A new monthly battle of the bands event at Loft Gallery and Lounge is giving local bands a shot at opening for visiting Mainland groups. "The Opening" kicks off June 13 with local bands vying for the chance to warm up the crowd for MGMT July 16 at Pipeline Café ...

If you're wondering what kind of buzz an opening act can have, check out local girl Anuhea, who opened last weekend for Amos Lee at NextDoor. Lee was good, but we're hearing more about Anuhea's inevitable rise. Yes, she's that good. See for yourself Aug. 29 when she hooks up with Pepper at Pipeline Café...

Circle June 14 on your calendar for a date at Hard Rock Cafe, which is celebrating its founders day with "Frank's Hot Sauce Chicken Wing Eating Contest" and 71 cent burgers for public servants. The eat-off starts at 3 p.m. and pits five military branches — Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and Army — against each other. The branch devouring the most chicken wings wins four VIP tickets to Hard Rock's grand opening party in January 2010 for a new location on Waikiki Beachwalk along with other prizes ...

Can someone explain the allure of "Jon & Kate Plus 8," please? The TLC show drew 9.8 million viewers in last week's Cable Nielsen ratings. Only three NBA playoff games topped the reality trainwreck. The hilarious 2009 MTV Movie Awards was eighth with 5.8 million viewers, behind three more NBA playoff games ...

Speaking of the NBA, if there has to be another reality show, can someone hitch a camera and mic to Charles Barkley? The former NBA star turned studio analyst is unpredictably funny, and you no longer have to be a sports guy to get a chuckle out of Chuck. A notoriously bad golfer, he let the Golf Channel video his lessons with Tiger Woods' swing coach Hank Haney for The Haney Project. His lessons ended recently, unfortunately, but if you tuned in once, you're probably addicted to Sir Charles ...

Congrats to UH Manoa Academy for Creative Media chairman Tom Brislin and the entire program, which recently was approved for students to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in creative media. The academy has grown from a three-course offering with 37 students in 2004 to 320 students and 39 courses. Seven of its student films will be shown at the 12th Shanghai International Film Festival June 13-21.