Reviews
Ever Call Japanese Singers
By: Mark
OK, so I will admit that I did not expect a whole lot from the “Ever Call” singers, who performed at the UH Hilo Performing Arts Center, on Saturday, September 10.
However, those ladies from Osaka, Japan were cute, spunky, and talented.
They started the show by entering dressed like typical Japanese housewives. They all wore vibrantly colored kimonos with thick-soled slippers. That segment featured popular Japanese songs, which were long enough to be enjoyed but short enough to keep the pace moving. The highlight of the evening came when one of the older singers stepped up to do her solo, tilted her head cartoonishly to the side and chirped her line.
The singers took a break to change clothes and returned all dressed up in cartoon character clothes. Appropriately, they were singing popular cartoon songs from Japan. Unlike corny American cartoons, the songs were fun and enjoyable. The costumes and fun songs kept the audience laughing and smiling, except when the singers lined up to take their half-time bow. For some reason, the audience did not seem to anticipate the bowing, and then when they realized what was going on, it was too late to start clapping. Everybody felt bad, as they should have. The singers deserved the applause.
They got the applause after the third segment, which featured traditional Hawai’ian and Japanese songs. They started with Hawai’i Pono’i, to which everybody stood and sang along. The set ended with Aloha Oe, and the crowd again stood, joined hands, and swayed with the choir.
The Ever Call singers last visited UH-Hilo 5 years ago. They were brought in this time by Corinne Tamashiro, the acting Dean of the College of Continuing Education and Community Service.