FRIDAY – SUNDAY
Auto Show has latest in cars, tech and more
Looking for a new set of wheels? Head on over to the Hawai‘i Convention Center, where more than 350 of the newest cars, crossovers, trucks, SUVs, luxury cars and classics will be on display at the First Hawaiian International Auto Show.
New technology will be on display, from safety accessories like 360-degree cameras, crash avoidance systems and inflatable seat belts to entertainment-oriented devices like huge multimedia screens and integrated smartphone apps. Check out the practical technology, too, like tailgates that open with a wave of the foot. Expect a large presence of hybrids, plug-ins and all-electric vehicles cars, too.
For the dreamers out there, there will be the Exotic Vehicle display, featuring manufacturers Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo and Bentley. Local car club members might not be able to match the price tag for those vehicles, but the care and attention they put into their Mustangs, Corvettes and VW bugs certainly will, and you can go and appreciate their efforts as well.
Just to keep up your appetite for new cars, visitors get a free subscription to Motor Trend magazine.
Where: Hawai‘i Convention Center
When: Noon-10 p.m. today, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $7-$10; children under 12 free. Discounts available at AutoShowHawaii.com.
Info: AutoShowHawaii.com
SATURDAY
Living Legends coming to town
The Living Legends, an international collective of hip-hop artists that has made its mark with its independent approach to the music business, sends a team of performers to The Republik.
The Living Legends got its start in the 1990s when trios from Oakland, Calif., and Los Angeles started working together. One of the trios — The Grouch, Sunspot Jonz and Luckyiam — had managed to self-fund a tour Europe, setting a tone for the collective as whole, which eventually grew to 11 members. They released more than a dozen albums, nine singles and two DVDs over a decade, with members of the group handling production and distribution work, and continued to tour worldwide, becoming “one of the biggest success stories of the indie-rap movement,” according to L.A. Weekly.
The group went on hiatus in 2012 but started performing again in various permutations in 2015. The Honolulu appearance features Sunspot Jonz, Luckyiam, Eligh, Aesop, Scarub, Bicasso and The Grouch, aka Corey Scoffern, who is now a resident of Maui.
Where: The Republik, 1349 Kapiolani Blvd.
When: 9 p.m. Saturday
Cost: $29.50; all ages accompanied by an adult
Info: jointherepublik.com or 941-7469
Soul Time in Hawaii fetes 3 years with muse Muro
Celebrate Hawaii musicians of the vinyl era at the Third Anniversary Soul Time in Hawaii party, which this year will be attended by the Japanese DJ who started it all.
The party is the brainchild of Roger Bong, an avid record collector whose blog “Aloha Got Soul” is devoted to music from Hawaii that was recorded on vinyl. His blog was inspired by DJ Muro, pictured, who in 2009 posted a track on his website that consisted of songs by Hawaii artists, recorded on vinyl during the 1970s. “It was all records from here, and none of it I knew,” said Bong, who was then attending college in Oregon. “I didn’t recognize any of it.”
DJ Muro’s track didn’t identify the artists, so Bong, now 29, researched them and unearthed a wealth of music and artists, much of it obscured by time and changes in popular taste. From there, his passion grew to the point where he now holds monthly parties featuring his discoveries, spinning them on turntables in traditional DJ style.
“It’s R&B, funk, soul, jazz,” said Bong. “There was a sizable scene in the ’70s and ’80s for that kind of music here in Hawaii, mostly because of the nightclubs and recording studios.”
In that era, the quality of music being produced in Hawaii was particularly high, Bong said: “The players at that time were playing everything, and they had to know what they were doing in order to maintain a career. It’s different now. A restaurant or bar can hire one guy, who brings his drum machine, strums his guitar and sings.”
With DJ Muro himself coming to this party, there will be an element of suspense. “I’m pretty sure he’s going to bring records from his own Hawaii collection,” Bong said. “It’s going to be a surprise.”
Where: Blue Note Hawaii, Outrigger Waikiki
When: 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Thursday-April 2
Cost: $29.75-$55
Info: bluenotehawaii.com or 777-4890
THURSDAY – APRIL 2
Legendary rock-jazz band Blood, Sweat & Tears is going strong
What goes out must come back. That’s the way it is with the distinctive sound of Blood, Sweat & Tears, which comes to Blue Note Hawaii for a five-day gig starting next week.
Back in the late ’60s and ’70s, Blood, Sweat & Tears became known for its energetic blend of rock and jazz, and may have been one of the first to do what is now known as a “crossover classical” number: the lovely “Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie.” It was the opening cut on the group’s eponymous second album. That 1968 album was also notable for its No. 1 hit, “Spinning Wheel,” and two tunes charting at No. 2: “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” and “And When I Die.” In 1970, the album won out over the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” for the Grammy for Album of the Year.
Back then, the band was led by David Clayton Thomas, with his distinctively gruff vocals. He’s been ably succeeded now by Bo Bice, a contender whose version of “Spinning Wheel” on “American Idol” sparked viewers to recommend him to band founder Bobby Colomby. In 2005, Bice was runner-up to Carrie Underwood in that season’s “American Idol” competition.
Colomby, the original drummer and producer, has kept the flame burning. He’s embraced Bice and put together a stalwart group behind him: trumpet player Brad Mason, sax/flute player Ken Gioffre (who also plays with Smokey Robinson), longtime BS&T keyboard player Glenn McClelland, bassist Ric Fierabracci, guitarist Dillon Konder and drummer Dylan Elise.
Where: Bevy, 675 Auahi St.
When: 9 p.m. Saturday
Cost: Free
Info: alohagotsoul.com
