ISLAND LIFE SHORTS
From the hip
Advertiser Staff and News Services
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Now that the elections are over, the political hype is starting to simmer down. But if you’re interested in a little glimpse of American political history (and a better understanding of the past), head to Manoa Valley Theatre to see the Frost/Nixon drama — a quirky play about British playboy and talk-show host David Frost (Ned Van Zandt, far left), who interviews former President Nixon (Bill Ogilvie) in hopes of landing Nixon’s confession of his involvement with the 1972 Watergate scandal. Only six shows left: See it at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday or 4 p.m. today and Nov. 30. Manoa Valley Theatre, 2833 East Mänoa Rd.; $15-$30; 988-6131, www.manoavalleytheatre.com.
— Lacy Matsumoto
RELEASES
THE HOLD STEADY LEARN TO SMILE
The Hold Steady isn’t a party band. But they seem one of the few to bridge the gap between an angst-ridden indie scene that plays out its private pain onstage and pure populists who want you to enjoy yourself at the expense of thinking.
Craig Finn, lead singer of The Hold Steady, has noticed the serious faces, too. At 37, Finn has been part of different music scenes. “A lot of indie rock seems to place a premium on irony,” he says. “I think being honest and uncontrived helps bring people back to the notion of fun in rock and roll.”
The Hold Steady has the driving rock sound of a band schooled in punk. In “Constructive Summer,” the song that opens the band’s most recent album, Finn references Iggy Pop’s “Lust For Life” and urges fans to “raise a toast to St. Joe Strummer. I think he might have been our only decent teacher.” Yet its spirit is Bruce Springsteen updated for a new generation.
On the same album, the Hold Steady breaks out a talkbox, an oddity thought to have been mercifully retired years ago by Peter Frampton. Kubler plays a guitar solo where it sounds like he’s standing in a spotlight as a member of REO JourneyRush. To paraphrase a Finn lyric, first we were skeptical. But it works.
— David Bauder, Associated Press
URBAN DECAY GOES BACK TO NATURE?
Urban Decay, that in-your-face line of cosmetics, is edging into green territory with two holiday makeup palettes.
We love the Sustainable Shadow Box ($36 at Macy’s and Sephora), housed in sleek bamboo (abundant and sustainable) with intricate butterflies and psychedelic flowers.
The pop-up Book of Shadows ($45, at Sephora), with mirrored vanity, is their largest palette, with 16 shades of eye shadow (nine best-sellers, seven new), with an eyeshadow primer and two Good Karma brushes made from cruelty-free Taklon synthetic hair.
— Paula Rath
SURF ... AND SPAM
Winter on the North Shore; must be time for Hawaiçi’s reign in the surf spotlight. Another realm where Hawaiçi reigns supreme: our love of Spam. So it makes sense that an enterprising designer would combine the two.
Hawaiian Island Creations, aka HIC, has introduced a line of Spam board shorts designed by Baltazar Magdirila, who painstakingly did everything he could to maintain the integrity of the SPAM can (not to mention musubi) when creating the whimsical print.
The board shorts are also functional, of course, made of polyester, quick-dry peached microsuede with a lycra-fly gusset that eliminates the old-school, stiff velcro closure. The shorts come in three colors: blue, white and black; $52 at Macy’s in Ala Moana Center and HIC stores on Oçahu and Maui.
— P.R.
SALES & BARGAINS
• Let your belly digest that extra helping of gobble gobble, while your wallet enjoys 25 percent off non-sale items this Friday at The Butik. Score a cute Melie Bianco handbag (pictured) for just under $50 (normally $66). There’s a sidewalk sale, too, and sale racks full of goodies at just $20 to $60.
• On Friday, throngs of people will rush to Ala Moana Center to take part in their “Thanks Getting Day” event for gifts to get and to give. Lots of great offers include:
• Betsey Johnson — score that new year’s party frock with up to 70 percent off.
• Valerie Joseph — up to 40 percent off the entire store plus the first 50 divas will receive a free gift with any purchase. Enjoy sugar-free pastries and refreshments while supplies last.
• Express — take an additional 25 percent off your purchase.
These sales are only good until noon:
• Club Monaco — 30 percent off all regular-priced merchandise.
• Guess — 20 percent off all regular-priced merchandise; 50 percent off all sale merchandise.
• Bamboo Sky offers something exceptional this Friday, too. The first 50 through the door at 10 a.m. will receive a goodie bag, and the offerings include sample sales by Ginger 13 (the last of hers this year) and Indah Clothing. The owners just got back from a buying trip with hoards of flirty pieces, with 15 percent off all the new clothes, bags, shoes and jewelry. Friday isn’t the only day to score; the sale lasts all weekend with dresses by T-bags, Roberta Oaks and more marked down at least half off; new pieces come out Saturday and Sunday. There’s a buy two accessories, get one free deal, too.
• Further markdowns are at Cole Haan, where sale items are slashed by an extra 30 percent off. Happy shoe-hunting!
— Pualana Lemelle
WHAT’S ON YOUR IPOD?
Kanoe, promoter, Vertical Junkies
1. “All Mixed Up,” 311
2. “1980,” Dirt Nasty
3. “Night Stalker,” Rebelution
4. “Yesterday,” Murs
5. “Black Roses,” Barrington Levy
CONNECTED
Need From the Hip, but not near a newspaper? Go to Metromix Honolulu — www.honolulu.metromix.com — for the lowdown each Sunday and beyond. And stay on top of fashion news by following our alerts on Twitter — code name FashionForum — and checking out our FashionForum blog, for pics, news and sales alerts: http://tinyurl.com/6pf25u.
