April 18th - the Tikiyaki Orchestra & Tiki Magazine spring release party at Don the Beachcomber !

as far as that goes, they open at 4 pm.
enjoy the bar for 2 hours.
then go to the back room for the show.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

sorry if I'm the late lamo but but have you seen this?? http://www.donthebeachcomber.com/

On 2009-04-17 23:25, mrsmiley wrote:
Inky and I are in!

Tell Inky to hug Russell for me! Have a great time tonight!

Suzanne

What a blast! T.O. as usual, the best!

The place looked great too, and was totally packed!

I hope no one got caught by the many checkpoints, though.

I did. I was ok, though.

Another great Tikiyaki show. I especially dug the bongo/drum/percussion stuff. Jim, will some of that be on the new album?

Such a great night! It was great to see everyone again, but my son said it was "the best night of his life ever!" Thanks to everyone for showing him the spirit of the tiki. Usually, tiki bar hopping isn't so much a family event, but nights like this that allow me to share this with my son is a great treat. I may be dooming him to a life of expensive exotica enjoyment... but anything less and I just couldn't live with myself.

I have to say the food and cocktails were amazing (the teriyaki chicken on the kids menu was on par with the swankiest of elegant eateries, none of that chicken nugget/grilled cheese crap you normally are subjected to... he was going crazy for it)... wonderful to finally try a Don's Mai Tai (perhaps a little light on the rum but I love the spices). I know the staff was over burdened, but it showed great promise for those regular nights out.

Awesome show guys. This is only the second time seeing you guys live (first being at tiki farm last year). Loved the percussion. The more bongos the better! We ended up leaving after the first set though. My girlfriend enjoyed the mai tai's too much and was fast asleep during the first set! (yes, we were the ones in the back corner). Oh well, my brother and I enjoyed the show!

It was great seeing you again WooHooWahine, Al-ii and everyone else I got a chance to speak too. It's kind of a pain going to these events all the way from SD County, but I'm gonna start making the effort. They are too much fun. Next on the list? Ben's nooner and Oasis!

I've never posted anything on here. Really no reason, I just prefer to read. Anyway, last night was my first experience at any tiki gathering like that. I've been to a bunch of places before, but never surrounded with tiki fans! I drank, I emptied my wallet to the artists, had some great conversations, and listened to chill tunes. Awesome night! Can't wait for Tiki Oasis!

Teriyaki rocked the joint!!!!

Can't wait to see them again.

Nice seeing everyone!!!

Crazy packed!!

Hey, hi, Oh!, hold on a min.. pulled here and there..wait!, huh?

ghosts?, ruzic is a nut! Hmmm... left.. right..Congrats! tug.. pull, You're Bamboo

Ben??!! Eeek!! etc..

( tried to make the best of it. one big blur.:)

cept for those bongos!!

wheeeew what a day/night yesterday,
I got there at 3 to set up and left pretty close to 2 am,
but I did beat Crazy Al gettin out.
:wink:

great turn out,
all the artists stuff was amazing as always,
and Tikiyaki is top shelf,
my Favorite Exotica band,
there is none better, period.

thanks to everybody that complimented me on the dj tunes,
love the feedback.

thanks again to Jim for having me,
you rule Bruddah
Rapa Nui, man,

I had a great time. The drinks have greatly improved. Jim the Show was awesome, can't till see you guys at Ben's in May.

Rob

I've been a vegetable all day....this gig was exhausting....I arrived at DTB at 12 noon, and finally got home at 3:30 am.... LONG DAY !

Thanx everyone for coming out, whether it was "Teriyaki" (as Ben refers to us as) that brought you there, or Tiki Mag, or The artists, I'm blown away by the amount of people that come to these shows...It's really humbling.

Thanx to Big Tiki Dude, for spinning the stellar tunes, Crazy Al, Tiki Diablo, Johnny the Pinstriper, GoTiki, Doug Horne, Nick from Tiki Mag for a really nice feature on the band,
The Don Lookalikes - Tobunga, man, that was a crazy outfit ! - and everyone for showing up.

Thanx to the Chuck, Art and Delia, Ryan and all the staff at DTB for giving us all the ultimate Tiki playground to hang out in.

See you all at The "Nooner" at Ben's !

Do you have your TIKIYAKI ORCHESTRA CD YET ?
http://www.myspace.com/tikiyaki
http://www.tikiyakiorchestra.com

[ Edited by: tikiyaki 2009-04-19 21:15 ]

That was a stellar evening fellas! I brought some new people along and they had a great time. Hi Brett and Keliana. I was glad to be able to bring them to this Tiki palace to hear an amazing band! The drums!! Great art, Johnny the pinstriper did a WOW job on some Diablo mugs for my pals! Did anyone see those? I'll have Laura (Java Loa) post up a picture. And my bud Chad (retro-friki-tiki) was the #1 Don, too! Hooray! I didn't get any dancing in this time - it was just too darn crowded! Great to see everyone, and Kinny even stopped painting long enough to come out of his cave and have some fun! See you all again at BooBen's!

[ Edited by: Kiki von Tiki 2009-04-21 09:43 ]

On 2009-04-19 21:13, tikiyaki wrote:
I've been a vegetable all day....this gig was exhausting....I arrived at DTB at 12 noon, and finally got home at 3:30 am.... LONG DAY !

Thanx everyone for coming out, whether it was "Teriyaki" (as Ben refers to us as) that brought you there, or Tiki Mag, or The artists, I'm blown away by the amount of people that come to these shows...It's really humbling.

Thanx to Big Tiki Dude, for spinning the stellar tunes, Crazy Al, Tiki Diablo, Johnny the Pinstriper, GoTiki, Doug Horne, Nick from Tiki Mag for a really nice feature on the band,
The Don Lookalikes - Tobunga, man, that was a crazy outfit ! - and everyone for showing up.

Thanx to the Chuck, Art and Delia, Ryan and all the staff at DTB for giving us all the ultimate Tiki playground to hang out in.

See you all at The "Nooner" at Ben's !

Amen, you can now leave the pew.

three words....

it was RAD!

Yeah! What Teriyaki said.

Thank you everyone who continues to support our wacky musical endeavors! It's always great to see everyone come out to the shows even though it's not always easy to get a chat in. See you at Bamboo Ben's Nooner.

squid

Man, what a BLAST! I had a truly tikiastic time!

The last time I was there it was still Sam's and the Hidden Village was all dark. I did peek around, nonetheless, but only saw the right-hand space (where Tikiyaki performed), never even setting foot in the half that has the Coconut Bar in it. No wonder I was confused at how the pictures I'd seen seemed so much grander than the dimly lit section of the Village I saw that night.

So imagine my delighted surprise Saturday night when I strolled in to the new Don's and saw THIS...

I thought I'd died and gone to Poly Pop Paradise!

And Tikiyaki ROCKED! This was my first time seeing you guys live and I gotta say you put on one helluva show! Major kudos all the way round!

Here's how the stage looked (Prior to the band's arrival, natch)...

Congrats, also, to Nick and everyone at Tiki Mag for another sterling issue!

And my compliments to Ryan, et al, for some mighty tasty drinks...

... and to the new owners and staff of the first Don The Beachcomber on the mainland in 30 years!

And kudos to Tiki Diablo, as well, for his contributions!

And as for Benboo Bam -- what can I say, sir? Another stellar job!

Just look at this new entrance...

Rev B.B. pulled that off in just one afternoon, folks -- the very day of the show! Not too shabby, eh? Beautiful vintage stuff!

And here are a bunch more pics, concentrating on the environmental details rather than the attendees. (I knew others in the Ohana would cover that!)

Well, that's it for now! Aloha & Welcome to the new Don The B's! It was a heck of a kick-off party, and I look forward to my next visit!

Cheers & Mahalos :drink: :tiki:

P.S. Thanks WooHooWahine & SoccerTiki for making the night extra fun!

[ Edited by: KreepyTiki 2009-04-20 03:09 ]

On 2009-04-20 03:04, KreepyTiki wrote:

And as for Benboo Bam -- what can I say, sir? Another stellar job!

Just look at this new entrance...

Rev B.B. pulled that off in just one afternoon, folks -- the very day of the show! Not too shabby, eh? Beautiful vintage stuff!

Ha...I had to touch it to see if that was real jade. Looks great!

It's the 2009 version of the 1934 version......

Thanks everyone for the kind words and to Art Snyder for the

opps to do this. We still have a little more to do...

p.s. and Teri...I'll fix you up at the nooner with that boo!

Exit stage left...or was that right ??
Good times at the Don for all that were in attendance.
Look forward to going there for my birthday .

I'm with KreepyTiki...when I walked in, my jaw dropped! Felt like stepping out of a time machine...into a much better time! Just lovely! Really captures that old, vintage patina!
If I ever win the lottery, I want Ben to do my entire house, inside and out.
I wanna go back...

accidental double post

[ Edited by: Hau 'oli Tiki 2009-04-20 17:31 ]

WOW! What a show! What a cool event! What a Great turn-out! Thank You Nick ( Tiki Magazine ) For the invite to participate, Tikiyaki "Phenomenal" Orchestra, All the Great artist and friends, What a blast! Thank You All, Gogo and Dani

Thanks for the shout out! Tikiyaki Orchestra, You, guys where off the charts! I must agree that the intro really gets one going!

congratzs!! The Yaks real know how to pack them in!!!!!!! maybe next time they spend some of the doe on trip to CostCo for extra Franks and beans for parking lot cook out after kitchen closes.... super fantastic success guys... great sound!!

Wow Ben, great work! This place never looked better! The entrance, the whole Hidden Village, and finally that ugly mural behind the main dining room waterfall gone! A vast improvement, all in keeping with the style.

...and wait, did I see that right? The Tiki posts in the bar have FINALLY been rescued from their degrading clown paint!? Is it so? A milestone achievement!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2009-04-20 20:48 ]

Good times!

The Tiki Mag release party in the Hidden Village

This man won the "Crazy Al the Beachcomber" look-a-like contest hands down!

Good tunes!

Squid, mug idea. Two heads are better than one!

Hosts/Judges of the look-a-like contest Art & Delia

Who's it gonna be?

And the winner is...Don the Beachcomber!

So have another drink of Rum...

because the sign says it all!

Good times indeed!

[ Edited by: A frame 2009-04-21 00:28 ]

[ Edited by: A frame 2009-04-23 22:53 ]

On 2009-04-20 20:41, bigbrotiki wrote:
Wow Ben, great work! This place never looked better! The entrance, the whole Hidden Village, and finally that ugly mural behind the main dining room waterfall gone! A vast improvement, all in keeping with the style.

What ? There was no mural behind the main dining room waterfall...not since it was the original Sam's was there a mural, but it was a nice one....

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/111/288081707_d2205ed48a.jpg

A Frame....Amazing Pics !

[ Edited by: tikiyaki 2009-04-20 21:00 ]

On 2009-04-20 20:47, tikiyaki wrote:

On 2009-04-20 20:41, bigbrotiki wrote:
Wow Ben, great work! This place never looked better! The entrance, the whole Hidden Village, and finally that ugly mural behind the main dining room waterfall gone! A vast improvement, all in keeping with the style.

What ? There was no mural behind the main dining room waterfall...not since it was the original Sam's was there a mural, but it was a nice one....

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/111/288081707_d2205ed48a.jpg

That Mural was UGLY Jim :D

:: another great night of tiki! java loa & i relived our eve of mai-tais @ don's historic digs in kona (almost a year ago to-date), and visited w/ my sis & kiki-von-tiki's gang of grog-gulpers. we'll definitely make this a destination when we head northwest out of the chaparral to quench our thirst & snag some mini-ahi-tacos!

"castaway-don" + java loa...

the royal kona resort on the big island...

the 1st of many of don's sublime, special-blend o' mai-tais...

johnny-the-pinstriper styled a tiki-diablo mug for java loa...

[repeated from the other topic]

• a big "shaka bruddah" to toebunga for his amazing costume...i surely thought i would lose to you & am in awe of your knack for kitschy-tiki-kraft!

• ain't no poke like ahi-poke!*

On 2009-04-20 23:03, Hiphipahula wrote:

On 2009-04-20 20:47, tikiyaki wrote:

On 2009-04-20 20:41, bigbrotiki wrote:
Wow Ben, great work! This place never looked better! The entrance, the whole Hidden Village, and finally that ugly mural behind the main dining room waterfall gone! A vast improvement, all in keeping with the style.

What ? There was no mural behind the main dining room waterfall...not since it was the original Sam's was there a mural, but it was a nice one....

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/111/288081707_d2205ed48a.jpg

That Mural was UGLY Jim :D

I disagree...I love the way it incorporated the waterfall into the mural.

Yeah, I thought that mural was great too. It's great that Ben is pulling the place back to where it was before they converted it over to Kona. It was the Kona people who wanted to take the kitch out of the place and 'class' it up with the drapy fabric and all of the modern design additions. They chopped the mural in the bar in half too!

By the way, Jim, you guys sounded terrific!
It was a very cool event.

On 2009-04-21 07:29, Luckydesigns wrote:
Yeah, I thought that mural was great too. It's great that Ben is pulling the place back to where it was before they converted it over to Kona. It was the Kona people who wanted to take the kitch out of the place and 'class' it up with the drapy fabric and all of the modern design additions. They chopped the mural in the bar in half too!

By the way, Jim, you guys sounded terrific!
It was a very cool event.

Thanx Spike.

I think the white billowy drapery, and indonesian stylings were installed by the people who turned it into Sam's v 2.0. . They were also the ones who stripped the Hidden Village of alot of the foliage, and took all the thatching down too. Kona/ Chuck pretty much left it the place as it was, and actually added some of the cool PolyPop stuff back.

Either way, the addition of the thatching to the bar and other areas really looks great. Personally, I think the entryway could use a big-ass Tiki (Diablo ? Ray ? Bosko?) inside the doorway to greet travelers on the way in.

What a Fantastic night Thanks Nick, Tiki Magazine.
The Tikiyaki Orch. was amazing of course as always great all around entertainment. I am diggin' the new stuff I especially love hearing and feeling the sounds of Bachelor #1. I just dig the groove. I'm looking forward to the new C.D. and all the Hip schwag that comes with it.
Mr. Rob Reilly The "HipsterGripster" accompanied me and that was a treat in it's self. The hubby had a chance to check out the Crazy Al Tiki #155 The Collector we had commissioned. For Rob and I on top of the whole experience of being at a Don The Beachcomber, it was cool to see the Original Royal Haeger Pottery DTB Rum Barrels in both eyes. (Thanks Trader Tom Morgan for the other matching eye ball)and a thrill to see the Original Donn Beach Head in da 'opu, Da pu'uwai of da Tiki.
Great New Craftsmanship Bamboo Ben! Ya did it again. Thanks for the Great night! Let's do it again soon!

I wish there were more pictures posted of this night....anyone??

My 2 cents: What's missing is a giant Robb Hamel black velvet painting of Don in the entry way or on the wall over the main dinning room water fall.

The problem with Digitiki 2 cents is they aren't even worth a penny.

Now I have not been there that often when it was Kona, and mostly went straight into the bar. I was assuming the very first room you come into is the main dining room. It always had a great waterfall with a great Tiki, but in Sam's day, the wall behind it was painted with a brightly colored, badly rendered tropical Beach painting. Then I saw this photo on the previous page:

If that was done during Kona's reign or for Don's, whichever, it is a vast improvement. It anchors the installation, and allows you to focus on it, not the wall. And it sure looks like Ben's handiwork to me.

So what about the Dayglo Tikis in the bar? Brown now or not?

On 2009-04-21 15:33, bigbrotiki wrote:
So what about the Dayglo Tikis in the bar? Brown now or not?

Still day-glo for the most part. A lot of blues and reds and greens, but I think they've faded over the years. And I would bet that mural is still intact behind that matting!

[ Edited by: Jason Wickedly 2009-04-21 15:42 ]

Just hop in the car and take a quick trip down there, and you'll see for yourself. Consider it an Urban Archeologist trip. :D

On 2009-04-21 15:41, Jason Wickedly wrote:
Still day-glo for the most part. A lot of blues and reds and greens...

Arrrgh...shivers me liver!

On 2009-04-21 15:43, GROG wrote:
Just hop in the car and take a quick trip down there, and you'll see for yourself. Consider it an Urban Archeologist trip. :D

I will, in due time. It's just not a skip and a jump from my island. And I have been there sooo many times over the years...way back when lil Grog didn't even know how to spell "Urban archeologist". :)

Sven,
you know were all sad when there is a big tiki event going on, and your not there.
Kinda like if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it make a sound.
If there is a tiki event and Sven is not there, is it really a tiki event?

I know Sven's answer,
only if there is a tiki there.

I'm learning master,
:wink:

Jeff(bigtikidude)

p.s. edit, saw this in Bilge and thought it might be good here.

[ Edited by: bigtikidude 2009-04-21 20:22 ]

Just got the new issue in the mail and its fab as always!

You all should do the next issue release up in NorCal...why do you all in the south get to have all the fun???? :)

We had a great time. Tikiyaki was top notch. We just had appetizers which were good, but the drinks we found kind of average. Ended up switching to Primo on tap. Good to see everyone....cut out a bit early due to exhaustion, but the master bath remodel is done!

On 2009-04-21 15:33, bigbrotiki wrote:
Now I have not been there that often when it was Kona, and mostly went straight into the bar. I was assuming the very first room you come into is the main dining room. It always had a great waterfall with a great Tiki, but in Sam's day, the wall behind it was painted with a brightly colored, badly rendered tropical Beach painting. Then I saw this photo on the previous page:

If that was done during Kona's reign or for Don's, whichever, it is a vast improvement. It anchors the installation, and allows you to focus on it, not the wall. And it sure looks like Ben's handiwork to me.

So what about the Dayglo Tikis in the bar? Brown now or not?

This is too funny!

Bigbro -- When I saw that pic you posted of the fountain, I thought "Oooh -- I never saw THAT shot before! Wonder who took it?" And then, going back over the previous pages, I realized, HEY -- I took that photo!!

The reason I didn't recognize it is because you IMPROVED it so nicely in Photoshop by playing with the levels/contrast and boosting the saturation! HA! :lol: LOVE it!

As for the tikis in the bar, it was real dark in there and, looking over my pics, it's hard to tell at this point. In the photos they look pretty muted & not obviously painted. But, to be honest, their being brown or Disney-style didn't register in my addled brain that night one way or t'other. (Blame it on the BOOZE!)

[ Edited by: KreepyTiki 2009-05-04 13:38 ]

they hit the whole place with an antique shellacking, even the bar tikis! they just need about three more coats to be perfect!! (like the ceiling that Michael Angelo did... it looked way better before they spent a billion dollars to clean the 400 years of candle smoke off the original paint/colors!) back in the day at Sam's, the place was a Gilligan's Island set, nice and bright and clean? kind of Hawaiiana, now it mo' better more T.V. and Tiki Cave like... will get better i bet.

[ Edited by: crazy al 2009-05-05 23:22 ]