The Shell

I arrived in Honolulu with some with friends last Thursday, but the main event of our trip was the 2008 Kokua Festival held at the Waikiki Shell.

Jack Johnson, a native and resident of Oahu, founded the Kokua Festival several years ago to raise funds for environmental education in the schools and communities of Hawaii, so this is his show and he's the headliner. That was made a little harder this year due to the participation of Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, who drew hoards of people and made the tough ticket even tougher.

Due to an online ticket purchase snafu, all of my friends had tickets but I didn't, so I had to resort to a grass roots plan to get a ticket. I went down to the venue early while my friends were enjoying pre-show cocktails at Tiki's. I circled the place looking for extra tickets, but there were no sellers except for a fat sweaty slob of a scalper who wanted too much. Frustrated, I then made a sign hoping to find a seller. I stood around with my sign, but of course everyone thought I was a scalper, so I eventually gave up on the idea.

Dejected, I returned to Tiki's and proceeded to drink with the gang and drown my ticket miseries. Then, the light bulb went off. One of the girls in the party had a VIP pass to get her backstage after the show, but she also had a ticket to ensure she had a place to sit during the show. She figured she could get in the gate with her VIP pass and I could use the ticket, and then once I got in I could give her the ticket and just head to the General Admission area. Sure enough, the plan worked.

After consuming a few beers and checking out the Eco Village, it was show time. And what a show it was. Dave Matthews was good, especially playing with Tim Reynolds. Jack Johnson was quite good as well. But it was the amazing view (complete with Diamond Head) at the Waikiki Shell that mesmerized me.