‘Club Hallowbaloo’ rescheduled

UPDATE: Hallowbaloo organizers announced Monday, Oct. 29, that “Club Hallowbaloo” was rescheduled to Halloween. Presale tickets and wristbands will allow entry to nine Chinatown clubs, and wristbands will be sold for $15 on for ages 21 and up. The entertainment on Halloween night will include a costume contest, screening of “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” live music (“choke great bands”) and DJs. Click here for details.

BY ELIZABETH KIESZKOWSKI / ekieszkowski@staradvertiser.com

Hallowbaloo, closed down because of the tsunami warning on Saturday, Oct. 27, is hosting a free concert with Delta Spirit in Chinatown on Monday, Oct. 29.

After Saturday's tsunami warning closed down the Hallowbaloo street festival, headlining act Delta Spirit will play a free show in Chinatown on Monday, Oct. 29. (Courtesy photo)

The show is set to take place at theVenue, 1146 Bethel St. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged to help offset unexpected costs that Hallowbaloo faces because of Saturday’s tsunami evacuation. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. The show is for those 21 and older.

Reached by phone, Hallowbaloo organizer Mark Tarone said the band was eager to play.

“I really hope to get a full house,” he said. “Delta Spirit wants to play here in Honolulu. They came all the way out here, and really want to perform.”

The festival’s early closure is shaping up to be an expensive burden for Hallowbaloo, Tarone said. It would also be prohibitively expensive to reschedule the street festival, because of the duplicate costs of security, police presence, staging and staff.

Tarone was working Sunday to rearrange travel for some musicians and continue dealing with the festival’s early closure. He also noted that the Chinatown evacuation was costly for businesses counting on revenue generated by the festival.

Hallowbaloo also canceled a kanakapila in Kapiolani Park scheduled for Sunday, the day after the tsunami scare.

Further announcements from Hallowbaloo on issues such as wristband purchases will be coming. The sale of wristbands for alcohol purchase and entry into Chinatown nightclubs after the festival help support the cost of producing Hallowbaloo. Street sales were cut short when the festival was closed, but many patrons also bought wristbands online in advance.

“At this point, I’m just too numb, and I’m not sure how it’s all going to shake out,” Tarone said.

“I do this to celebrate our culture. … I’m very passionate about music, and when a band flies in, you want to take care of them. … Delta Spirit was just fantastic about the whole thing.”

Police cleared the streets of Chinatown when a tsunami warning was issued, just after 8 p.m. on Saturday night. Co-headliner Jon Cleary had completed his set on the Lolloweeny Stage before the closure took effect.

Later, police also entered Chinatown bars and clubs, asked bands and DJs to stop playing music and suggested patrons go to evacuation zones.

“It was the largest crowd we ever had at Hallowbaloo that early, and when the orders came down that we had to evacuate, it went over really well,” Tarone said. “We evacuated about 10,000 people in about 30 minutes. By 9:15, there wasn’t even any traffic. … It’s a shame that it ended early, but the response was strong.”

On Hallowbaloo’s Facebook page, ARTS at Marks Garage posted, “Many people are affected by the closing of the festival: Hallowbaloo staff, volunteers, clubs, food and street vendors, the festival artists as well as the amazing community of festival-goers that wanted to come and just have a good time.

“Please show some aloha and be patient with them as they figure out what to do after such an emergency. They have been working hard every year for the last 5 years to provide a FREE street festival for the public to enjoy safely. We commend the Hallowbaloo staf for working together quickly to ensure the safety of all the festival-goers and artists.”

This week Delta Spirit starts a coast to coast tour at House of Blues concert halls and also tapes a live performance for the televised music series Austin City Limits. Already this year, the band has performed at Lollapalooza, Coachella and Bonnaroo. At the beginning of 2012, the band released a self-titled third album, praised by Rolling Stone for “expanding their sound.” Go to deltaspirit.net for a blog, video and music from the band.
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Elizabeth Kieszkowski is editor of TGIF, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s weekly arts and entertainment section. Reach her via email at ekieszkowski@staradvertiser.com or follow her on Twitter.

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