In a review today, headlined "Lean Against a Palm Tree and Feel the Trade Winds," Gilliom (using Hanaiali'i as her surname) is likened to fellow Islander Bette Midler and praised as a "cosmopolitan pop homogenizer, accompanied by musicians of substance." Matt Catingub, maestro of the Matt Catingub Orchestra of Hawai'i and the Honolulu Symphony Pops, fronts the ensemble that also features Jeff Peterson, Steve Jones and David "Chino" Montero.

Her repertoire taps ha'i, the traditional female falsetto tones, jazz and a pop-country blend in what the Times called "a cordial tourist-friendly potpourri." The show, themed "Generation Hawai'i," ends Saturday.

Gilliom's trek to New York is partly an homage to her late grandmother, Jennie Hanaiali'i Napua Wood, a pioneering Island dancer who performed in the Big Apple 70 years ago.

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