Source: Maui Time, Maui News, Best of Maui, Maui Activities

Picks%20of%20the%20Week

by Kate Bradshaw

June 25, 2009

Slammin’ body

Thursday (June 25), 10pm, Casanova, Makawao

Body painting is an under-explored and over-sexualized art form. Artist Rachel DeBoer of Fabulous Faces seems to have the market cornered here in terms of paint applied to skin, which is still rather obscure worldwide and unheard of on-island (DeBoer’s “Mona Lisa” is pictured). Tonight she and the MauiSLAM folks will be forging a dual showcase combining slam poetry with live body painting demonstrations. The body painting portion will be inspired by the slam performances, audience response, etc. Slam poets performing will be competing for a $100 prize. The Liquor Control Commission will probably be disappointed to hear that the canvas (i.e. the model) getting painted will be covering all of her Satan parts with valid articles of clothing while on stage during the demonstration—no areolas or merkins (unfortunately) in this PG-rated display. Nevertheless, should be a pretty intriguing and probably very titillating night. Combine with beer and enjoy. DJ Boomshot spins beforehand and between sets. $5.

Reggae bomb

Saturday (June 27), 10am-7pm, War Memorial Stadium, Kahului

My Paukukala residence is quite proximal to War Memorial Complex. This means that, if the wind is right, I will wake up Saturday morning to blaring live Jawaiian music. (For my neighbors this will probably be a welcome change from the Zappa I am known to blast.) The source of this island music stream is the all-day First Annual 808 Unite concert, brought to us by KPOA and Waiehu Records. It will bring together some of  Hawaii’s biggest musical acts, including Ekolu (pictured), Rebel Souljahz, Maoli, Testifiyah, Kealaokala, 3 Scoops of Aloha and many others. The description for this event on BJPenn.com reads “going be one nutts concert!!!”(all in caps). Promoters say the event aims to help support music in schools, which is a damned fine cause if ever there was one. Find tickets at Super Stop (Waiehu and Kahului), Solid Clothing (Queen Kaahumanu Center), Oceans Bar and Grill (Kihei) and West Side Vibes (Lahaina). $20/$30 door. Free for keiki under 10.

London calling

Saturday (June 27), 7:30pm, 

Seabury Hall Performing Arts Studio, Makawao

If there were a Facebook quiz entitled “Which heavy-boozing early 20th century author are you?” my result would probably be Jack London. At once a conflicted champion of rugged individualism and a staunch socialist, he was impossible to pigeonhole. The first full-length Hollywood feature was based on one of his stories. And though he’s best known for penning Yukon tales like The Call of the Wild, London wrote extensively on his travels in the Pacific Isles. He set his last story, “The Water Baby (Keikiwai),” in the Hawaiian Isles. The story was posthumously published in Cosmopolitan in 1918 (good God! What I wouldn’t do to live in a world where effing Cosmo published the short stories of Jack London), and opens with one of the best religious debates I’ve ever read. This Friday the Ebb & Flow Arts Ensemble is staging a multimedia production of “Keikiwai,” which is a most vivid portrayal of Hawaiian life before all this. Check out the text of this amazing tale at jacklondons.net/water_baby.html. Free.

Save this ass

Tuesday (June 30), 5:30-10pm, Flatbread Pizza, Paia

The terrible things that humans do to each other have never ceased to amaze me. The fact that our economic system as we know it seems based on people manipulating, lying to, using and abusing one another shows that we value self preservation, or at least comfort, over the well being of others. If individuals have the ability to isolate themselves enough to ruthlessly turn others into means to ends, think about what that implies for sentient beings that aren’t human. Nothing good. But some humans want to make things better for other humans, and even want to help animals. Strange, huh? Flatbread Pizza has been hosting benefits for local nonprofits every Tuesday night for some time now. A portion of proceeds from every pizza bought during peak dinner hours goes to a given nonprofit, as do proceeds from a silent auction held in the bar area. This week Leilani Farm Sanctuary, a Haiku nonprofit that takes in and rehabilitates injured and abused animals, is the beneficiary. Show some love.