SHOW BIZ
Andy Bumatai gets a splash of 'Baywatch' glory

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

SIGHT 'EMS: Island comic (and sometime-actor) Andy Bumatai got a surprise pop on Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards show on TNT. Though brief, Bumatai was shown in a clip from an old "Baywatch Hawai'i" segment, linked to the actors union's ongoing work from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles. "My phone was going nuts," Bumatai said of the fallout. "That's the kind of a pop that gets you work." The clip was from the lone episode Bumatai filmed during the syndicated show's two-season residency in Hawai'i. ...

Bumatai said he and fellow standup Augie T do a Don Ho bit by taking pictures of all guests as they arrive at the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel's Hoku Hale Showroom on Fridays and Saturdays. "It started as a joke — we tell everyone it's because of heightened security — but a lot of people are buying the (posted) pictures on the way out." The duo has been attracting sizeable audiences, not only in Waikiki, but in their Wednesday-only shows this month at Brew Moon, Ward Centre. ...

WEEKEND WRAP: That Martin Nievera-Regine Velasquez songfest Saturday night at the Hawai'i Convention Center had just about everything going for it — except restraint. It had big voices — his, romantic and resourceful, in both ballad and uptempo modes; hers, soaring and intense, and incredibly durable in a Celine Dion realm — and a varied bilingual slate of songs, some performed in Filipino. The down side: The show ran nearly three hours, had a monster sound system that had pumped-up rock-concert decibel levels and an overused multimedia look (continuous slides and video behind the singers) that detracted from the performances. The cavernous venue and lack of accouterments (curtains, plants, comfy seats) didn't help. Still, you can't hide talent: Nievera and Velasquez did remarkable solo and duet turns, keeping camera-toting admirers happy. Nievera shared a tune, "One More War" (which he co-wrote with musical conductor Louie Ocampo), to question the aimlessness of war, which he has not yet recorded but hopes to pitch to Josh "The Prayer" Groban. Heck, Nievera should go for the gold ring himself. ...

Brickwood Galuteria's first-Friday-of-the-month gig at Brew Moon attracted a host of singers: Jan Brenner, Sonya Mendez, Danny Lopez, Melveen Leed, Iva Kinimaka, Glenn Pinho, and Roy Rabini — a parade that so impressed restaurant owner Marcus Bender that he's invited Galuteria and his Imai and Friends (Imaikalani Young, Gregg Kaneaiakala and Gordon Alfapada) back March 21. Of course, the next first-of-the-monther will be April 4. ...

Pa'ahana (Doug Tolentino and Pakala Fernandes) played a request for talent booker Chriss Heyd, who was celebrating her March 7 birthday belatedly at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider's Sunday brunch. Pakala's twin brother is the late Kekua Fernandes, who performed at the same site in the late 1980s. Heyd chose Kekua's signature "He U'i," prompting a comment from Jimmy Borges, at a nearby table, "These guys are just so wonderful." Borges and wife Vicki were with Honolulu Symphony patron Carolyn Berry and retired U.S. ambassador Al Adams. ...

TROPICAL TOPICS: Everybody wants a piece of Jordan Segundo, and likely mayoral candidate Mufi Hannemann is no exception. At his fundraiser (4,000 attended) earlier this month at the Honolulu Country Club, the "American Idol" singer was to receive a "Hawai'i's Idol" trophy from Hannemann, but he was flu-bugged, so his mom Jodi accepted. Hannemann sang "Honolulu City Lights" — so is that a message, or what? ...

Another "Idol" contestant, Lee Domingus, performs at 7 p.m. Saturday in the "Rumble on the Rock: Rumble Gone Wind" event at the Tennis Center in Hilo. Divina Maria Medeiros joins Segundo in the national anthem. ...

And that's Show Biz. ...