By Jason Genegabus

Jason Genegabus photos

It was a recurring problem all last week.

I’d sit down in front of the computer in an attempt to do some serious work, only to be distracted by the seemingly endless Olympic coverage on TV.

Tonight? Blame my procrastination on women’s synchronized swimming. And the Redeem Team.

I mention the Olympics because staying up late to watch on Friday made it tough to wake up Saturday for Band Camp VI at the Waikiki Shell.

Make no mistake, the guys from BAMP Project do a fantastic job of getting top mainland talent to perform in Hawaii. But after last year’s headlining set by Matisyahu, this year’s concert fell a little flat despite the return of Jason Mraz.

For the second straight year, I had trouble getting into the Shell. No tickets at the box office meant listening to David Tamaoka’s opening set from the sidewalk outside.

After making a call and waiting some more, my ticket and press pass magically appeared. I got in just as Augustana was introduced to the crowd.

Take a look at lead singer Dan Layus. There was something about him that I couldn’t place as they made their Hawaii debut, but I realized it once I got home and took another look at my pictures.

Doesn’t this guy look like a cross between Eddie Vedder and a young Bob Dylan?

I like this shot of Jared Palomar. No Photoshop necessary, thanks to the outdoor atmosphere of the Shell.

Take a close look at dude’s sunglasses:

It can get pretty hot in the afternoon here, especially when you’re kneeling on the concrete in the pit fronting the stage. Midway through Augustana’s set, I bailed to my favorite spot in the shade to down a bottle of water and check out the crowd.

One of the issues facing management at the Shell is the enforcement of Honolulu’s liquor laws. Stacking, or carrying more alcohol than just a shot and a beer, is technically illegal and can subject the Shell to hundreds of dollars in fines per violation.

That leads to situations like this:

The guy on the left works for Centerplate, which oversees food and beverage sales at the Shell. The guy on the right is being nice and watching his girl’s beer as she uses the bathroom.

That’s her beer on the ground. Mr. Nice Guy double-fisted the beers (he’s got the second in his right hand) for about 10 seconds before the stacking police descended upon him.

Both of them appeared to be civil, but how silly is it that you’re forced to put your beer on the ground like that?

Back inside, another security guy laid out the ground rules for a handful of Mraz fans:

A few minutes later, they were able to give him a couple of lei, plus flowers and a large drink (???) from the concession stand:

Mraz was billed as the co-headliner and delivered another solid set:

But with this return performance coming just three months after his last visit to Oahu, it seemed the crowd wasn’t into him as much this time around.

Sure, his hardcore fans were there, but I think some of the more casual fans skipped this concert after seeing him in May.

This time, percussionist Toca Rivera brought out some sort of traveling gnome when Mraz was introduced. I guess that thing has been on tour with them the past few months:

Mraz also brought a three-piece horn section along for the ride. At one point, two of the players made their way into the crowd and jumped on these boxes that reminded me of go-go dancer stages:

Like I said earlier, Mraz’s hardcore fans had no problem shelling out the bucks to see him for the second time this year. Some wanted to get a picture with him playing in the background:

For the most part, security was accomodating with these folks, letting them get a shot and then return to their seats.

But there was this one woman, who I’ll call Dancing Hippy Chick, who got busted when she tried to turn the area into a dance floor:

That’s her on the left. Still dancing, just in front of her seat.

I also got a kick out of the woman next to Dancing Hippy Chick, who stood and loudly professed her love for Mraz multiple times during his set.

You just gotta love it when people enjoy themselves at a show… and I love the look on the girl’s face to the right of the frame.

Towards the end of Mraz’s set, local guitar virtuoso Makana came out to help with “I’m Yours.” After a short intermission, it was time for 311:

We were only allowed to shoot pictures during the band’s first three songs, so I focused most of my effort on getting good shots of lead singer Nick Hexum:

I don’t have the best camera, so taking pictures in low light can be a challenge. Check out my Flickr account for another 10 images from the concert, or click here for pictures I posted to Twitter while at the show… you can even see what a $10 meal looks like at the Shell!

Up next for BAMP Project: Steel Pulse and Sean Kingston at the Shell on Aug. 24, followed by Unwritten Law and Thrice at Pipeline Cafe on Aug. 27 and Sept. 5, respectively.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 17th, 2008 at 10:53 pm and is filed under Outside The Club, Music, Picture Blogs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.