By Jason Genegabus

Jason Genegabus photos

It was a madhouse at Jimmy Buffett’s at the Beachcomber last week, when the restaurant’s namesake hosted a VIP grand opening party on Thursday.

Hundreds of fans, industry insiders and even a few members of Buffett’s extended family were on hand for his performance, which was only scheduled to last an hour.

With most of the Coral Reefer Band in attendance (including ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro) and a special guest appearance by his buddy Henry Kapono, Buffett ended up playing nearly twice as long as originally planned.

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By Jason Genegabus

Jason Genegabus photos

The last two times Pepper came to Oahu, they were the opening act.

Three years ago, it was 311; in 2004, they were part of the first-ever “Band Camp” concert at the Falls of Clyde.

But when the boys from the Big Island walked out to the roar of a sold-out crowd at Pipeline Cafe on Saturday, it was obvious that all 1200-plus people were there just to see them.

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By Jason Genegabus

Jason Genegabus photos

Regular readers of this blog and my print column in the Star-Bulletin know how much I love Twitter, the micro-blogging site that has enjoyed a surge in popularity here in the islands over the last few months.

I’ve had an account there since 2006, but it wasn’t until 2008 that the site reached critical mass among the tech-savvy here in Honolulu. These days, a mix of local students and professionals from all walks of life have joined us early-adopters in sharing news and information on a real-time basis via web-enabled smart phones and text messages.

The public nature of Twitter has also spawned what’s called a “Tweet-up,” a casual meeting of like-minded individuals who use the site to share time, date and location information. Tweet-ups can be as intimate as a couple of people meeting for coffee in the mall, or as planned out as dinner reservations at a local restaurant for a group of 10 to 15 people – or more.

Last week, a dedicated group of local “Tweeps” (get it?) wrapped up two weeks of last-minute planning to host the first-ever Twestival on Oahu. A Twestival is like a tweet-up on steroids, except it was a worldwide event planned entirely by Twitter users and doubled as a fundraiser for the non-profit group charity: water.

The Honolulu Twestival took place at Oceans 808 on Thursday, with a full complement of live entertainment and prize giveaways to go with free pupus and drink specials.

While it wasn’t the first event heavily-attended by Hawaii-based Twitter users or the first party to benefit a charity, the Twestival proved that self-proclaimed “nerds” and “geeks” could plan and execute a pau hana cocktail hour that was both successful and a whole lot of fun.

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By Jason Genegabus

Busta Rhymes, right, and Spliff Star address the crowd at LEVEL4 Nightclub on Friday. (Jason Genegabus photos)

Of the four big nights of parties (Thursday through Sunday) planned around the Pro Bowl last weekend, Friday brought the hardest choices for Honolulu’s club crowd.

Pipeline Cafe went after old school fans with EPMD and a return performance by Devin the Dude, while Lotus Soundbar appealed to the EDM scene with DJ Quentin Harris. Rumors also circulated about Kanye West making a trip here to support G.O.O.D. Music artist (and cousin) Tony Williams’ album release party at RumFire (he ended up being a no-show).

I placed my bet on LEVEL4 Nightclub and Ultralounge, which was scheduled to feature performances by Busta Rhymes, Kurupt and DJ Quik, and headed down around 11 p.m. to figure out where I could take pictures from during the night.

Lucky for me, there were no problems getting into the club and I was able to post up in the upsatirs balcony as the dancefloor filled up below.

More pictures from my night after the jump.

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By Jason Genegabus

Jason Genegabus photos

I almost stayed home on Saturday night after watching BJ Penn get dismantled by Georges St-Pierre in Las Vegas.

Thousands of Hawaii residents flew to Sin City in hopes of witnessing history. Back home, countless others crowded around television screens when UFC 94 went on the air shortly after 5 p.m.

Less than three hours later, those Penn fans were speechless after watching his corner and the cageside physician almost simultaneously declare the fight over. I know the right decision was to stop the punishment (Penn was taken to a local hospital immediately afterward), but couldn’t help but wonder how the move would clash with Penn’s “fight-to-the-death” mentality.

Anyway. It’s a good thing I got over the local MMA superstar’s heartbreaking main event loss, because there were a number of fun parties going off around town.

I hit up two spots on Saturday: Ozomatli in concert at Aloha Tower Marketplace with special guest Chali 2na and the second Wave Waikiki Reunion at Pipeline Cafe.

Check out my pictures from the night, plus exclusive performance footage from both parties, after the jump.

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By Jason Genegabus

Jason Genegabus photos

I had a feeling it was going to get a little nuts at Pipeline Cafe on Saturday.

Maybe it was the MySpace bulletin from the BAMP Project crew that warned procrastinators just NINE tickets were left by Friday afternoon. Or maybe it was the feeling I got while doing some background research for my cover story in last week’s HiLife.

After more than a decade on the grind as independent artists, it seems that “If Life Gives You Lemons…” and the “Paint the Nation” tour are the final steps Atmosphere needs to take before reaching critical mass with mainstream listeners.

During their third visit to Hawaii last weekend, Slug and Ant gave longtime followers what they needed while gaining fans with a high energy set of both new and old material.

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By Jason Genegabus

Jason Genegabus photos

Last weekend, I visited two new of the newest additions to Clubland.

I’ve already shared my experience at Bonsai Restaurant + Lounge, and will have more about the new business in my column, “In the Mix,” on Friday. My colleague, Star-Bulletin business columnist Erika Engle, also has something about Bonsai in today’s paper.

But this post is about the second spot I visited on Saturday night. Hush Boutique Nightclub Lounge opened its doors a few weeks ago, and a grand opening party is set to take place tomorrow night.

Keep reading for some exclusive pictures of the new bar and lounge, plus an interview with Hush owner Raymond Ho, Sr.

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By Jason Genegabus

DJ Doggfather on the decks at Bonsai Restaurant and Lounge’s grand opening last weekend. (Jason Genegabus photos)

Following a private soft opening last week, the new Bonsai Restaurant and Lounge opened its doors to the public for the first time on Saturday.

The newest addition to Restaurant Row opens in a space with a reputation for being the black hole of the property. A new business will open, suck all the available capital out of its owner(s), then shut down a few months later.

It’s happened at least twice in the last decade (Carnival Las Palmas, Meritage), but I really hope it doesn’t happen again with Bonsai. There are a lot of quality industry folks on the payroll here, and a number of improvements have been made to make the space more conducive to partying.

I’m sure you’ll see a ton of party pics online in the next few weeks, as the rest of Honolulu’s Clubland chroniclers jump on the bandwagon and check this place out.

But for now, I’ve your exclusive first look at this new spot after the jump.

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By Jason Genegabus

Jason Genegabus photos

It was quite a walk down memory lane at the Waikiki Shell last weekend, as two living legends from the local recording industry celebrated 35 years of making music together.

Cecilio Rodrigues and Henry Kapono Kaaihue have weathered their share of ups and downs over the decades – including a dwindling tour schedule at one point, and even a temporary split to pursue their own solo projects.

But thanks to the efforts of Kaaihue’s wife, Lezlee, in recent years, they’ve returned to the studio and gone back out on the road to perform for loyal fans around the world.

There are more pictures from Sunday’s “Back in the Day” anniversary concert after the jump; you can also check out my Flickr page for another 20 images that didn’t make it into the blog.

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By Jason Genegabus

Jason Genegabus photos

Didn’t realize it going in, but I ended up spending a lot of time in Chinatown last weekend. Fitting, since Friday was 8/8/08 and I am part Chinese (Year of the Snake represent!).

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