basis of success in the musical world. Steve Miller avoided many of the pitfalls befalling musicians, steering negotiations with several record labels before signing with Capitol Records in 1967. Money is wonderful but Miller wanted something much more elusive, creative freedom. “We were in a perfect position. The record companies, typically not understanding anything about the music, were given instructions to go to San Francisco and sign those acts,” he said in Rolling Stone. “They knew that we were one of the four popular groups…. They wanted to sign the phenomena.”

Steve Miller and band began releasing albums in 1968 and many of those early songs sound just as awesome in 2009. Deceptively simple lyrics interlaced with solid musicianship grace his songs. ‘Living in the USA,’ “Gangster of Love, ‘Quicksilver Girl’ and ‘Space Cowboy’ among his earliest tunes to spill from the radio in an age when radio was king. In the Centennial Year of 1976 Steve Miller Band released an album that contained one gem after another including the title track, a song soaring high thirty years further on, ‘Fly Like An Eagle.’

Steve Miller and Band are road testing tracks for an upcoming album, or in modern parlance, CD, and there is no place finer to experience Steve Miller and Band than on Maui and what is really terrific is that you can follow the band back to O’ahu since they will perform at the Blaisdell Arena Sunday March 1!

As for the show on Maui, I will let the Maui Arts & Cultural Center have the final word, “The Maui Arts & Cultural Center, in association with Ron Gibson and the Diamond Head International Festival and Conference, announce the first mega show to hit Maui in 2009! THE STEVE MILLER BAND will play the Maui Arts & Cultural outdoor amphitheater on Saturday, February 28 at 7:00 pm …. and it is destined to be a great night in rock-n-roll history on Maui! With songs such as “Take the Money and Run,” “Rockin’ Me,” “Jet Airliner,” “The Joker,” “Fly Like An Eagle,” “Livin’ in the USA,” “Abracadabra,” and “Jungle Love” to his credit, blues/rock singer/songwriter/guitarist Steve Miller is one of the cornerstones of classic rock. On this tour, Steve Miller is flanked by icon harmonica player Norton Buffalo and an incredible line up of top level musicians that make the Steve Miller Band one of the all time great Rock and R&B bands in history.

Tickets are for reserved seating, available at $55, $65 and $85 with a limited number of $125 premium seating tickets available. (plus applicable fees)”

MAUI ARTS & CULTURAL CENTER One Cameron Way, Kahului, HI 96732 www.mauiarts.org, 808-242-2787×232 or direct 808-243-4232.

Yup, you read that right.  Fans of Aerosmith are suing the band due to their cancellation of their sold out concert that was supposed to be held on Maui on September 26.  Why you ask?  The fans cited that Aerosmith bailed out of their sold out concert to their fans in favor of a larger concert in Chicago and a “lucrative, private concert for Toyota car dealers” at the University of Hawaii’s Les Murakami Stadium on Oahu (Source: Honolulu Advertiser).

I think this is a legit enough reason to be mad at Aerosmith, since they apparently are looking out only for themselves and not the fans who got them to where they are today.  To cash out a bigger paycheck and singing for Toyota car dealers versus actual fans, some of whom flew over to see them, is just plain wrong.  According to the Honolulu Advertisers, the cancellation cost the ticket buyers somewhere between $500,000 and $3 million.  The costs include travel costs, handling fees, and a variety of nonrefunded costs according to the suit against Aerosmith.  That’s right, people flew from other states, as well as interisland flights to see the band.

This is horrible people.  I think fame has gotten to the heads of the Aerosmith band.  Why would you cancel a concert, a sold out concert nonetheless, for the thousands of fans who were looking forward to their arrival?  And of all places, Maui hardly gets any popular bands flying in to perform for them.  Money shouldn’t be the primary concern, but as you can see, for Aerosmith, it is.  It’s just a slap in the face when they fly somewhere else to do another concert and even performing for Toyota dealers ON THE SAME WEEK they were supposed to perform in Maui.

This is just a low class act by Aerosmith.  The respect I did have for them has just got thrown out the window.  I hope the local fans get what they deserve, and more.

Yup, you read that right.  Three lucky islanders are scheduled to meet J.K. Rowling, author of the popular Harry Potter books, as part of the lucky 1000 winners from a sweepstakes held by book publisher Scholastic (Source: Honolulu Advertiser).  There were 50,000 entries, with only 1000 lucky winners chosen, of which 3 were from Hawaii.  An 8 year old girl from Ha’iku, a 21 year old from Honolulu, and a 49 year old from Hawaii Kai.

Each winner got a pair of tickets to attend the J.K. Rowling Open Book Tour that is being held this Friday in New York City.  The tickets do not include plane tickets however, with the winners having to front their own plan ticket costs.  Apparently all very big Harry Potter fans, all three winners are going to New York City to get a chance to see and hear J.K. Rowling read and sign copies of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, which is her seventh and final book of the series.  She will also answer questions following the reading.

Congratulations to the winners!

The National Park Services decided to suspend commercially-guided downhill bicycle tours in the Haleakala National Park. There were several accidents including three deaths within a year. On September 26th this year, a 65-year-old woman identified as Roberta Blake from Amherst, OH, was struck by an up-bound ban van when she lost control. The suspension starts from October 10th for minimum of 60 days. During the suspension, the park services will make an assessment of the current situation and determine whether or not guided downhills bicycle tours can operate more safely in the future.

I wonder why they don’t enforce the age limit to their riders. Downhill biking could be pretty challenging and dangerous. Here is one company’s warning about the eligible riders. “Competent riders only. No beginners, pregnant women, blind persons, persons with heart conditions. Riders must be 4′10″ and the minimum age is 14 years. Dress in layers and wear close toed shoes with rubber soles.” The minimum age is set at 14 years but there is no maxium age limit. I am not sure if most 65-year-old women will be able to handle a fast-paced downhill biking… On a side note, the park service reported one fatality and 105 incidents involving downhill bicycle companies last year, up from 89 in 2005. 105 incidents! Why didn’t take any actions back then? For your information, the numbers of incidents, including those that rangers responded to and those reported by companies, were 107 in 2004, 76 in 2003 and 150 in 2002. Based on this information, I am not sure if they should let anyone over 14 years of age go on the tour…

The bike tour companies certainly need more strict safety guidelines and educate the guides better. One incident is one too many not to mention fatality.

By the way, I hope they check the brakes on those bikes regularly…

With Hawaiian Telcom now having the fastest internet available in Hawaii, they are stepping up one more time by providing over 100 wi-fi hot spots around the state. This is big news, because their wi-fi will be free to subscribers of Hawaiian Telcom’s internet service. Now you can take your laptop to one of the many locations to use the internet.

Some of the locations that provide this service are Ala Moana Center, Restaurant Row, Downtown Honolulu, and all Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf locations in Hawaii (Source: Honolulu Advertiser). Certain areas on Oahu will also receive the service, such as Kailua, Hawaii Kai, Manoa, Ewa Beach, and Pearl City. They also didn’t forget the neighbor islands as well, so they will provide service at Kapa’a on Kauai, Kona and Hilo on the Big Island, and Kahului in Maui.

Compared to Oceanic Cable, who offers only 40 locations around Oahu, Hawaiian Telcom is really upping the ante with the high speed internet customers.

I think Hawaiian Telcom is looking to better themselves, especially having very poor service ever since they took over Verizon as the phone and DSL provider in Oahu. So far, things seem to be going great for them, and for them to expand into Oceanic Time Warner’s market is a big step, since Oceanic has most of the high speed internet subscribers. With lower charges for internet, more free wi-fi locations, and having the fastest internet, Hawaiian Telcom might persude more than just a few subscribers.

The Honolulu Advertiser had just recently reported about a Maui teen, Star Simpson, a 19 year old sophmore, that was wearing a computer circuit board with flashing lights on top of her sweatshirt at the Logan International Airport in Boston.  This prompted authorities to arrest her for fear that it was a bomb.  And rightfully so, since there was a similar scare eight months ago in Boston and six years ago during the fateful 9/11.

Star is actually a student at the prestigious MIT, who was a expert in electronics and had also received a congressional citation for her work in robotics (Source: Honolulu Advertiser).  What prompted her to do such a thing?  Her response was that she was wearing her “piece of art” that was to be shown at the MIT career fair, and that she was proud of her art so she wanted to display her art.  But c’mon now, you have to be conscious of the people around you.  Fine, art is art, but she should have worn her “proud artwork” AT the career fair, not at the airport.  Granted that she was going to pick up her boyfriend at the airport, again she could have waited till later out of respect, and possibly danger, to wear such an artwork.

The news also reported that when the guards asked her what the circuit board on her sweater was, she didn’t reply and just walked away.  For most people, that would mean that she had something going on and would be suspicious.  When she walked away, troppers with guns stopped her. Is this too extreme?  I don’t think so.  What IF it was real?  What IF she was a terrorist and it WAS a bomb?  The troppers would have saved the day.  We can’t take things for granted these days, especially with what had happend on 9/11.

She shouldn’t have done what she did.  It doesn’t matter that she is going to MIT, is very intellectual, and has had no prior problems with the law.  What she did was WRONG.  Don’t make your statement at an airport, where security threats are likely to happen.  Wait until your career fair, and do it there.  Think next time before being creative.