Jason Genegabus photos

The past few weeks have been like that picture above.

Just a blur.

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. I’ve been busy with other aspects of my job, and my blog was the first thing that got pushed aside.

But I did take a few pictures while I was out last weekend, plus a video I shot before the UH spring football game at Aloha Stadium, after the jump.

I started my weekend last Thursday with a benefit for the Waikiki Community Center at the new P.F. Chang’s Waikiki.

Yes, it’s part of a chain, but as the second-biggest location after a restaurant inside the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, it’s obvious a lot of time and effort (and money!) went into designing three distinct dining experiences.

With two floors and more than 20 seats at the bar, you can simply walk in for a drink and enjoy live music on the first floor. Upstairs is another dining room with indoor and outdoor tables, providing yet another seating option.

We got an outside table near the front entrance, which provided a great opportunity to people-watch during our meal.

Dinner started with a seared ahi pupu. The sauce is what made it a winner for me. It was so good, I forgot to take a picture until after we started eating!

There was a choice of entrees, so we went with our server’s recommendation of shrimp and spicy chicken. Everything is served family style at P.F. Chang’s, including the incredibly UN-sticky rice.

Good thing I got a bowl to myself, so I could just drop my food inside and let the rice stick to it. No shame when it’s your own bowl, right?

It’ll cost you $18 to buy that whole tray of dessert “shots” our server brought out at the end of our meal. I can’t see one, or even two, people finishing all of that in one session.

We chose two shots, and our server threw in a third since it looked like we couldn’t make up our minds. That’s the banana split on the left, tiramisu in the middle, and a raspberry fudge chocolate cake on the right.

The tiramisu was the best.

On Friday, I went to Andrews Amphitheater for “Aloha Fest ‘08,” which featured the second-to-the-last performance by the Opihi Pickers and the return of Katchafire.

I don’t know what’s gotten into me lately. I’ve been going to more reggae shows than usual. But it’s not often that I get to see a show at this venue, so it was hard not to go.

Just as I did at Jammin’ Hawaiians a few weeks ago, I walked in just as the Rebel Souljahz were wrapping up their set:

Instead of Lina Girl, it was Pipi on stage between sets. J-Irie made an appearance later in the evening as well, rocking a suit jacket with his trademark sunglasses. Play on, playa!

The Opihi Pickers had the college girls screaming, although they respected the invisible line that security drew along the sidewalk to keep them away from the stage:

Kaipo stepped up for a few songs, as did Kawao and Ten Feet:

Then it was Katchafire’s turn. I shot some video of the set, so hopefully I’ll get that posted later in the week.

Remember that invisible line? The one that security wanted the college kids to respect? Forget it.

Almost immediately, the sidewalk in front of the stage was swarming with people. After a few minutes of pushing and elbows (and who was it that pinched my okole?), I had to bail.

But before I could get away, there was one last thing to do amidst the onslaught. How can I say no when a cute girl asks to get her picture taken?

Saturday’s highlight was the Ohana Festival at Aloha Stadium. Here’s the video I did for our Sports department:

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 4:54 pm and is filed under Outside The Club, Video, Picture Blogs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.