Remove ImagesARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
July 26, 2007
BEST BAND
LawaLawa kicks ass. On an island crawling with sometimes amazing, always
colorful musical talent, Lawa fuses a bunch of different styles
together. The result is a flawless, funky sound that really can't be
compared to anything else going on in Maui. Local, yes. How can you not
like that? Screw like—How can you not love them? As a side note, Lawa
has more 2,600 friends on MySpace, which is not just impressive, but
excellent evidence that they are indeed the best band on Maui.
Runner-up: Highly Unlikely. (LB)
BEST MUSICIAN
Willie K
News Flash: Willie K has been voted Best Musician on Maui since the
dawn of mankind! And insiders say Mr. K will continue to win Best
Musician on through to the next millennium! Word on the street is that
Sir Willie will likely own this award even after the apocalypse! But
our sources tell us that underdog favorite and second place Best
Musician on Maui winner Kanoa of Gomega is the new "owner" of Monday
nights (at Charley's and Life's a Beach, anyway) and may give W-Kiddy
an expected boot out of first place next year. Stay tuned…
Runner-up: Kanoa. (SC)
BEST PLACE TO DANCE
Spats
Apparently, if our lovely readers are correct, West Maui is the
place to party like a rock star on Saturday nights. And everyone who's
anyone—that includes us, we think—knows that Spats Trattoria is the
place to party. Ladies and gents get decked out in their weekend finest
to see and be seen in this plush lounge while DJ Blast spins fresh club
music to keep the party going into the wee hours. The dress code (no
slippers, please) keeps the crowd looking fine, while the $15 cover
charge lowers the scrub factor—and raises the attitude—a few notches,
so watch yourselves. Hyatt Regency, 200 Nohea Kai Dr., Ka`anapali,
667-4727.
Runner up: Casanova. 1188 Makawao Ave., 572-0220. (JA)
BEST RADIO PERSONALITY
Alaka`i
Who doesn't love Alaka`i? We'll tell you who: our horse, Maui Boy.
Why? Because years ago, Maui Boy decided that he wanted a little
adventure and excitement. He wanted an epic journey! So he got down on
his knees—a major feat, if you comprehend horse anatomy—and shimmied
under the fence. POOF! He disappeared. We were distraught. Where, oh
where, did our little horse go? So we did what anyone would do in our
situation, and called Alaka`i and asked her to do a shout-out over the
airwaves for Maui Boy to come home. And you know what? Somebody found
him cruising Makawao Town. Yes, the actual town. Anyway, we dragged his
sorry, adventuring ass home. And to this day, we think Alaka`i is
fabulous, though Maui Boy hates her for being so popular that everyone
on the island was apparently listening to her the day he made a run for
it. You can listen to her weekday mornings from 6-10 a.m. on KPOA 93.5
FM or streaming live on www.kpoa.com.
Runner-up: Johnny A, X92.5 FM. (LB)
EDIT PICK
BEST DRUMMER
James Bowersox
With bands, it's always the same sad tale: the lead singer gets all
the credit. And the groupies. While the drummer—although he basically
lays the foundation, sets the tone, creates the beat for the rest of
the band to follow HIS lead—he gets a face-full of cymbals and skins,
and no public respect. We know of a prominent music journalist who,
when interviewing stoic band members, would start with the lowly
drummer and get him to open up since nobody EVER talks to the drummer.
This, in turn, would entice the rest of the attention-hungry band mates
to chime in, and then the journalist would use their quotes and leave
out everything the drummer had said. Anyway, local skin-thrasher James
Bowersox is one of the most ambitious drummers we know on island,
playing in no less than four bands in the past year, often
simultaneously (well, not on the same night but you get the idea): The
Easy, Byron Brown and the Deriliks, Gorilla Jazz and Anuhea &
Friends. (SC)
BEST THING ABOUT THE FAIR
Food
Here's a shocker: You like food, Food and FOOD! The arboretum? No!
The acres of parking? No! The Maui Police Department recruiting booth
with all the cool seized bongs and other drug paraphernalia? Hell no!
You want food! And serious, who doesn't love all the different types of
food you can find there? Chow fun, pizza, funnel cake, smoke meat
plate, Flying Saucers and fresh, hot malasadas. Oh, and there's POG—for
God's sake don't forget the POG. No fair experience is complete without
a bottle of POG. Need we say more? Probably, but you get the point.
Runner-up: Rides. (MN)
BEST RADIO STATION
Mana`o Radio, 91.5 FM
What, you readers don't like 105.5? How about 98.3? We must say that
our readers have turned out to be just as hip as we dared hope! Mana`o
Radio rocks. Obviously, you all know this. Either that or you're just
ridiculous posers trying to be cool. So let's take a moment and give a
big shout out to station manager Kathy Collins and her late pioneering
husband Barry Shannon for providing Maui with good, honest, eclectic
musical programming without commercial interruptions, all brought to us
each day by volunteer jocks who love radio. God Bless Mana`o Radio!
Runner-up: KPOA 93.5 FM. (LB)
EDIT PICK
BEST UNLIKELY ONGOING SOCIALLY SIGNIFICANT ART EXHIBIT
The restrooms in Moose McGillycuddy's, Kihei
As professional journalists and watchdogs of the community, we spend
a lot of time in bathrooms. And as such, we find great social relevance
in the body of work on display at the loo in Moose's. We believe it was
the great New Yorker writer Peter Schjeldahl who said, "The best
artists help us forget where we are." And whether in the roomy first
stall or the one with the door that doesn't quite shut, staring at the
many canvases all around us of singing monkeys on American Idol,
beer-chugging women on toilets, and mug shots of Kermit the Frog, we'd
have to agree. 2511 S. Kihei Rd., 891-8600.
Runner-Up: The graffiti at Ma'alaea Harbor restrooms. (SC)
EDIT PICK
BEST THING ABOUT MAUI FILM FESTIVAL AT WAILEA
Harriet Witt
Sure, we had big-time movie stars like William Hurt and Claire
Danes. Woody Harrelson might've been in the mix. Maybe Oprah was giving
somebody a car close-by. Paris Hilton was probably somewhere else in
the vicinity planning her next shopping trip. But we think there was no
bigger star at this year's always-awesome Maui Film Festival at Wailea
than Harriet Witt. She's a local stargazer, teacher, two-time
international award winning astronomy writer and associate member of
the national Honorary Science Research Society, Sigma Xi. Night after
night at the festival's Celestial Cinema, Witt would direct our
attention up to the night sky, pointing out burning planets and dying
stars, and tell us in her sweetest storybook voice about their
evocative mythologies, their navigational importance, and how they're
incorporated into our lives without us ever knowing. Venus may have
shone brightly down on us those few nights, but Witt's wisdom, insight
and humor glowed brightest of all. For more info, visit
www.passengerplanet.com or www.mauifilmfestival.com. (SC)
EDIT PICK
BEST BAND FOR YOUR PARTY
Unified Soul
Okay, so they didn't win Best Band this year, but that's just
because they're new. Unified Soul kicks ass with a great blend of local
and rock. The lead singer does a mean "When Dove's Cry." In fact,
they're so awesome that they beat out a bunch of other really tight
bands last month to get a spot on Hot Hawaiian Nights. Our
recommendation is that you book them before they blow up and get too
sexy for your party. Call 'em up at 357-1496. (LB)
BEST MOVIE THEATER
Maui Mall
Once again, year in and year out, our voters have chosen the Maui
Megaplex as their favorite place to go catch a movie.
What-frickin'-ever. Have you guys ever heard of the Castle Theater at
the Maui Arts and Cultural Center (MACC)—oh, we suppose so, since they
were the runner-up this year. Anyway, the MACC is a real theater:
hundreds of seats, two balcony levels and every Wednesday night the
Candlelight Cinema Series runs wonderful, spectacular films. Located
somewhere in Kahului.249-2222.
Runner-up: Maui Arts and Cultural Center. One Cameron Way, Kahului, 242-7469. (AP)
EDIT PICK
BEST POLITICAL, SOCIAL, MULTI-MEDIA ARTS EVENT WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR
The War & Peace exhibit at the former Elan Vital Gallery
For 21 days in June, Makawao Town was on fire. From June 8 to June
29 this year, the largest collective anti-war art show in the U.S. took
place at the former Elan Vital Gallery on Makawao Ave. The exhibit
featured over 100 artists, 206 works in mixed media, over 600 prayer
flags created by local school kids, and energetic events that packed
the place every night, from spoken word competitions and peace parades,
to George Bush roasts and live punk rock performances. Not a typical
art exhibition by any means; although some of the art was "pretty,"
most was anything but: full of satirical that was both painful and
true, and ultimately far more beautiful. Visit www.mauistopthewar.com
for more info. (SC)
EDIT PICK
BEST NIGHT TO GO OUT IF YOU'RE OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER
Thursday
Who goes out on the weekends? Amateurs, that's who! We believe the
greatest night for live entertainment, weekday drink specials, hot
hookups and saucy socializing is Thursday. Think about it: the 9-5ers
are so anxious for Friday to come they're revving to start early, and
the weekend warriors are—after their three-day sobriety—just warming up
so they're not yet so drunk and obnoxious. Plus, you've got a
surprisingly wide range of options. There's funky live jazz with the
Hand Jive Trio at Cafe Marc Aurel, global dance beats with DJ El Gato
at Lahaina Store Grille, salsa dancing with Neto Peraza at LuLu's, DJ
Durty's eclectic soul-fresh beats at Tiki Lounge, Kilohana at Tips-Up
Tavern, Karaoke at Unisan and Sansei—both locations!—and so much more.
Shameless plug: Check MAUI TIME's Grid for weekly updates!
Runner-Up: Monday. (SC)