“Love is you
You and me
Love is knowing
we can be”– John Lennon, Love
This was my first time at SubCulture, an intimate venue in the East Village of New York City. I’m forever grateful that HAPA is willing to share their stage with me. The opportunity to share Hawaiian slack key guitar and Hawaiian music in New York City is a tremendous gift, but to have the opportunity granted to me by musicians that I look up to carries even greater weight. I opened with a song that Uncle Raymond Kāne taught me Pua Sadinia, Wahine ‘Ilikea dedicated to the late Uncle Dennis Kamakahi, among others. My wife requested Honolulu City Lights which I forgot to play. Next time, I promise!
In the past 5 years, I have seen HAPA perform many times but mostly at larger venues than SubCulture. The energy shared between onstage musicians and the audience was really great at this venue. The sound was great too. In my humble opinion, HAPA in its current configuration of Barry Flanagan (vocals/guitar), Ron Kualaʻau (vocals/guitar), and Tarvin Makia (bass) is really hitting its stride. While performing earlier HAPA material well, the group really shined on Tuahine and Tapaʻo No Te Here, highlights from recent releases. To the audience’s delight, Tarvin demonstrated his smooth vocals on Puʻuanahulu and Kuʻu Home O Kahaluʻu. Kudos also to hula dancer and Miss Hawaii USA 2006 Radasha Hoʻohuli who graced the stage throughout the evening.
Following a brief intermission, HAPA invited special guest Aidan James, a 12-year old ʻukulele playing phenom from Oʻahu. Aidan rocked the house with U2’s All I Want Is You and Ed Sheeran’s You Need Me, I Don’t Need You. His encore was Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car. I was very impressed by this young man, on and off stage. Aidan is definitely an artist to watch.
I joined HAPA on stage to close the show with Kaopuiki Aloha, Lei Pikake, and John Lennon’s Love. Again, a huge mahalo to Barry and Leslie Flanagan and HAPA for inviting me on this adventure. A special thank you to my friend Thomas Dang Vu who took these amazing photos. Finally, much love to everyone who came out to support Hawaiian music in New York!
