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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, December 15, 2005

SHOW BIZ
Christmas concerts showcase Island talents

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Columnist

SEASON'S GREETINGS: Keali'i Reichel will guest-star with Na Leo in the trio's pre-Christmas concert, 8 p.m. Dec. 22 at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. Sounds like a splendid outing. Reichel has wanted to make a holiday appearance here, but opportunity hasn't knocked till now. It helps that Reichel has been connecting with Nalani Choy, Angela Morales and Lehua Kalima Heine when Na Leo was audience-testing some of its "new" sound from its "Feel the Spirit" release on the Mainland. ...

And The Brothers Cazimero's trio of holiday concerts with the Honolulu Symphony Pops was joyful and triumphant. Robert and Roland have never sounded better; they enlisted the services of 12 dancers, including Leina'ala Kalama Heine, five gents and six women, to provide periodic visual charm. With Matt Catingub at the baton, The Caz soared — notably on a challenging and difficult rendering of "Carol of the Bells," delivered with sheer energy, without missing a lyric or a beat. ...

We ran into Roland after the concert; he, like us, opted for a post-show meal at Yanagi Sushi, where he ordered up some sake. It's true that although he and Robert had planned to release a new Christmas album this year, Roland became ill during one phase of the project and they missed the deadline. No worry; he mentioned during the performance, that The Caz should seriously consider an Easter release linked to Christmas. Meantime, Robert's off to San Francisco for Christmas shopping. ...

RANDOM NOTES: Vince Neil, lead singer of Motley Crue, was dining at the Surf Room at the Royal Hawaiian hotel with wife Lia Gerardini a few nights back. Their cozy evening started with a bottle of bubbly. ...

ABC's "Lost" cast and crew had a Christmas party last Saturday at the Deep Blue club, Hyatt Regency Waikiki. Her run-in with the law notwithstanding, Michelle Rodriguez was among the celebrants. ...

Tonight's show tip: "An Evening at the Tropics," 5:30 p.m. today at the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Tropics Showroom, features Na Kama, Danny Couch and Jasmine Trias. Admission is free; there will be cocktail and pupu service. ...

This one's for the birds: A visitor from North Carolina picked up a copy of "Island Roots, Vol. 4," a compilation from Quiet Storm Records, and took it back home — sharing the music with her sister, who happens to own a parrot. According to the label's John Iervolino, the bird evidently learned and loved two tracks, "Sittin' in My Room" by Zacc Kekona, and "Front Door," by Sani featuring Tanoa of Three Plus. When the visitor retrieved her CD, the bird stopped eating — wanting to hear the music. So another copy had to be ordered, and the moral of the story is that compilations appeal to a varied segment of the listening public, even feathered types. ...

the laugh brigade: Comedian Augie T. had to turn away folks at his Las Vegas Club sellout last Friday; with that kind of response, he'll do three stints there next year. He's island-hopping this week, doing Neighbor Island Christmas shows, but embarks on a Midwest tour next Monday — likely bringing cold weather clothes along.

Augie co-hosts "Emme's Christmas Island Moments at the Moana" (the Emme Tomimbang special airing at 9 p.m. today on KHON-2), for which he donned a necktie. "I didn't know how to tie one," he said. "So Edwin Ramones of The Krush showed me how." Augie doesn't intend to wear a necktie regularly, but admits it's better late than never to learn how to knot it. ...

Kaleo Pilanca, the stand-up comic, has made Jackie's Kitchen his "home" on the third Sunday of the month. See him at 9 p.m. this Sunday; a $12 cover includes one drink. ...

And that's Show Biz. ...

Show Biz is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach Wayne Harada at 525-8067, wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com or fax 525-8055.