Entertainer Robert Cazimero had a formidable competitor last Sunday, when he staged a routine dinner performance at Chai’s. It was a dark and stormy night.
It was wet, windy and worrisome with the hurricane named Lala last Sunday, creating some furor island-wide,and Lady Lala turned on the faucet with rain not just outside the restaurant on Kapiolani Boulevard. The state was drenched, with power failure, meaning at-home lights and traffic signals, plus no TV viewing and other inconveniences.
I had reservations, along with a roomful of Cazimero’s fans, and risked the threats of the storm.
Lala also messed around with the overhead indoor lights at Chai’s, creating moments of anxiety.
But Cazimero soldiered on, starting early and thus finishing early, too, and shared a somewhat different kind of show occasionally acknowledging the threatening weather through his musical selections.
One of his joyous songs was “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” a Peter, Paul and Mary hit in 1963, has been frequently sung by Cazimero. You know the ditty—folksy, fun, sing-along fantasy –with its magical, mystical lyrics:
“Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
“And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee
“Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puffc
“And brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff.”
The chorus had a possible link to a local spot, Hanalei, on Kauai;
Cazimero opined, perhaps the composers didn’t properly ID Hanalei, since the lyrics allude a place called Honalee:
“Oh, Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
“And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee…”
Honalee is a make-believe, imaginary place and thrives as an urban legend site; co-composers (including Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary, debunk the notion that Honalee exists or is named after the favored Kauai landmark.
Great story for a rainy night.
So was nostalgia, with chatter and patter of his humble roots.
“I’m very happy to be from Kalihi,” he said with pride, a regular anecdote in past outings. By now, his regulars know he attended Fern School. “I love my school, which is celebrating his 100th anniversary (next year).
William Kaʻaihue Cazimero, Sr. wrote a vintage song, “Aloha Week,” and daddy’s creation was discovered on tape by Jon DeMello, for manager and recording honcho of Robert and his late brother Roland. “Daddy was singing it,” said Robert, who then proceeded to share the oldie with simple lyrics and structure. “Aloha Week is here to stay,” the principal line goes So wear a lei and a kiss to bring you joy.”
The tune likely will be part of a new Robert album next year.
Otherwise, Robert’s serenade assembled some standard fare like “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “At Home in the Islands,” “Royal Hawaiian Hotel,” “Kaimanahila,” not necessarily in that order.
“Drinking Champagne,” a customary toast-and-suck-‘em-up” ditty, was part of the proceedings, when a glass of bubbly – Robert’s favorite champagne, Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label — was delivered to his piano
Well, that’s fuel for this soul.
Of course, the hula of Sky Perkins Gora and Keola “Bully” Makaialu are standard operating procedures when Robert commands a mele or two.
What was a “first” – wholly unexpected – was a late-night email from the master himself. I had attended the show mostly to celebrate my and wife Vi’s belated birthdays, with grand-nephew John Rhoades catching up with Uncle Robert.
“Thank you for coming to celebrate your birthdays,” he said. “Wow, what a night. I’m just getting home and I have to admit that I’m a bit zonked. Time for a shower and to jump on the couch and go to sleep”.
I had asked him to help identify his guest hula performances during the evening, and he said it was Kanani Olivera from her Kona halau, sharing a birthday performance, and he couldn’t ID the second dancer, visiting from the mainland…despite the rainy night…
And that’s Show Biz…