By Nadine Kam

There’s not much that could be considered news that riles me. After a while you just realize truth is often stranger than fiction and human beings are capable of doing some unbelievably idiotic things.

Maybe you read or heard the story about Star Simpson last week, the M.I.T. student who went to pick up her boyfriend at Boston’s Logan Airport, in a shirt that was made up to look like a bomb. Can you say “stupid.” (more…)

By Nadine Kam

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Michael Aston fronts Gene Loves Jezebel, delivering a laidback
opening performance during the “Lost ’80s Live” concert Sept. 22.

Debated for the longest time whether or not to go to the Lost ’80s Live concert Saturday night at Aloha Tower Marketplace, which, by the way, is a great venue for acts unlikely to start a riot. I wanted to see Gene Loves Jezebel, a band I missed when they came here about 20 years ago? Scary how time flies. Given a choice, I prefer to see bands in their prime and my one regret is not having gone to see Rage Against the Machine in their last concert here. I didn’t want to get stomped and now I’m kicking myself for not going!

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Listen to Gene Loves Jezebel in concert.Anyway, Gene Loves Jezebel. So interesting because, of all bands, this one bears the distinction of being the only one whose album “Kiss of Life,” is in the collection of all my siblings, which is extremely weird because we all have very different tastes in music with virtually no crossover. I knew nothing about them except that Michael Aston is not exactly a great singer (his estranged brother Jay was the real wailer responsible for “Kiss of Life”), but definitely has one of the most intriguing voices on the planet which he uses to great effect through unusual vocal phrasing and scales. Maybe it’s his South Wales thing but I haven’t heard anything like it since. The band delivered a laidback performance and Aston’s bandmates compensated for notes he can no longer reach, admitting at one point that “your voice drops” as a person gets older.
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Dressed for fun. Other ’80s getups spotted included
Madonna-esque frothy mini skirts and mesh gloves,
punk hair, and raglan-sleeve duotone KISS
baseball shirt. I don’t miss ’80s dress at all.

The idea of sitting through the other bands, Dramarama, When in Rome and Flock of Seagulls was daunting because ’80s music actually drove me away from chart/radio-friendly music. The ’80s, it seems to me, was about fantasy and over-the-top excess (in a bad way vs. today’s luxurious way), from clothes, to dry overblown permed hair, to the sound of fake instruments, especially synth drums. It drove me to playing music myself and the guitar god rock of Yngwie Malmsteen, Greg Howe, Vinnie Moore, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, eventually to bands like Metallica, Megadeth (whose guitarist at the time was from Hawaii and sent his drummer to my teacher Chuck James) and Anthrax, which put me in line to fall in love with the Seattle explosion of the late ’80s through early ’90s. Sigh. Those were the best of times.

At the concert, one of the ’80s fans told me how much he loved the music because “it was the last time music was happy.”

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When in Rome singer John Ceravolo gets s
upport from the crowd after climbing up
against the barrier between the stage
and the audience.

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Dramarama performance of “Anything, Anything” in which I am up to my neck in sweaty armpits in the end.

Fair enough. The music was happy. The crowd was definitely happy. And I ended up staying for the whole show. The greatest thing about going to a concert surrounded by a bunch of old people is that they have other outlets for their energy so up close to the stage I didn’t have to worry about getting an elbow or combat boot in the face. Well, that is until Dramarama performed “Anything, Anything,” a song I’ve covered. At its finale, the singer John Easdale came over the barrier and the crowd surged forward to grab him — why they want to touch a sweaty stranger I’ll never know — but I got all these sweaty arms across the face without being mentally ready for it. Yuck! With any luck, I’ll be able to post my video for you.

By Nadine Kam

What a difference a day makes as far as wardrobe is concerned. As much as I admire women like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who always had great signature style, whether dressed formally to meet heads of state, or casually dressed in capris and a white shirt (proof that you don’t have to be sloppy to be comfortable), I cannot stick to any one style.

When Theory opened, I had a brief “Aha!” moment when I learned their urban-chic styles fit my proportions perfectly. For a brief moment, I swore I would become a Theory girl and buy all of my basic wardrobe there. I could do no wrong with their clean-cut, city-sleek direction. Then Miss Sixty opened and my head spun around. Color! Retro hippie va-va-voom separates! I needed to get me some of that too! I had to face facts. I’m a fashion chameleon, flitting from brand to brand and changing to fit the scenery. This was obvious upon arriving home after just 2 weeks in New York.

It was unsettling to board the plane at JFK at 6:15 a.m., all in black and gray, then wake up in L.A. I felt like an alien while walking through the airport for a change of planes. The New York uniform of cool black, fitted T-shirts and fitted jeans had given way to baggy shorts and boxy oversized Ts. It wasn’t aesthetically pleasant, but I slipped back into Hawaii style very easily. Here’s a look at what I wore while shopping on my last day in New York, vs. what I wore on my first day in Hawaii during a trek to Genki Sushi Ala Moana.

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In New York: Gray cowl-neck mini dress from H&M, Theory summer jacket, 17th Street Flea Market boots.


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In Hawaii: Siblings’ discarded tank top and yellow plaid Bermudas rescued from my mom’s house, with black rubber slippers.

While in New York I came across a Japan-based clothing store called Uniqlo, which offers a wardrobe of funtional, classic, stylish casual apparel. By keeping it simple, just as with Theory, wearers can do no wrong. Shopping that way could be somewhat boring, but it was evident to me that if everyone dressed that way, we’d have one aesthetically pleasing populace. That doesn’t have to mean sacrificing individuality. Uniqlo’s mission states, “Clothing says a lot, but you can say it better,” meaning style comes from within a wearer and not the clothes themselves.

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Keeping the uniform simple works at Uniqlo.

Even so, it’s those individual touches that say so much, offering a good indication of whether I want to get to know someone better, or not. I might talk to a person wearing an interesting piece of jewelry if we seem to share the same taste, for instance. Then again, there was this girl standing outside Genki Sushi with a red-orange plastic spider on one side of her head, as big as her head, and it’s not even close to Halloween. I felt no need to know what she was all about. That spider pretty much said it all. Maybe she felt the same way about my plaid Bermudas.

By Nadine Kam

If you take a look at page A2 in the Star-Bulletin today, you’ll see John Berger’s photo of Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa with Mayor Mufi Hannemann at the Aug. 27 preview of Tagawa’s latest film, “Balls of Fury,” at Regal Dole.

I’m getting feedback from my scene spies about the actor’s ensemble: aloha shirt, normal; jeans, normal; geta, quirky but cool. We’re just wondering about the straw hat, indoors, at night. Ain’t no reason for that, but he seems like a genuinely nice, easy-going sort of guy so I guess we can forgive him for going a little too local.

I wasn’t at the sneak. There are only 4 reasons for me to see a film: great story, great director, great (or hot) actors, great costumes. One out of 4 ain’t bad. All 4 is killer. Still waiting to see “Becoming Jane.” Always love a period costume drama.