Maui Brews, 900 Front St. (tel. 808/667-7794), draws the late-night crowd to its corner of the Lahaina Center with swing, salsa, reggae, and jams -- either live or with a DJ every night. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner beginning at 7:30am, and happy hour extends from 3 to 7pm, with $1 drafts and $1 wells. The nightclub opens at 9pm and closes at 2am. Depending on the entertainment, sometimes there's a cover charge after 9pm; generally if there is one it's $5. For recorded information on entertainment (which changes, so it's a good idea to call), call tel. 808/669-2739; www.mauibrews.com.
At Longhi's (tel. 808/667-2288), live music spills out into the streets from 9:30pm on weekends (with a cover charge of $5). It's usually salsa or jazz, but call ahead to confirm. Other special gigs can be expected if rock-and-rollers or jazz musicians who are friends of the owner happen to be passing through.
The Hard Rock Cafe, 900 Front St. (tel. 808/667-7400), occasionally offers live music, so it wouldn't hurt to call them to see if something's up. Usually they feature mainland bands, normally on weekends after 10pm. Cover ranges from $3 to $5.
You won't have to ask what's going on at Cheeseburger in Paradise (tel. 808/661-4855), the two-story green-and-white building at the corner of Front and Lahainaluna streets. Just go outside and you'll hear it. Loud, live tropical rock blasts into the streets and out to sea nightly from 4:30 to 11pm (no cover charge).
A Night to Remember: Luau, Maui Style--Most of the larger hotels in Maui's major resorts offer luaus on a regular basis. You'll pay about $65 to attend one. To protect yourself from disappointment, don't expect it to be a homegrown affair prepared in the traditional Hawaiian way. There are, however, commercial luaus that capture the romance and spirit of the luau with quality food and entertainment in outdoor settings.
Maui's best luau is indisputably the nightly Old Lahaina Luau (tel. 800/248-5828 or 808/667-1998; www.oldlahainaluau.com). On its 1-acre site just ocean side of the Lahaina Cannery at 1251 Front St., the Old Lahaina Luau maintains its high standards in food and entertainment, in a peerless setting. Local craftspeople display their wares only a few feet from the ocean. Seating is provided on lauhala mats for those who wish to dine as the traditional Hawaiians did, but there are tables for everyone else. There's no fire dancing in the program, but you won't miss it. This luau offers a healthy balance of entertainment, showmanship, authentic high-quality food, educational value, and sheer romantic beauty. (No watered-down mai tais, either; these are the real thing.)
The luau begins at sunset and features Tahitian and Hawaiian entertainment, including ancient hula, hula from the missionary era, modern hula, and an intelligent narrative on the dance's rocky course of survival into modern times. The entertainment is riveting, even for jaded locals. The food, served from an open-air thatched structure, is as much Pacific Rim as authentically Hawaiian: imu-roasted kalua pig, baked mahimahi in Maui onion cream sauce, guava chicken, teriyaki sirloin steak, lomi salmon, poi, dried fish, poke, Hawaiian sweet potato, sautéed vegetables, seafood salad, and the ultimate taste treat, taro leaves with coconut milk. The cost is $79 plus tax for adults, $49 plus tax for children.
'Ulalena: Hula, Myth & Modern Dance--The highly polished 'Ulalena, staged in the Maui Myth and Magic Theatre, 878 Front St. (tel. 877/688-4800 or 808/661-9913; www.ulalena.com), is the talk of the town, a riveting production that weaves Hawaiian mythology with drama, dance, and state-of-the-art multimedia capabilities in a brand-new, multimillion-dollar theater.
A local and international cast performs Polynesian dance, original music, acrobatics, and chant to create an experience that often leaves the audience speechless. It's interactive, with dancers coming down the aisles, drummers and musicians in surprising corners, and mind-boggling stage and lighting effects that draw the audience in. In one scene, sugar cane is shown growing on the stage, projected on mesh curtains as if by time-lapse photography. Some special moments: the goddess dancing on the moon, the white sail signaling the arrival of the first Europeans, the wrath of the volcano goddess, Pele (the stage effects depicting lava are brilliant), the despairing labors of the field-worker immigrants. The effects of the modern choreography and traditional hula, a fusion of genres, are surprisingly evocative and emotional. The story unfolds seamlessly and at the end, you'll be shocked to realize that not a single word of dialogue has been spoken. Performances are Tuesday at 6 and 8:30pm, and Wednesday to Saturday at 6pm only. Tickets are $48 to $58 for adults and $28 to $38 for children ages 3 to 10.
Magic-Maui Style--A very different type of live entertainment is Warren & Annabelle's, 900 Front St. (near Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and Hard Rock Cafe), Lahaina (tel. 808/667-6244; www.hawaiimagic.com), a mystery/magic cocktail show with illusionist Warren Gibson and "Annabella," a ghost from the 1800s who plays the grand piano (even taking requests from the audience) as Warren dazzles you with his sleight-of-hand magic. Preshow entertainment begins at 6:45pm nightly, tickets (book in advance) are $40, cocktails and food are extra. You must be 21 years old to attend, although they occasionally have a 5pm family show (minimum age is 6 years) without food or cocktails; call for details.
