Tikifest Tacoma, WA 4/16/16

It all started with a Facebook event invite…

When I got the invite for Tikifest, I just had to laugh. I messaged back, “Well, it looks I’m going to Tacoma!” Tikifest was set up by Jeffery from the Ukadelics. The idea was simple: have some Tiki bands play at Bob’s Java Jive and have a prefunk at Tacoma Cabana beforehand. Easy enough.

I arrived at Tacoma Cabana right around 6:00. The bar was already filled with people. There were tons of girls wearing flora print dresses and guys wearing aloha shirts. I knew I was in good company. Tacoma Cabana had opened at 5:00 and I have a feeling most of these people were waiting in line to get in at 4:55! Everyone looked like they were well into having their drink on.

Sitting at the bar were my old friends Jenny and Mark! The last time I was here, they were here too. This is a picture of us from before…

And now…

I only ordered one drink: a rum barrel. It has like four shots of rum! I drank my drink, ordered and ate my pu pu platter, and took off to Bob’s Java Jive.

Bob’s Java Jive has been around since 1927. Originally, it was a coffee shop, so the building is literally shaped like a giant coffee pot! When I arrived at the Java Jive, people were already there taking pictures of the place…

I needed to get my picture as well…

Taking everyone’s money right inside the entrance was a fine gentleman named Mike…

Mike’s son’s grandparents own the place. Mike was very knowledgeable about the Java Jive and was more than happy to tell me about it. It opened in 1927and was a speakeasy from 1932-1935. After that, it continued as a bar. It’s Bing Crosby’s favorite hangout, the Ventures used to be the house band, and Nirvana played the Java Jive (and were kicked off the stage because the owner thought they were terrible!).

Starting off the show was the Ukadelics…

The Ukadelics had not one but four ukulele players!

It didn’t take long for the place to fill up…

The Ukadelics ran though everyone’s favorite Hawaiian and exotica tunes. The last song on the Ukadelics set was “Quiet Village”. The crowd was swaying back and forth to the rhythm of the music just like waves in the ocean. Instead of just ending the song, the band slowly left the stage one at a time as members of the Tikigraphs took their places…

First the guitarist of the Tikigraphs started playing “Quiet Village” with bongo player of the Ukadelics. Then the bass player plugged in, followed by the keyboard player, and finally the drummer…

It was a really cool thing to watch and the cool vibe of Tikifest continued without a hitch…

The Tikigraphs are actually called The Spyrographs, but changed their name for the occasion. The Spyrographs—I mean the Tikigraphs—took over the night with their selection of exotica and lounge tunes…

The entire evening was so much fun. I think it’s safe to say Tikifest was a huge success! For me, I just loved being around people who have a love for Tiki just as much as I do!

Hey Jeffery! When is Tikifest 2 happening? I’ll be there!

Here is the Facebook event page for Tikifest.