Don Ho - Worth seeing ??
 

I am not sure if this is too much of a tourist thing...with little old gray haired ladies etc.

Have you been to show? Would you recommend it?

Thanks! :o)

If you have blue hair (not dyed), than absolutely!

We saw him 25 years ago and he stunk then...too many "suck em ups". You couldn't pay me to see his show.

He came to perform on our cruise ship. We thought we had gotten a real privilege. He turned out to be a real bomb. He can hardly carry a turn anymore. Don't waste your money.

First of all...He's still alive???

I saw him on the Brady Bunch Hawaii episode back in the '70's and I think that was enough for me...

Christina

No to Ho.

Oh come on, there has to be some merit in seeing a legend preform live. Even if his best stuff was in the 70's and maybe not so good even then. How much is the show?

A legend? Don Ho?? :-?

Well, in his field.

We saw him when some friends were visiting and really wanted to go. It would be fun if it were a half hour performance or something, but for two hours it's a bit of a waste of time. I respect the man for what he's done for Hawaii, but he really needs to retire.

Well, now see two hours of "Tiny Bubbles" might be a bit much.

I have to agree with the others. At the risk of dating myself we saw Don Ho in 1969 during his "hey day" and the show wasn't worth it then. It was so uninspiring that I had completely forgotten about it until I saw this post. I couldn't imagine why anyone would pay to see him now.

To respond to kelliebellie just because an entertainer might be old enough to be considered a legend doesn't mean he should continue to perform. Case in point, we went to one of Frank Sinatra's live performances quite a few years before his death and it was a big disappointment. His vocal range was limited and he had trouble remembering the words to many of his "old standards". It was truly sad to see a once great recording artist embarass himself. Entertainers have big egos and don't know when to retire. They surround themselves with lots of "yes men" who don't have the courage to speak frankly for fear of losing their meal ticket. There's nothing worse than watching a "has been" "try to be"!

We've seen some blues legends preform well into their 80's and with some of them, their talents were definitly diminished or their sets were very short. But we were still very grateful to experience at least some of their amazing talent and imagine what they must have truly been like back in their prime.

Now if Mr. Ho wasn't really much to see in his prime, then I agree maybe just purchasing a cd at the airport might be sufficient.

We saw his show 2 years ago. His performance is a lot different now. He sits behind the organ and does a lot of interaction with the audience. A lot of talking with the people. His show is very sophisticated. I heard he experienced some health problems. He introduces himself to each person in the audience. It is NOT the same act of his younger years. It is much better in my opinion.

Don Ho a legend? Perhaps in his own mind! My hair isn't blue, but it isn't the same shade it used to be either, but I'm afraid you would have to drag me kicking and screaming to one of Ho's shows!

Some people still think of him as an icon. Do you know that he still signs every autograph requested of him? He feels that he owes that much--after all, it's the fans that got him to where he is today.

Why don't you just go eat at his restaurant? www.donhos.net They have the best happy hour in town, as the Kals can attest. 3-6 daily, right on Honolulu Harbor.

I seem to remember reading that he's just had serious surgery.

My first night in the US we went to the Don Ho show- 1966- his show was wild and crazy back then- before he was even famous and we would go often.

Went back to a show for old times sake a few years ago and was really disappointed- the audience really was full of grey haired folks and he hardly completed singing a whole song. He would sing a few lines and then start talking.
However my friends and I surprised him by getting on stage and singing "Pearly Shells" in Hawaiian with him and we knew the Hawaiian version.
I dont think I would go back to another show but sure do have fond memories of going in the 60's.

Do men have to wear white patent loafers if they go to his show?

Once I saw a t-shirt saying "this sista is a No Ho!" - any relation for Don Ho?

Faina,

Ho, Ho, Ho...oh, I mean ha, ha ,ha...

-Bill

ROFL! I think it is mandatory that you have to be 95, have blue hair or a bad toupee to get in.

I lived in Hawaii for 10 yrs 85-95 and back then it was locally rumored he was was enjoying some illegal substances in his nose and would go out in the audiences and kiss people, including men on the mouth! LOL Maybe he checks for proper denture care. LOL I couldn't resist!

:)

Is he still alive? I just had a flashback of my childhood, sitting in grandma's living room with the T.V. trays and being forced to watch Don Ho....

nina, that's the saddest childhood story I've heard in years. :-O Was your grandma ever reported to the authorities for child abuse.?

;-)

I had a similar experience to Nina's, but it was Lawrence Welk. TV trays and all, LOL. ;-)

Don Ho -- Lawrence Welk, so much alike. Except Lawrence's bubbles were big and Don's were tiny!

Oh yeah, Lawrence Welk. I had abusive parents too, as they always watched Lawrence Welk. I would go into my bedroom and put on the record "Shake Rattle and Roll" and turn the volumne up full blast. And than I would get blasted by my parents, lol. And I am sure aging myself!

Others may (and do) disagree, but I thoroughly enjoyed Don Ho's show. Unlike most of you, I actually saw him recently- September of last year. Another poster is right- he hardly sings anymore, but has a wicked (I must say dirty) sense of humor, truly engages his audience, and his band/other featured singers do a lovely job with his and other Hawaiian standards.

The man is sharp as a tack. As others have said, he gives autographs to everyone who wants one and actually makes time to talk with you, both before and after the show. Where do find a performer like that anymore? He's rolling in royalties; he doesn't need the money. The man is a class act.

Halfway through his show, he asked my husband and I up on stage to sing with him, simply based on one comment I had made to him in the autograph line. I was stunned that he had remembered (and told the crowd) the year I had first heard him! (Yes I know he probably had handlers writing the info down.)

My husband had not been keen on seeing the old goat but laughed his butt off- it's mostly a comedy routine interspersed with lovely songs by other people.

We used 2-for-1 coupons in the Entertainment book and skipped the dinner.

Did I mention that my husband and I are both 29? I learned to surf that trip which was exhilarating, but Do Ho was a sweeter memory.

I went to Don Ho's shows in the '60s and I went to his show over 40 years later.

I remember in my student activist days, that a white jazz group sang one of his songs in an upbeat contemporary style. When he came on for his part of the show, he commented that he would be haunted by the "cover" of his song. Very perceptive.

His show is all about entertainment. You want pure music, sit on your hands at home and wait for the next Andrea Bocelli appearance in Kansas or Nebraska.

In the '60s, we would take the coeds coming to Hawaii for summer school to his show and it was all about having a good time. Don was a performer but more of a gamemaster, getting everybody into a group-sing, skits, and other hi-jinks.

Today, he makes no bones about his reputation. He will have a roomful of senior citizens and tell them "You probably heard about me from your mothers!"

It's no different from Branson, Missouri. Don is offering people (mostly seniors) a chance to glimpse the rollicking days of yesteryear in a senior friendly environment.

Yes, he does sign every autograph. Yes, his make-up is so heavy that I feared for its cracking.

But as an excursion into the past and a
view of how the senior generation amuses itself, this is it. Not too many other venues out there.

On the other hand, you can take MelissaHi's advice and go down to Don Ho's at the Aloha Tower Marketplace and
plug into the contemporary delivery of
his image.

To sum up, Don Ho is a legend, not because he was a Sinatra, but because so
many coeds from California, Washington, Colorado, and the like went to summer school at the University of Hawaii and
got to sing and dance at night after their surfing and ukulele lessons during the day. Those memories last forever.

Is Don Ho on your list of "to-do's in Hawaii?" If you do go to see him, at least you will be able to tell your grandchildren that you actually got to see the guy.
Lawrence Welk was never on my to-do list, but The Beatles were and they broke up, and now that half of the band is dead, a reunion isn't likely. Seeing Elvis in Vegas was on that same list. They say he's dead, but there's been those rumors so maybe there's still a chance for that.

Don Ho just underwent stem-cell treatment (somewhere in Asia) and probably won't be singing for awhile anyway.

If you tell your grandchildren you saw
Don Ho you are sure to be met with
puzzled stares. Seeing Elvis 6 months
prior to his death from a front row seat
ended it for me...he was fat and bloated and sweating like a pig.I've never been able to erase that memory.

My wife and son and I went to his show about a year ago. It was very good. I was expecting a plastic Elvis type show that I remembered him doing on tv when he was young.

We all enjoyed Don's show very much. He made us feel like we were sitting in his livingroom with him.

Why are people disgusted with him because he is aging? He is a true, fine entertainer.

I think Parade Magazine (in yesterday's newspaper) said that he's now performing again after the stem-cell treatment.

We went 3 years ago because my in laws wanted to go. My husband and I thought it was really cheesy but my in laws enjoyed it! He spent a good portion of the show hawking things, like his restaurant, Hoku's CD, and one of his other daughter's store.