THURSDAY-NOV. 13
Global movie festival has fare from all over
The Hawaii International Film Festival opens Thursday, launching a showcase of 117 films from 41 countries.
Opening the festival is “The Last Princess,” based on the life of Princess Deokhye of Korea. Considered an illegitimate daughter of Emperor Gojung, the princess was denied recognition as royalty and sent to Japan, where she was forced into an arranged marriage. The film screens at 8 p.m. Thursday.
Other films screening Thursday include “Kivalina,” about an Eskimo tribe dealing with climate change, German comedy “Toni Erdmann,” Japanese romance “Over the Fence” and Thai comedy “One Day.”
The festival runs for 10 days on Oahu and three on neighbor islands. Most screenings will be at Dole Cannery, with selected screenings at Regal Kapolei Commons, the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Ward Village IBM Building Courtyard, the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Hawaii Pacific University. See a full schedule at hiff.org.
Where: Dole Cannery Stadium
When: Thursday through Nov. 13 on Oahu, Nov. 17-20 on neighbor islands
Cost: $10-$14
Info: hiff.org or 792-1577
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
The Yardbirds invade Hawaii via Blue Note
The Yardbirds broke out big in the years of what became known as “the British Invasion” — first, of course in the U.K., where founding members Keith Relf and Paul Samwell-Smith first performed in the Metropolitan Blues Quartet, and then in the U.S., where the group racked up a string of hits that included “Shapes of Things,” “Over Under Sideways Down,” “Heart Full of Soul” and an impressive remake of Bo Diddley’s “I’m a Man.”
In its heyday the group was known for experimenting with feedback, fuzztone and “crank it up to 10” volume, and for lengthy instrumental breaks known as rave-ups. In retrospect the Yardbirds were significant for featuring talented musicians who developed into superstars: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham and Robert Plant.
The Yardbirds name was retired in 1968, and most of the original members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
In recent years, founding member Jim McCarty has kept the name and legacy alive. He brings a band of crack musicians here this weekend as the Yardbirds makes its Hawaii debut at Blue Note Hawaii. The band consists of Kenny Aaronson (bass), left, Johnny A. (guitar), McCarty (drums, vocals), Myke Scavone (harmonica, percussion, vocals) and John Idan (lead and backing vocals, guitar).
Where: Blue Note Hawaii, Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort, 2335 Kalakaua Ave.
When: 6:30 and 9 p.m. today through Sunday
Cost: $29.75-$55
Info: bluenote hawaii.com or 777-4890
Note: Jim McCarty talks story on his life in rock ‘n’ roll, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hawaii Pacific University MPR3. Free.
SATURDAY
DJ Joel Zimmerman brings his intense EDM tunes to the isles
For most people, finding a dead mouse in your computer wouldn’t propel you into a successful IT career, much less a lucrative life in electronic music, filling festival grounds with fans, earning Grammy nominations and garnering enough popularity to have Disney trying to get in on the action.
For Joel Zimmerman the experience gave him an identity. When an online chat room required a screen name with limited characters, he became deadmau5. As his career grew, so did the alias names. Debuting songs under names like Halcyon441, testpilot and Karma K might be his way of being elusive, but on stage the oversize mouse head he wears is his trademark on the EDM scene.
DJs and producers are raising the standard of performance with gimmicks like Steve Aoki’s cake throwing, but deadmau5 stands apart in his mouse helmet, with its flickering lights choreographed to his music. It weighs more than 15 pounds, but Zimmerman can handle; he’s a tattooed bad boy, known for his intensity.
His music is the epitome of tech house, with intense clap-to-beat count and synthetic sounds of distorted guitars or keyboards, but he would probably rebuke attempts to define his music. Case in point: The song he produced for the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team, an electronic anthem that encourages the crowd to stomp, clap and hum along before the puck hits the ice, is nowhere near the intensity of his Grammy-nominated albums.
Expect costumed deadmau5 fans and maybe a glimpse of the man himself at his nearly sold-out Haunted Wonderland show.
Where: Hawaii Country Club
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Cost: $75
Info: flavorus.com or 855-235-2867
— Lacy Matsumoto
Note: See our full calendar of Halloween events.
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
Orchestra goes cosmic with ‘Star Trek’ and ‘The Planets’
Space out with the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra, which this weekend presents a Saturday pops concert featuring the music of “Star Trek” and a Sunday classical performance featuring Gustav Holst’s “The Planets.”
Both concerts will be multimedia productions, with the orchestra performing to scenes from “Star Trek” films and to NASA images and video. “It was a great idea to put these two together,” said Sarah Ioannides, who guest-conducts both concerts.
Ioannides, pictured, an Australian-born Briton, did not grow up with “Star Trek,” but working on the concert (costumes welcome) has piqued her interest in the franchise. “There’s so much personality in the films, in the characters, I’m becoming a ‘Star Trek’ fan,” she said.
As a newcomer to the music, she’s been busy learning the score, but faces the added complexity of syncing it up with action on-screen. “It’s like a new code when you conduct a film score,” she said.
Holst’s “The Planets” has inspired several film soundtracks, particularly space-related movies. “Star Wars” fans will immediately recognize the opening fanfare.
“It becomes another world when you have these great melodies,” Ioannides said. “It has this vocal and spiritual element that goes beyond just the matter of tangible planets and space; it’s more just the whole ‘wow!’ of the universe. It’s an intense experience, and I think it can make for a very powerful result, both for the orchestra and the audience.”
Guest soloist on Sunday’s program is Ray Chen, an award-winning Taiwanese-Australian violinist, who will perform Bruch’s popular first violin concerto.
Where: Blaisdell Concert Hall
When: “Star Trek” concert, 7:30 p.m. Saturday; “The Planets,” 4 p.m. Sunday
Cost: “Star Trek” $27-$79, “The Planets” $34-$92
Info: ticketmaster.com or 866-448-7849
