I like my Maui Tuna HOT!

Acoustic Hot Tuna and Cool Maui Vibes were happening on a perfect February night. This end of the tour show played to surprisingly half full house at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center's Castle Theater.

I was a Tuna Virgin, if you will, so the show was quite an event for me. I have heard of the guys for awhile and was excited to see some classic finger-pickin action. I was not disappointed. The crowd was mostly silver-haired and still feisty. They routinely shouted out song titles and encouragement to the equally silver haired musicians. The fact that there was Reggae Festival the same day, probably had something to do with the sparse attendance.

After an opening acoustic number they launched into a Janis Joplin cover, which I did not expect. After that was a nice mix of acoustic songs with some old sing-a-long types that the crowd enjoyed. After a short SETBREAK (homage to this website), the musicians shared some road stories and more great tunes. I must say that it was very hypnotizing and I found myself almost stuporous after all was said and done.
The funniest part of the evening was definitely the T-shirt story. Since this was the final stop on the "tour" they were low on merchandise. Barry explained that they had exactly four small ladies T-shirts to sell left and they were inscribed I like my Tuna HOT. I thought this is hilarious only having four small T-shirts to sell and showed how non-commerical their motivations were. Happily, all four of the dubious T-shirts were purchased after the show and the tour was a wrap.
I was particularly impressed with Barry Mitterhoff's Mandolin playing. He also did some guitar work but the Mandolin work was excellent. Not to diminish the bass playing or Jorma's balladeering but it terms of excellence, the mandolin was the star in my opinion.
I look forward to my next helping!
Aloha from Maui