It was more like a family gathering, a reunion of sorts. It was like a backyard lu`au of days gone by. It seemed like a homecoming to some, a ho`olaule`a for others. It was a pa`ina, a ho`ike, a Hawaiian music concert not to be missed. It was five hours of outpouring of Aloha.
"You had to be there," said one concert goer the following day. "It was magic."
"It was down home," said a Kane`ohe man.
George & Mary Lake of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, said it was one of the best Hawaiian music events they'd ever gone to. And that says a lot, for they have been coming here for decades and Keoki, a steel guitar player of note, knows most of the Hawaiian musicians and singers and has performed with many of them. They were among a very few visitors who were lucky enough to get tickets. The audience was a gathering of local folks, mostly from Enchanted Lake, Keolu Hills, Waimanalo, Kane`ohe, and a few who ventured over from the "city." They all had one thing in common, a love of traditional Hawaiian music.
As the program wound down, one of the singers pointed out that we'd enjoyed many artists over a four-hour period and "no one repeated a song performed earlier in the show."
From the very first act, the Keiki Palaka Band, who played a lot of songs from the repertoire of the original Sons of Hawai`i, to the final songs of the evening, when emcees Kimo Keawe and Hau`oli Akaka invited all of the entertainers onto the stage to sing a few songs together, it was a night to remember. Steel guitarist Alan Akaka took charge of the final conglomeration of talent and, with such beautiful voices as Gary Aiko and Noelani Mahoe, Nickie Hines, the Bee Sisters (Momi Kahawaiola`a and Esther Nakoa) and brother Tony Bee, K&C, and others, he strung together a medley of songs they all knew so well from decades of performing Hawaiian music.
And, unlike other big concerts with pricey tickets that run up to $100 per person, this grand evening under the stars cost $7 (yes, SEVEN dollars), and that included a delicious Hawaiian plate, with everything from kalua pig and poi to squid lu`au, chicken long rice, and haupia, poke, rice, and you name it.
It was THE LEGENDS OF HAWAIIAN MUSIC III, CONCERT UNDER THE STARS, presented by Enchanted Lake Elementary School's PTA and a terrific commitee headed up by Mel & Lynn Murata, who are best known as Uncle Mel & Aunty Lynn, founders of the Keiki Palaka Band.
The Band - Jessica Yi, Nolan Suzuki, Jasmine Yi, Karin Soyama - opened the show, backed, as always, by Ron Johnson, Herb Lau, Henry Leoiki, and Mel Murata.
Then, over several hours of uninterrupted entertainment, fans enjoyed the dancers from Hau`oli Akaka's halau hula, accompanied by Hau`oli and Keawe and Tracie Lopes - a former Miss Aloha Hula of the Merrie Monarch Festival - and such internationally known Hawaiian stars as Led Ka`apana, perhaps the greatest guitarist in the world, and Eddie Kamae, THE `ukulele virtuoso and leader of the legendary Sons of Hawai`i.
There was Myrtle K. Hilo, the "singing cab driver," who gave in to requests and also danced for the crowd. It took a lot of folks back in time when another great `ukulele picker, Tony Bee and his famous siblings, The Bee Sisters, took to the stage. And Aunty Nickie Hines, truly a living treasure of Hawaiian music, helped make it all work, singing songs long since forgotten by many. Add to that, the legendary Noelani Kanoho Mahoe, who founded both the Leo Nahenahe Singers and the Waimanalo Keikis recording and performing groups. She still has one of the most beautiful voices in Hawai`i, and if anyone stole the show, it was Noe ... repeatedly, with impromptu hulas and even singing "Ke Kali Nei Au" with Gary Aiko, another of our greatest voices ever.
Then there was 12-string guitarist Mike Ka`awa and his band, HBC (Hawaiian Boy Crew), who double as the "new" Sons of Hawai`i when Eddie Kamae takes to the stage. With Mike are three of the finest musicians in the business, Ocean Kaowili on guitar, Paul Kim on steel guitar, and `Analu `Aina on bass.
It seemed never to end, and took us back to days gone by. It reminded us of lu`aus and parties in the 50s and 60s.
There was a mix and match with some musicians jumping in to play with others. Dancers recognized songs and strolled onto the grassy area fronting the stage to help bands and singers.
When was the last time you saw Noelani Mahoe charm an audience with her hula, or Hau`oli Akaka, Keawe and Tracie Lopes all dancing together, or Carmen U`ilani Haugen and Michiko Akaka doing an impromptu hula with The Islanders, led by Alan Akaka, one of our leading steel guitarists.
After all the attention given to her husband, Frank, on pakini bass (he played beautifully on a plastic pail with a broom handle and rope), hula dancer Kat Uehara joking noted that we have created "a pakini monster."
It is difficult to "review" a concert in which you have performed, but this event was so special that it deserves whatever good can be said about it, by whomever.
Yes, K&C performed too, backed by Frank Uehara and Keoki Lake, and many in the audience sang along as we shared some "oldies but goodies." It was their kind of music. We felt obliged to say "no" to those who asked for "Lehelehe Man" and "Trucker's Lament," because there were so many children present. After all, it was at the school. If know the mana`o of those "kolohe" songs, you'll understand our reasoning.
Hundreds of people made it happen, but the biggest mahalo goes to Mel & Lynn Murata and to Pua`ala McElhaney, Principal of Enchanted Lake Elementary School. Mahalo a nui loa ia `oukou. E ola mau loa ke mele Hawai`i nei.
- Keith & Carmen
Noelani Kanoho Mahoe, a living LEGEND
Keawe and Tracie Farias Lopes, music, hula, language experts
Carmen U`ilani Haugen and Michiko Akaka, na mea hula
Famous Father & Son, Mike and Ike Ka`awa
Frank Uehara, pakini bassman, and Keoki Lake, steel guitar
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