FRIDAY
Filmmakers Filipe Zapelini, left, and Roger Bong will preview clips of an upcoming documentary film on “forgotten” island music — R&B, funk, electronic and new age recorded here in the 1970s and 1980s – and current artists at a talk-story event in Kakaako.
Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning vocalist Maryann Ito, studio engineer Kit Ebersbach and Star-Advertiser columnist John Berger will join them.
Ebersbach holds an important place in Hawaii music history for his work as Kit Ebi, keyboardist and co-founder of The Squids, Hawaii’s first new wave/punk band. Longtime music journalist Berger edited the second edition of “Hawaiian Music and Musicians,” an encyclopedia on the music of Hawaii published in 2012.
Bong founder of musical archive Aloha Got Soul, will DJ from his collection; Ito will also perform following the talk.
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FILM LECTURE
Talk Story
Where:
Aupuni Space, 729 Auahi St.
When:
6 p.m. Friday
Cost:
Free
Info:
alohagotsoul.com, 600-0519
SATURDAY
Waikiki Spam Jam festival returns
Come Spam, come all to the 17th Annual Waikiki Spam on Saturday for another round of inventive dishes made with Hawaii’s favorite processed meat product.
Twenty restaurants will be offering their Spam-based concoctions, including Spam lau lau from Atlantis Seafood & Steak, Kimo’s Hula Pie with Candied Spam from Duke’s Waikiki, Spam andagi from Eggs N Things, and Spam mochi waffles from Kokoro Cafe.
New Spam concoctions featured this year include the Spam Patty, a deep-fried slice of breaded Spam, and Spam Baked French Toast, winner of the 2018 Great American Spam Championship. Minnesota resident April Weinreich won a trip here to celebrate her concoction, which only seems appropriate since her recipe uses Hawaiian sweet bread, pineapple and coconut flakes.
There will be three stages of entertainment, with noted artists Jody Kamisato and Alx Kawakami taking the stage at the Royal Hawaiian Center starting at 4:30 p.m and Nathan Aweau, Maunalua, Kawika Kahiapo and Makana performing in front of the Moana Surfrider Hotel starting at 5:15 p.m. At the Hyatt Waikiki, the entertainment will include a Spam musubi making contest at 6:45 p.m. Visit spamjamhawaii.com for a full schedule.
Bring a non-perishable food item to donate to Spam Jam beneficiaries: Hawaii Foodbank, the Waikiki Community Center, Aloha Harvest and the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii. And note: Waikiki’s roads will also be jammed or closed, with an estimated 30,000 people expected, and Kalakaua Avenue closed between Seaside and Liliuokalani Avenues from 1:30 p.m. until midnight.
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FESTIVAL
Waikiki Spam Jam
Where:
Kalakaua Avenue, from Seaside Avenue to Liliuokalani Avenue
When:
4-10 p.m.
Cost:
Free
Info:
spamjam hawaii.com
SATURDAY
Modern bellydancing group performs at Doris Duke Theatre
Contemporary “fusion” bellydance that incorporates hip-hop and international dance styles will be featured in a program Saturday at the Honolulu Museum’s Doris Duke Theatre, when Shakti Dance Company presents “Shakti’s Den.”
“We’ll fuse pop-and-lock style or technique, or flamenco or classical Indian dance postures,” said Kalae Kaina, founder of Shakti Dance Company. “We’ll bring in other dance forms, and we also use contemporary, electronic music.” Kaina is bringing dancers in from the Neighbor Islands and the mainland for a confab on their art, with several of them performing at the show Saturday.
Dances will be promoting ideas like fighting global warming and “re-empowering the wild woman,” Kaina said. “The book ‘Women who Run with the Wolves’ was our theme for our first piece,” she said.
Headlining the show will be Rachel Brice, pictured, whom Kaina calls a “pioneer” in fusion bellydance. Brice studied dance ethnology in San Francisco and in 2002 became part of Bellydance Superstars, a bellydancing company that toured internationally. She now runs a studio in Portand, Ore.
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BELLYDANCING
“Shakti’s Den”
Where:
Doris Duke Theater, Honolulu Museum of Art
When:
7 p.m.
Cost:
$30-$45
Info:
shakti808.com
SATURDAY
Arlo Guthrie revives ’60s spirit at Hawaii Theatre
For a time of turmoil and unrest, the ’60s are often remembered with an unusual warmth and fondness. A reflection of that is Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” a monologue/folk song that details an amazing, true series of events that started with him illegally dumping some trash and ended with him getting a file documenting his misdeeds sent to the feds. A few stops in jail and a hilarious exchange with a draft-board psychiatrist punctuated his journey.
The 18-minute work, also known as “Alice’s Restaurant,” immediately became a favorite among anti-war activists, and in 1969 a movie was made out of it. Guthrie, now 71, has been touring the world commemorating both the song and the movie, and on Saturday, he’ll be stopping off in Hawaii with the show.
Expect a healthy helping of classic folk tunes, some of it Guthrie’s own, some from his father, the great Woody Guthrie, perhaps some from Bob Dylan or Pete Seeger. Guthrie has been giving Thanksgiving performances with his band at Radio City Music Hall for years, and he’s lost none of his homespun, razor-sharp wit. He’ll perform with longtime collaborators Terry Hall (drums), Steve Ide (guitar, vocals) and Carol Ide (vocals, percussion).
As for his thoughts on the song? “I keep getting mail with articles of people who have been busted for littering, who’d obviously not seen the movie, or heard the song. Otherwise they would have removed their letters from the trash,” he told the website Best Classic Bands. (Guthrie was caught because a letter with his name on it was mixed in with the rubbish.) “I’ve been more or less reformed, however. You can’t try to clean up the world and have a problem keeping your own hometown clean.
“As far as the anti-authoritarian theme goes, it’s probably more important today than it was then,” he said.
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CONCERT
“Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary”
Where:
Hawaii Theatre
When:
8 p.m.
Cost:
$58-$88
Info:
hawaiitheatre.com or 528-0506
MAY 2-5
Dionne Warwick performs at the Blue Note
The great Dionne Warwick returns to Blue Note Hawaii for four nights next week, in her third appearance in Hawaii over the past three years. She sold out her shows in her last visit, so if you missed them, here’s your chance to see a truly acclaimed artist – 14 Grammy nominations, five awards, more than 60 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, second only to Aretha Franklin during their heyday.
This year, Warwick added another Grammy to the list, having been chosen for a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of a career that “bridged the gap” between R&B, soul, gospel and pop.
Listen for the classic tunes that Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote for her, such as “Walk on By,” “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”
Expect some new material too, since Warwick’s latest album, “She’s Back,” is set to release in May. It is her first album dedicated solely to R&B/soul songs since her 1969 album “Soulful” and features a new version of Bacharach/David hit “What The World Needs Now Is Love,” plus collaborations with Brian McKnight, Kenny Lattimore, Musiq Soulchild and Krayzie Bone of Bone, Thugs & Harmony.
Also featured on the album is popular island contemporary artist Fiji, who performed with Warwick’s son Damon Elliot aka NomaD during Warwick’s last visit here. Maybe he’ll drop by this time too.
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CONCERT
Dionne Warwick
Where:
BLUE NOTE HAWAII
When:
8 p.m. (one show only per night)
Cost:
$95-$150
Info:
bluenotehawaii.com or 777-4890
For additional events, visit staradvertiser.com/calendar.
