In the 50 years between promoter Tom Moffatt’s first "Million Dollar Party" on April 10, 1964, and last month’s sold-out Stylistics appearance in the concert hall, the Neal S. Blaisdell Center has served as a showcase for the history of rock ‘n’ roll.
With some help from our readers, here are some of the highlights:
Elvis Presley’s "Aloha from Hawaii" concert, broadcast live via satellite on Jan. 14, 1973, to audiences around the world, tops Honolulu resident Barbra Filipy-Armentrout’s list of unforgettable shows at the Blaisdell. She described the venue as "a treasure trove of memories for (baby) boomers."
For her the list includes sold-out runs by Rod Stewart, Elton John and Journey, as well as Moffatt’s "Blast from the Past" shows, "Jesus Christ Superstar" and a UB40 concert.
"Remember when the arena was so smoky from people lighting up pakalolo? Remember when we actually held up lighters and lit matches instead of cellphones?"
Randy Hoo also was at Presley’s "Aloha from Hawaii" concert but remembers another standout show from the early 1970s when Tower of Power, then a relatively unknown warm-up band, outshined the headlining Doobie Brothers.
Robin Kimura, leader of Greenwood, a local club band specializing in hits from the ’70s and early ’80s, agrees. He said the Doobie Brothers "were clearly blown out of the water" by the other band. "From then on Hawaii was hooked on TOP!" (The group’s latest hana hou was Dec. 7.)
Lyle Nelson was in attendance for the Honolulu Symphony’s first performance at the newly finished concert hall in 1964, when the complex was known as the Honolulu International Center.
"Conductor George Barati opened, naturally, with Beethoven’s ‘Consecration of the House’ overture. New York Met soprano Dorothy Kirsten was the soloist later. Afterward the entire audience received a Champagne glass outside in front. The glass noted the date and event; the fizz was free.
"Probably more important, Igor Stravinsky, though then ancient, conducted his short ‘Fireworks’ plus the finale to his ‘Firebird.’ It was real special to have him in Honolulu."
The Rolling Stones’ first concert in the arena, in July 1966, may have been the shortest. The show was over in less than 30 minutes.
"Seven songs and off," is how Sonny Silva recalled it.
Short show it was, but Barbara Hajiro Buchanan, a high school freshman at the time, said that seeing the Stones that night "started me on my continuing love of rock ‘n’ roll."
"The Stones had just become famous in the States with their song ‘Satisfaction,’" she said. Tickets were $2.50, and the Byrds were the opening act.
Warren Ching saw the Stones in the arena in 1973 with blues-rockers ZZ Top as the opening act. Ching also has fond memories of seeing Gladys Knight & the Pips, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blind Faith, but a New Year’s Eve concert with Chicago is one he could do without.
"When I got back to my (Dodge) Super Bee afterward, the stereo had been stolen!"
A Blaisdell highlight for Hiroshima keyboardist Kimo Cornwell came in 1973 when he was a member of a local band, Beowulf, and opened for Santana.
"I guess I’m biased with this one," he said.
His other cherished memories include seeing Jimi Hendrix twice (1968 and ’70), the Rascals (’67), Ray Charles performing with a "very young" Billy Preston (’67), Erroll Garner (’69), James Taylor and Carole King (’71) and Stevie Wonder (’73).
Sandra Sagisi MosER was 10 years old when her uncle, Miguel Asuncion, took her to see the Osmonds in 1972.
"His ears wouldn’t stop ringing because of all the screaming girls, including me. We went crazy when Donny sang ‘Puppy Love.’ It was the best show ever, and this gal from Ewa Beach won Donny’s piano that he played with his butt. How I envied that girl!"
The Osmond concert had a different result on Daniel Perreira of Waianae, whose evening ended in heartbreak. He said the show was his first nighttime date with his high school girlfriend, who insisted on seeing the group.
Perreira said he couldn’t come up with the $7.96 for his ticket on the day his girlfriend bought hers, and had to wait until the next day. As a result, they weren’t seated together.
"Eventually I found her in a different section with another person sitting next to her. I ended up going to the bus stop and going back home, which is my fault," Perreira recalled. "I haven’t been there or seen her ever since that night of the Osmond family concert in Blaisdell Arena."
Shepherd Kawakami was at the Osmonds concert as well, "but not by choice."
"My cousin bought us tickets, so we had to go," he said. "Donny’s voice was changing, so most of his hit songs were in different keys than they were on the records. And, yep, the girls screamed loud and constant through the whole concert. That was in 1972."
Later generations of teenyboppers would scream just as loudly for Shaun Cassidy (1978), Leif Garrett (1980), New Kids on the Block (1992), *N Sync (1999) and Justin Bieber (2010).
Former Circuit Court Judge Sandra Simms describes the first production of "Cats," which was presented in the arena in 1988, as a game-changer for entertainment in Honolulu.
"It marked the beginnings of Broadway in Honolulu. And it was fabulous, memorable! … I saw it twice!"
Peggy Anne Siegmund recalls two early shows in the concert hall — one presented by the Honolulu Symphony, the other by Honolulu Community Theatre (now known as Diamond Head Theatre).
"HCT did an Equity production of ‘Hello Dolly’ with some mainland leads and a lot of local performers," she said. "I played Irene Malloy, and my hat shop assistant was Georgia Engel, who lived in Honolulu with her parents at that time." Engel later played Georgette on the "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
