Frog Blog

Last night a large crowd of music lovers eagerly awaited the performance of Hip Hop artist Lauryn Hill at the MACC (Maui Arts and Cultural Center.)  The Big Island’s Pepper opened for the eight time Grammy winner for Bob Fest 2007.

As far as venues go, the MACC is rarely paralleled.  This open-air forum holds views of the sun setting through the high clouds of the West Maui Mountains.  It often surprises residents when big names decide to play here due to the MACC’s inability to accomodate large audiences.  When a big name like Lauryn Hill does play here, it’s truly a treat for those able to attend this small venue.

Among many artists to open was Pepper.  From Kona, Hawai’i, these three alternative musicians made our neighbors on the Big Island proud.  Their unique sound pulls from punk, reggae, ska, and rock n’ roll.  Judging by their enthusiastic applause and committed lyrics, the crowd confidently chose Pepper as their favorites of the night.  Pepper’s standout performance made fans out of the most unlikely audience members.  We’ll all be seeing much more of these three talented young men in the future.

The anticipation for our headliner was enormous. Once the fast paced singing/raping from Lauryn Hill’s soulful voice began booming through the warm Maui air, the entire crowd began to dance.  Though after playing Oahu then the Big Island in succession, her voice had been stretched past it’s limits.  It seems that the sound system on the Big Island was poor, and she had to make up for it by pushing her voice harder than what was regularly necessary.  Unfortunately, this made for a raspier and less beautiful singing from this incredible artist.  This came not from a lack of trying; I’ve never seen a singer push so hard to give an audience what they wanted.  If it had been anyone else, the performance would have been stunning.  It’s a shame that most of us know what she’s normally capable of.

All in all, the Bob Fest show was a success.  Big names or small, any show at the MACC really shouldn’t be missed.

Go to MauiArts.org for future show times.