Seeing HAPA in concert a second time, pinch me

Last year, when we found out that HAPA was going to be playing the Castle Theater at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center the same week we were going to be in Maui, we were ecstatic. It was truly a magical night, not to mention the fact it was only 3 days after spending my birthday in Maui.

So imagine my joy this afternoon at lunch when I'm checking Maui News on my mobile phone and find out that HAPA will be back at the Castle Theater for a show on February 27th, the last Friday of our next vacation. Way cool.

This will be our third trip in a row where we're lucky enough to see live performances by well known Hawaiian artists. In September of 2007, we were in Maui for the Taste of Lahaina (just realized I need a link for that and never uploaded those photos), where we saw Beach 5, Brother Noland, and Sean and Robi. Anytime you can make live, local music a part of your vacation just adds to the memories of it all.

Have any stories of concerts you've been to on Maui or in Hawaii? We'd love to hear them.

Magic Isle, Magic Mele, HAPA at the MACC

Magic, that's really the best way I can describe the HAPA show at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center last night. True magic.

We've been Hapa fans for a little over two years now, ever since our first trip to Maui. We have just about all of their CDs and as soon as we discovered that they were going to be on Maui during our trip, we knew it was going to be the highlight of our vacation, and indeed it was.

The combination of Barry Flanagan and Nathan Kawai Aweau (braddah Nate on stage) making up HAPA is such a delightful live show. Their light banter and jokes between the two of them, as well as their reminiscing about stories from previous shows along their tours displayed a lot of the chemistry they have together. Throw in Charles Ka'upu as the chanter and narrator of the show and explaining some of the meanings behind the songs, and you have a complete package. Keeping with Hawaiian tradition and adding the visual poetry to their music (as Barry put it), former Miss Aloha Malia Petersen added her beauty and talent by performing hula dances for most of the songs in the two sets they did. Not sure if that's their standard MO or something special for being back on the islands, but it was a wonderful addition. They played two sets, each about an hour long, with an intermission in between.

It was our first time at the MACC, so we didn't really know what to expect. They had about 3 dozen tables setup in the courtyard and various booths of people and grills selling food and drinks before the show. There was also live entertainment and hula for about 90 minutes prior to the doors opening. The show itself was in the Castle Theater at the MACC, which was a very nice, small and intimate setting for such a popular group on the islands. Everyone there had a truly great time.

Afterwards, Barry, Nathan and Charles were right out front signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. We had a long drive home ahead of us, so we took a pass on that, but it was still great to see them so open and accessible to everyone.

It was such a memorable night, we won't soon forget it. If you ever have a chance to see HAPA live, whether in Hawaii or on one of their world tours, don't miss it.

Slow Saturday? Not Any More

Sorry to sound like a broken record here, but no sooner did I power up my Dell laptop to post about how quiet and peaceful today has been did a group of three whales start leading a parade of boats straight across the entire view from our lanai. I'm starting to feel like a whale paparazzi.




Wow, sorry, I had to stop yet again. Between my camera with the telephoto lens, my video camera and my binoculars, I might as well grow two more pairs of arms. Really, we thought this was the end of whale watching season. I'll have to go back to the wifi spot and upload this latest video I just shot to YouTube. Amazing.

Back to the plans that we didn't have for today. I woke up around 6am just because I couldn't sleep any more, and started going over some of the photos and video so far. Cindy woke up around 9am, at which point we turned on the TV and watched a little playoff hockey on NBC. It was only the last half of the third period, and Philadelphia couldn't overcome a Washington lead, so they're going to a game six in Philly. Tomorrow morning is Nashville and Detroit I believe, 3pm ET start, 9am HST. I love watching hockey in Hawaii.

Cindy and I walked down to the Westin this morning so she could book her spa day for Monday. She's getting a full 50 minute massage this year, so I think I'll have to carry her back after that one. Next it was on to lunch, where we just drove a little north of Ka'anapali and grabbed sandwiches from Subway. There were no tables left to eat, so we kept driving north looking for a beach park with picnic tables. We found Pohaku Park just near Kahana and had a windy bite there. After holding on to our napkins, we stayed and watch one lonely whale swim on by and about 4 turtles in the area.

Coming back to our room to figure out dinner before tonight's Hapa concert at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. Cindy went out down by the pool to read and missed the view I had of the whales (described at the top of the post). She said she had a nice view from the beach, but she's looking at the video now and I'm sure she'll see my view was better.

We'll, getting ready to head out to Kahului in a little bit to go see the Hapa concert. What a day!!!

Aloha Friday from Maui

Alooooooooooooooooooooooha.

For a Friday in which we didn't plan anything, it's sure been a good day. We blew off breakfast (again) and slept in a little bit. Today was going to be about sitting out by the pool and catching some rays, and that's what we did. We enjoyed some cool pineapple wedges followed by some not-the-healthiest nachos for a lunchtime snack. We spent a good two hours down by the pool while I was catching up on some reading for my photography class.

Back at the room to cool off, what else did we see from our lanai? None other then more whales swimming out near the surface. Grabbing the binoculars again, we saw what looked like a mother whale with her calf, both slapping their fins in the water, and in some cases, at the same time. Maybe it was a swimming lesson of sorts. Either way, it was still a sight and is definitely not getting old.

Everyone's finishing getting ready now, and Cindy is writing up postcards for our family and friends, most of which don't follow this blog anyway (they don't know what they're missing). We have to make a stop to Whalers today so Cindy and mom can bring their rings in for inspection and then can start wearing them for the rest of the trip. Then it's off to Lahaina for dinner. We're thinking of going to BJ's for pizza, but nothing is really final yet.

As you can probably tell from the posts so far on this trip, everything is absolutely wonderful and just what we remember from our past trips. Steve (my boss) if you happen to be reading this, we definitely need to start talking about a telecommuting plan. Maybe one month intervals to start. :)

Our weekend plans look wide open at this point, and Saturday night is HAPA!!!! That, without a doubt, is going to be the ultimate highlight of this trip. Seeing that everything is been so perfect thus far, it says a lot.

Aloha and Mahalo.

Maui '08 Trip Update - Hapa in Concert, 4/19

With the holidays all but over now, it's time to start planning the activities of our upcoming '08 Trip to Maui. Yesterday, we were excited to book our first activity for that trip, and it is going to be very special.

We recently found out that Hapa was going to be doing a show at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in April, and when we realized that it was going to be the weekend we would be on the island, we were ecstatic. We've been fans of Hapa since I received a copy of Namahana for my birthday a few years ago, and they are a big part of our Hawaiian music rotation.

We're always trying to find something "live and local" on our trips. In '07, we were in town during the Taste of Lahaina, which was a great time. This year is going to be just as fun, if not better.

More trip updates coming soon as we continue our planning.