Post #3463 by aquarj on Mon, Jul 8, 2002 9:10 PM

I remember the original conversations about Taboo Cove, and at first this time I was gonna write a post sorta defending them. Sometimes it seems we're all so thrifty when it comes to our own money, but not when it comes to the money of someone else who actually invests in a place like that. Like they're supposed to cater to a handful of tiki nuts who show up all the way from Timbuktu once in a while hoping for tiki nirvana, and who might be back to buy a couple drinks maybe once or twice a year. And the owners are supposed to perpetually maintain the place in pristine, authentic form (whatever authentic is) out of a pure love of the soul of the tiki experience. Yeah, I think that's a little unreasonable expectation, but on the other hand, there's nothing wrong with us rating the experience for each other. I sure don't know what's the best way for them to make money on the place - maybe they did a focus group and came up with that crappy music. But I doubt it. I bet it's just something that didn't really get much creative thought, unlike the decor, so my guess is that the Taboo Cove folks just plain blew it when it came to the music.

I think there are tons of people who only enjoy music when they hear songs they already know. But even those kinda people like a full-immersion "exotic" experience once in a while, and that's what Vegas is about. In Vegas, it doesn't make sense to try to create a bar that sounds the same as what people get at their local watering hole or meat market or sports bar or whatever back home. I bet the vast majority of visitors will just be around a night or a weekend, and then disappear. And I bet they could really enjoy a more apropos and well-crafted soundtrack for Taboo Cove if anyone had actually tried putting it together. There are tons of examples of other places that have tried to use fitting music, with customers getting into it as part of the charm. Hmm, well, there used to be anyway.

But being exotic and tiki-ish doesn't have to mean slow and languid background-only music. Personally, I like "lounges" better than bars/clubs, but my impression was that the Taboo Cove folks hoped for more of a jam-packed bar party atmosphere, so I can see them thinking that Marty and Arty might be a little slow, if they even considered exotica at all. But there are so many choices! Just a quick look and listen at Miles Thompson's website reveals how a little creativity can go a long way for putting visuals and music together, but in a modern way, with this genre. And there's so much cool new music being made too. Stuff like Tipsy and Pizzicato Five and all the Euro lounge-tronica, or even some of the surf-lounge-tiki party music like the Bomboras or Huntington Cads. It's pretty clear the music was just an afterthought, and then it only got worse when they revisited the issue and played Dr. Frankenstein by gluing MTV ears onto a tiki head.

Course the Venus Lounge is another story. That's actually laid out and named like a lounge, and it's just screaming out to be an ultra-hip spot. I bet many of us in this group could spend one afternoon and put together a GREAT soundtrack for that place combining space-age pop with modern sounds in the same vein.