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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, January 17, 2010

Crooner Buble celebrates engagement on Valley Isle


By Wayne Harada

The generation's smoothest warbler, Michael Buble ("Home," "Crazy Love"), who channels the spirit of Frank Sinatra, celebrated his engagement to Luisana Lopilato with a Maui visit this month, which included dinner at Spago at the Four Seasons resort. Buble popped the question to Lopilato in her native Argentina, then headed for the Valley Isle, where the pair stayed at a beachfront home of a friend. ...

Comedian-actor David Spade ("Just Shoot Me," "Rules of Engagement") and actor Erik Estrada ("CHiPs," "Sealand 2012") were here on separate Maui vacations but both wound up at the Grand Wailea, enjoying the beach and pools. They were visitor-friendly, too, doing much socializing. ...

Give three points to retired NBA ace Reggie Miller (Indiana Pacers), who dribbled his way to Roy's Hawai'i Kai. And Pat and Gina Neely, the one-two punch of the Food Network's "Down Home With the Neelys," got down home with Roy Yamaguchi's kau kau, too, as did Sir Elton John and the Osbourne clan, who revisited Roy's Hawai'i Kai for yet another supper. ...

SHOW BREEZES: Michael Paulo, jazz saxophonist extraordinaire, did a midnight stint one recent Saturday at Jazz Minds Art & Cafe , and — joined by Scott Schaffer, Rick Hill and Mark Tanouye — blasted out 90 minutes of hot, sizzling, impromptu jazz funk, leaving fans screaming in ecstasy. This, after a Royal Hawaiian Center showroom gig with Rick Braun and Richard Elliot, earlier in the eve. ...

Should be fun, fun, fun when The Beach Boys, led by Mike Love, do yet another Island concert at 8 p.m. Feb. 13 at Blaisdell Arena. Tickets ($45 and $55) now are on sale at the box office and at Ticketmaster locations. Call 800-745-3000 or go to www.ticketmaster.com. ...

Pianist Kit Samson has been doing the Sunday brunches at the Hickam Air Force Base Officers' Club for several months, for those asking about his whereabouts. ...

MATT'S BACK: Bumped into Matt Yee while in the movie line for "Avatar" at Regal Dole Cannery cinema. He's bringing his outrageous concoction, "Matt Yee! Live Piano Bar-Cabaret Sing-a-Long," to Hula's Bar & Lei Stand," from 8:30 to 10 p.m. Feb. 12. Locals underappreciate his talent; he was musical director for Melveen Leed and Al Harrington, fronted the Mattaio Band and has toured on the Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara cruise lines, as well as shared the stage with the likes of Margaret Cho, Rosie O'Donnell, Gloria Estefan, RuPaul, Little Richard, Joan Jett and the Village People. Call 375-8440 for seating, or join the stand-up crowd. ...

"We are so glad he has been able to fit us in between stops in Miami and Sydney," says Hula's owner, Jack Law, who caught Yee in the Baltic. "Lots of singing, laughter and audience participation." ...

ITEMIZATIONS: Koa Siu is returning to Hawai'i (he's been residing and working in Sydney) to become worship and music director at Pacific Rim Christian College, now a consortium of colleges with locations in Oregon, Tokyo, Myanmar and Taiwan (with more planned for the Philippines and Okinawa). Koa, son of veteran performers Leon and Malia, is a former Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winner, and has two kids, Kekoa and Kalea, with wife Sarah. He's a grad of PacRim — so it's a glorious homecoming. ...

A Tihati contingent — Jack and Cha Thompson and accountant Alan Kutaka — trekked to Las Vegas for business meetings ... but managed to get show-active, too, taking in Bette Midler at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace and "Jersey Boys" at the Palazzo resort. ...

And that's Show Biz. ...

Reach Wayne Harada at 266-0925 or wayneharada@gmail .com. Read his blog Fridays in TGIF and online at http://showandtellhawaii.honadvblogs.com.