True Wonder

More than a year after a botched concert promotion left the University of Hawaii athletic department in turmoil and introduced “Wonder Blunder” to the local lexicon, superstar performer Stevie Wonder finally played a concert in Hawaii Saturday — signed, sealed and delivered by billionaire Larry Ellison for a private audience of Oracle employees.

The concert was staged at Ainahau Triangle at Fort DeRussy for some 1,200 Oracle employees and their families.

Call it "Songs in the Key of Exclusive." To keep onlookers at bay, organizers surrounded the park with nearly a mile of black silt fence.

That didn’t keep curious tourists and residents from crowding the front gate to sneak a peak at the red-carpet entryway, towering scaffolding and blue palm tree-decorated stage.

Trolley driver Eddie Davis had heard rumors of a Wonder performance so he stopped by the park after an 11-hour shift, hoping to catch a few favorite chesnuts from the legendary singer.

"I’m a big fan," said Davis, straddling his bicycle outside the fence. "I even sang ‘My Cherie Amour’ to my passengers. This is probably the closest I’ll ever get to him."

Davis noticed the fence being erected earlier in the week but said he didn’t mind the intrusion.

"For a performer of his caliber, everything has got to be A-plus, first-class all the way," Davis said. "Anything else would be a shame."

Michael Gobbo, a principal solution consultant for Oracle in Southern California, said the event was a welcome reward for the company’s hardest working employees. It was also an opportunity for Gobbo to celebrate his 20 years of marriage to his wife, Maria.

"It would be great if we could do this every year," Gobbo said.

Wonder has not played a public concert in Hawaii since 1982, when he performed at Aloha Stadium. However, his presence has loomed over the state since UH was scammed out of $200,000 while trying to secure Wonder for a fundraising concert.

The ensuing flap led to a legislative inquiry and the ouster of Jim Donovan as UH athletic director.