Post #603765 by klockwork on Wed, Aug 24, 2011 8:40 AM

Man, Tiki Oasis just keeps getting better every year.

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about the Tijuana theme when it was first announced. I definitely get the exotica tie in and I’m a fan of Sergio Mendes and Herb Alpert, but as a theme to an entire Oasis event? I wasn’t sure that would fly too well. And while I did definitely have moments where I felt like I was waiting for a table at Casa de Reyes in Old Town San Diego, I ended up loving the theme. I agree with Tangaroa-Ru – it gives us a new way to have fun with Tiki. I know a lot of purists would argue, but there’s nothing wrong with keeping things fresh from year to year.

I can’t say enough about how great the bands were this year too. Jack Costanzo just rocked the house. To get that many people up and dancing that early in the night is a pretty big testament to how awesome he was. And I was stoked to see DJ Bonebreak in Orchestra Superstring. I was a fan of the Bonebreak Syncopators and it was great to see him play exotica. Big Sandy is always a great act and the Hula Girls sounded fantastic. Thanks to all the bands for putting on a great show.

And forgive me if someone already addressed this somewhere, but with all the back and forth about the validity of Burlesque I have yet to see anyone give the burlesque girls the major props they deserve for delivering one of the best Burlesque revues at Tiki Oasis. My wife and I were saying Sunday morning how much better the Burlesque has gotten over the past few years here and this year was definitely the topper. It takes a lot of guts and hard work for these girls to do what they do and personally I love that Otto and Baby Doe bring it to Tiki Oasis every year. Kudos to them for not giving in to the naysayers and pulling it from their lineup. Burlesque is an artform with a long history connected to it. At a lot of the rockabilly events that my wife and I go to, its given the proper spotlight it deserves and many times you have to wait an hour or more to get into the shows and often times girls will get standing ovations for great performances. I absolutely love the Tiki crowd for how accepting, open, easygoing and friendly you all are and I hate to see these girls compared to garden variety strip club strippers here on Tiki Central. Viva La Burlesque!

And last but not least, it is so great to see the car show get bigger every year. I love that we’re combining kustoms with an event like Tiki Oasis and I hope this just keeps growing (and that at some point I can fix up my truck to a point where I can be a participant in it)

Again, thanks so much to Otto and Baby Doe and all the volunteers and people whose hard work made this event possible. We’ll see all you guys there again next year!