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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, February 19, 2010

Kings of Spade sets stage alight for Bon Jovi


TGIF Staff

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Kasi Nunes of the Kings of Spades shows off her old Bon Jovi poster during the opening act for Bon Jovi Thursday night at Blaisdell Center.

NORMAN SHAPIRO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Local rock band Kings of Spade got its 15 minutes (actually, more like 30) of the big time last week when it opened for Bon Jovi.

The band, which bills itself as funk, soul, blues and rock fusion, beat out more than 50 other local bands in a sort of battle-of-the-bands to land the opening gig.

With frontwoman Kasi Nunes, who's got this incredible magnetism that lights up the stage — even a big stage like the Blaisdell's — the Kings gave local music a good name with a short, strong set that included a seriously solid rendition of Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart."

Between songs, Nunes held up an old, worn poster of Bon Jovi lead singer Jon Bon Jovi and said that the poster has been hanging over her bed since she was 15.

"In school," she said, "They used to call me 'Bon Jovi Jr.' " — a shameless admission of her love for the New Jersey rockers, and proof that sometimes, dreams do come true.

One final note on The BeachBoys, who played three concerts in the Islands last week. Mike Love, co-founder of the band, said school loyalty still rings true to him and talked about rooting only for his nephew, Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves, when it comes to the NBA.

"I have a basic attitude that I prefer college and high school sports,"Love said. "There's more 'Be True to Your School' there, which is one of our bigger hits. I'm more into the spirit kind of things. Even though college is not exactly pure as the driven snow, it's closer to the spirit of when you went to high school and you were true to your team."

For a limited time, Jason Alexander — George Costanza of "Seinfeld" fame — will be headlining "The Donny Clay Experience" in Las Vegas at the CHI Showroom at Planet Hollywood Resort &Casino. Tickets are $55 to $90 and can be purchased through www.ticketmaster.com. Alexander's character, Donny Clay, is billed as the world's fourth-best motivational speaker. Alexander performs most weekends through March 14.