Longtime promoter Tom Moffatt is a bit of a pack rat, but even he was a bit surprised when he pulled a student newspaper article from his archives and saw the byline on a Sept. 27, 1974, story about Elton John.

The paper was Ka Punahou, Punahou School's newspaper. The reporter was AOL founder Steve Case, a 1976 Buff and Blue grad.

"I had forgotten that Steve came into my office to do a story about Elton coming to play three concerts in Honolulu," Moffatt said. "Isn't that something? He did a good job."

In the 1974 story, Case described John's three soldout concerts as "one of the biggest events in Hawai'i rock history." He also described Moffatt as being in his late 30s, tabbed the Rolling Stones as being Moffatt's biggest concert to promote to date and pointed out that Moffatt lost money bringing in Herman's Hermits. One other tidbit: Case also wrote that one act Moffatt was trying to bring in was the Stylistics — the same group Moffatt brought to the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom last night to play a New Year's Eve gig.

Call ahead — way ahead — if you want to catch the 3-D marvel "Avatar" on IMAX at Regal Theatres Dole Cannery 18. Since its midnight opening on Dec. 17, every show — four a day — has sold out. A manager at Dole said advance tickets are still selling quickly.

This weekend marks the last chance to catch "Stomp" before it leaves town. About 350 tickets remain for each show this weekend, "Stomp" publicist Aubrey Hawk said. She estimates that of the 16 performances at Hawaii Theatre, at least half will have sold out.

"I think it's been great for Hawaii Theatre to have a long-running show do well in this economic time," Hawk said. "They're getting crowds like they had for the Eddie Vedder and Jack Johnson concerts and that's great for Downtown.

"What I've been hearing a lot is people who've never seen it before are surprised at how theatrical and funny it is, and how tightly it's produced and choreographed but there's still room for improv."

If you haven't gone and you're wondering how family friendly it is, Hawk sat next to a 2-year-old boy at one show. "He never took his eyes off the stage," she said. "It's totally family friendly."

The Hawaii Theatre box office (528-0506) doesn't open until 6 p.m. today, but you can purchase tickets at www.hawaiitheatre.com.

Admission is free Wednesday to the Honolulu Academy of Arts, just as it is the first Wednesday of every month. The big draw this week is Wednesday is the last day the exhibition "Hokusai's Summit: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" will be on view. The exhibition date was extended specifically to keep it open for the January free day.