Kauai - Live Hawaiian music
 

Hello! Anyone have suggestions for places (anywhere on the island) on Kauai to go to listen to live Hawaiian music while having drinks and pupus? (Even better if there's a view of the sunset...) Thank you :)

We found a good show with music and dancing at the Hula Girl in the Coconut Grove shopping area. Had a good dinner there, too.

Joe's On The Green (restaurant on golf course in Poipu) had live music the night we were there, and it has a wonderful view of the sunset. Food was very good; service was not very good.

We just did a Fodors GTG at the Happy Talk Lounge at the Hanalei Bay resort last week. Good drinks and PUPU's and live music and Hula Dancing on Tuesdays. Auntiemarie can fill you in on that place.

When I asked about Hawaiian music at the Princeville Hotel they directed me to Hanalei bay resort. Sisters said they saw good jazz at the Sheraton though.

You really want to see Kahiko hula (old style) if you get the chance.

Here is a photo of the dress style
http://www.chm.colostate.edu/stueber/puna/awapuhi.html click on the different red text for different photos.

Too often newer styles of hula are offered in lounges and hotels. Also very nice but it just does not have the energy and passion of Kahiko. Don't expect to just bump into Kahiko hula though. I made that mistake on this past trip and missed it!!!

There are good, free, weekly hula shows at some of the shopping centers here on Kaua`i -- Coconut Marketplace (Kapa`a), Po`ipu Shopping Village, Harbor Mall (Nawiliwili), etc. Sorry, but I don't know the schedules.

You'll see good hula and hear great Hawaiian music at the Hyatt in Po`ipu when Leilani Rivera Bond is doing her show in the oceanfront bar area. And as RichinPA has mentioned, Tuesday night at Hanalei Bay Resort's Happy Talk Lounge is always fun. No kahiko, but it's still great stuff.

For kahiko performances, you pretty much need to attend the ho`ike (recital) of a halau hula (hula school). For those, check the event calendars of our local newspaper, The Garden Island. That's where you'll see _real_ Hawaiian dancing! :-)

Wish I had asked the kahiko question before my trip!!! Urgggggg!

aunty..so true. I am looking in this direction for our sept visit. The more i learn, the more i want to learn! Mebbe we gtg for some pupus and music when we are there, eh?

We found that there is some good hula Kahiko-"style" at the pre-sunset Princeville lobby
performances. There are nice (though expensive) drinks and nibbles available there. You can call and
ask someone at the front desk about the schedule, i'd bet.
The more recreational hula styles are more common in lounges and so forth as they are more appropriate for "casual entertainment." The kahiko style is a more serious matter, i think, studied and performed more privately through local halaus as aunty kindly noted..

sea wahine

Princeville told me they did not do the pre-sunset hula any longer. They have one performance once a week. It was on Sunday on our trip and yes it is pre-sunset, just not everyday.

You can often find Kahiko on Oahu. State or City use to sponsor presentaions of it by local Halaus in Waikiki a few years ago, not sure if that still goes on. September is a good time for festivals too. I should think you might see some Kahiko there but I would check out local newspapers/community centers before I left. Another option is check out go-Hawaii calendar.

Not sure what you mean by studied privately? I thought most of the lounge acts were members of one Halau or another? Isn't that where most learn hula? Thought the type of hula they did was fashioned for hotels in the early 20th century though and not in keeping with traditional hulas done by master and higher hula teachers way back when, still taught at Halaus though??? Know anything different?

Kahiko (the ancient style of hula), as opposed to `auana (the modern, "Hollywood" style of hula) should be learned only within a halau (school) from a kumu hula (hula instructor) who has the proper hula geneology to teach it correctly. That is, a teacher who learned kahiko from a master hula instructor.

There are quite a few master kumu hula now who _only_ teach privately, preferring to give the instruction one-on-one with the haumana (student).

Sarah.. oh, too bad they don't do that princeville bit every day. I remember it as being very well done(but brief..a few time/place specific pieces).
A halau is a general name for a hula school..yep and all kinds of hula are taught at them, as far as i know, anyhowz.
As aunty sagely notes(as always) the 'auana styles include the stuff you see at the hotels and so forth. The kahiko style is not so much for this kind of performance and is studied, arguably, with more focus on the content and meaning of the pieces and less on performance, thus"privately." Many dances are handed down from one kumu to an apprentice to pass on the heritage, but with very limited, if any, public performance of it.
By the way..i mean to encourage, not discourage anyone who is interested in this beautiful culture to learn more and seek out those performances. I know i do and learn more about it at every chance!
: o ) cousin

sea wahine - it's good to see someone appreciates the hawaiian culture. it means the kumu and those before have done their job. the art of hula is very sacred and should remain so, it is very hard work and is taken seriously – enough said…

NOW THIS IS THE KIND OF GUIDANCE I LIKE TO SEE ON FODORS. What a treat, thanks for your information. Never knew of dances that are not performed publicly. I really thought the idea was to learn as much of the old as possible and put it out into the community. Makes sense as people can take creative license and I suspect there is a fear that a tradition could be lost or saturated with a style that is not authentic.

I have a great Video called "Hawaiians The story of an island people" on the video Aunty (forget 1st name) Zuttemeister talks about learning hula from her father and you just want to cry at the love she expresses that this tradition was passed down to her on. (well I do cry)(LOL)

Recently read about a Hoku Zuettemeister? Is he off spring and does his music in any way keep with older traditions? Not expecting a yes on that but just curious.

PS bought that tape at www.mele.com thank you very much!!! Auntymaria sight.

PSS know any chatrooms that talk to mainlander's about current issues on Hawaii. Curious about what we have discussed here as well as current Kamehameha schools crisis, environmental issues etc. Can't always ask these questions in a travel chat room LOL.

Thank you everyone, particularly to Auntie Maria and Sarah (thanks for the photos). This is great information! Unfortunately, I finally decided today, to go to the Big Island instead of Kauai. Man, that was a really, really tough decision! So I think I might have to post again to find locations for Hawaii. But I do want to thank you all for the information about the hula and the differences in the styles. Mahalo :)

Sarah,

Never knew of dances that are not performed publicly. -
I don’t think it’s “meant” to stay out of public eye, it’s just taught to understand our history and culture, not just to perform (except for the teacher). Cliché but the rest of your paragraph is pretty much a true statement…

Hoku Zuttermeister -
Love him and his music. define older tradition. also a big gabby and makaha sons of niihau fan (from my dad).

Chatrooms? Sorry, can’t help you there. Besides, locals discussing grant vs. kam with a mainlander(s) in any setting would probably be a bad idea att...

sarah, the honolulu advertiser online has a discussion board that is VERY good..about issues related to Hawaii etc

sarah:
The newsgroup soc.culture.hawaii can get some very interesting discussions -- and it's a moderated newsgroup (all posts are filtered by the moderators). This makes it a somewhat sane environment for discussions...topics range from government to weather to airlines to schools, and more. Anything to do specifically with Hawai`i -- with most input, coming from island residents. :-)

Kira you are going to love the big island. I would fly into one end and out of the other. Save that drive back. You will have a rich trip and not going to Kauai or any other island just means another trip? I still have yet to see Molokai. There is always a reason to go back and discover something new.

Thanks for the links Auntie Marie & kauaiwahine. Some interesting articles on the Bureau of Hawaiian Affairs web page too.

Kauaiaka, I like gabby too. Cyril was in New York City at a concert a couple of years ago. I could leave slack key music on all the time, just playing in the background. Makaha sons, Israel Kamakawiwaole (sp) brothers? Group he started with?

Hoku Zuttemeister is he the son/grandson of the famous Hula teacher (sorry forget her title) only remember that she was higher than master level. not sure if you were asking me to define older music? Just wondering if his work is invested in maintaining older influences.

Thanks for the links again. Feel like the fodors staff will now also thank you because I will not come on here to ask political questions LOL.