Tabu Tiki Night: CHICAGO

Aloha everone!

Trader Vic's in Chicago has asked me to organize a sanctioned midwestern counterpart to the very successful Tiki Torch Nights that Kiliki has been doing in Atlanta.

The event will be held the third Wednesday of every month, beginning July 21 frm 7 to 11 PM (I lobbied HARD for a weekend, but they were adamant about wanting to do Wednesdays).

I'll be DJ-ing Exotica, Hawaiian, hapa haole, and a little bit of surf and lounge, and am currently looking for live acts to perform.

An official announcement, schedule, and details on the performances, drink specials, etc. will be posted here in a week or so.

In the mean time, anyone interested in performing is invited to email me at

[email protected]

Trader Vic's in Chicago has a new General Manager who is enthusiastic about changing their formerly somewhat aloof policy towards the Tiki crowd. He's a nice guy, and is looking forward to providing midwestern Tikiphiles with a warmer welcome at Trader Vic's than we have been used to in recent years.

See you there!

• James T.

http://www.tydirium.net
Big Stone Head / Tiki Road Trip / Left Orbit Temple

[ Edited by: tikibars 2006-10-27 15:27 ]

Gotta say SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET! But I do agree that those of us out of the Chi-Town area would probably be frequent visitors of this if it was a Friday or Sat. thing. I hope it goes over big though JT.

Does Kiliki have anything to do with this? Can you use that name without her permission?

That's a bummer they won't do a weekend. I understand, though, the need to bring in midweek traffic. I want them to accomodate my weekend traveller lifestyle, dammit!

Post the gig in the Reader & IE. If you can pay the band something (even gas money or drinks) you might look into assembling a "House band" from individual parts: collecting relvant percussionists, keyboardists, lap steel players, etc. from the back pages of the IE.

Damn I'm actually going to be in Chicago that Friday on tour with Devil Doll, I'll miss it by two days.

Here is some more information on the event:

It is to be held:

July 21
August 18
September 15
October 20
November 17

...dates subject to change (if I can convince them to go with a weekend), except for July, which is a done deal.

Trader Vic's management originally wanted to call the event "Tiki Torch Nights: Chicago" to tie in with the event in Atlanta that Tikikiliki has been so successfully running for the past four months. But now, a decision has been made to give the event it's own identity, so it is hereby dubbed: "Tabu Tiki Nights".

For July we'll have complimentary pupus, a $4 Zombie (all night, not just Happy Hour), and AJ, the new manager is working on a new drink to be served in a pineapple shell, and which will only be available at the monthly event.

Entertainment will be JT's Kon-Tiki Sound System (that's me spinning Exotica and Hawaiian), and hula dancers from Barefoot Hawaiians.

Starting in August, we'll be adding further live entertainment.

The event will start as Happy Hour ends - about 7:00 and last until 11:00.

Come early!

Stay late!

So what if it's a school night!

See you there -

JT!
Killer man, just plain killer, think I will have to find a way to be there one way or another. Love the name change.
And the check is in the mail today.

Tiki are like potato chips, you can never just have one

[ Edited by: Tiki-Toa on 2004-07-10 11:06 ]

Oh, one other thing - artists and carvers are invited to bring their stuff down for display.

If you want to show off what you've been working on, drop me an Email and we'll set it up and get your name into the promotion machine.

Keep in mind that this is NOT a vendor's area-type of thing. It is more of just a way to expose what you're working on to a crowd who will appriciate it. But then again if someone wants to buy something from you, I am sure not going to stop you...

Hey JT,

I thought you wanted to be more Original for once.

“Trader Vic's management originally wanted to call the event "Tiki Torch Nights: Chicago" to tie in with the event in Atlanta that Tikikiliki has been so successfully running for the past four months. But now, a decision has been made to give the event it's own identity, so it is hereby dubbed: "Tabu Tiki Nights".”

The new name you have chosen, is the name of someone home bar "Tabu Tiki Lounge". They even had mugs made, of which you carried off about half dz. from their Wedding in 2000.

Same set-up as Ebay and it's all for Uncool Sam. You have atomictiki insted of what it really is. I'll compare the feedback of three users to your one any day. Two buying and one selling. Not so much selling now, sence I'am back to working after about two years of being off. Besides, I would never support any boycotting Trader Vic's or any other place!! I want them all to stay in Business!! I can crawl home from the Chif if needed. I can't park my big truck at the Palmer House and drink too. Too Much $$$. Big collecting habit you know. We are always trolling for tiki and trying to find Un-Cartered territory is hard enough!!!
[ Edited by: tikimonger on 2004-09-05 06:25 ]

[ Edited by: Tikimonger on 2004-09-05 06:53 ]

[ Edited by: Tikimonger on 2004-09-05 06:55 ]

[ Edited by: tikimonger on 2004-09-05 12:44 ]

[ Edited by: Tikimonger on 2004-09-05 12:51 ]

Wow tikimonger, one post in 14.5 months, you sure know how to pick your spots to make yourself known.

Yeah JT, that name is a little familiar. I mean, even the spelling.

[ Edited by: boutiki on 2004-07-13 08:29 ]

On 2004-07-13 07:44, Tiki-Toa wrote:
Wow tikimonger, one post in 14.5 months, you sure know how to pick your spots to make yourself known.

Not everyone can boast of 350+ postings in less than 2 months... now that's impressive!

Hey JT,
Why not make the name Aku Tiki Nights (after your own bar) and maybe save face with some of the Locals here!!!

On 2004-07-13 08:32, BambooLodge wrote:

Not everyone can boast of 350+ postings in less than 2 months... now that's impressive!

Well I am a 34 year old full time Criminal Justice college student and full-time father who is off for the summer, LOTS of time on my hands. I love tiki, and hey I like to be involved so sue me. :)
And hey when I commented on how cool of a name it was I was TOTALLY unaware that it was the name of someone's personal bar, and I will leave it at that.

[ Edited by: Tiki-Toa on 2004-07-13 09:02 ]

Tiki-Toa is on track for setting the worlds record for most consecutive posts. He'll be nearing 1000 by next month. I am just kidding with you TT but come on now you're taking all the bandwidth! :)

A quick search of TC uncovers a host of things named "TABU", from a 1930s film ("Tabu: A Story of the South Seas"), to a vast number of recordings, to the title of the upcoming sequel to "Taboo: the Art Of Tiki" book from Outre ("Tabu Tu").

And what about the "Tabu Tiki Room" that just opened in Berlin (The one TikiDiablo did all the carvings for)?

And then of course there's this:

I dunno what the big deal is - it seems like a common spelling to me!

I just got thirsty for some reason!

All right guys, let's not make this thread an argument about posts and bandwidth.

We all know that BambooLodge (aka AtomicTiki aka Tikimonger) likes to jump in and stir things up from time to time; just ignore him when he gets cranky! :)

Now...

Sorry to have used the name of someone's home bar. I haven't actually spoken to that person much in the past few years, and I didn't remember that their home bar was using the name.

Face it - there are only so many good names to use for events, and it had a good ring to it!

Trader Vic's management also had a lot to do with the naming of the event. After the call was made not to use Tiki Torch Nights to tie in with Tikikiliki's Atlanta event, I made a short list of things that sounded good, and Trader Vic's management picked Tabu Tiki nights. Remember that we had to use something sort of catchy and obvious to get people aside from the hardcore Tikiphiles to the event.

And, I actually made a descision NOT to use "Aku-anything" as the name. Although I am hosting the event and providing some tunes, this event is NOT about 'me, me, me'. It is about getting the midwest Tiki community together and having some fun. Since my own home bar is called Aku Hall, and since I am working on a book about Easter Island, I didn't want to name the event in a way that tied in too closely with myself. I am specifically trying to make this event for and about everyone.

Now on to more fun stuff:

Gwen from Barefoot Hawaiian is going to be at the event making Leis.

Dave/Lakesurfer is also ging to try to come down with some of his Tiki carvings.

Now, can we get Duke to bring some of his awesome black velvet tiki paintings down (look for his more serious work it Aaron Packer gallery in Chicago next month)?

I'll even give him credit for subliminally implanting the event name in my head 4 years ago! :)

Okay, hope this post cleared up some confusion.

I'm going to meet with AJ at Trader Vics this afternoon to hammer out the final details for the first event, next Wednesday, July 21.

AJ, by the way, is the brand-new general manager of Trader Vic's Chicago. He is a really nice guy, and he has specifically told me that he is aware of the fact that Trader Vic's has always given the "Aloha shirt crowd" the cold shoulder (in Chicago at least), and that he wants to change that.

It made me really happy to learn that he is prepared to go out of his way to change the reputation that Trader Vic's Chicago has always had for being less than friendly to the Tiki community.

Tabu Tiki Nights are the first steps towards making us feel welcome at Vic's. So, BambooLodge (et al), no matter how you feel about me and the name of our event, I hope you'll come down and hoist a Zombie with us!

See you all there!

I never knew there was a Trader Vic's in Chicago. Glad I joined this place! EsQui and I will definetely try to be there Aug 18th and hopefully I can round up some friends for that Wednesday. Sounds like a lotta fun and thanks for starting a cool event JT!

Really kids, to try to claim the rights to the term "Tabu Tiki" is silly, that combination is as common in Polynesian Pop as "Mai Tai". The fact is that nowadays to have commercial appeal and easy recognition value (and we want Trader Vic's Chicago to be commercially successful, don't we?) the term "Tiki" has to be in there, and good combinations with it are not that easy to come by. The better the name, the more mana it has to draw people in.
Go get'em, James!

On 2004-07-13 07:58, boutiki wrote:
Yeah JT, that name is a little familiar. I mean, even the spelling.

Here is anothe exampleof the usage of that great name, Tabu Tiki
https://tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=10062&forum=1&1

I hope you guys don't think that we believe we are trying to claim the rights to, or trademark, the name Tabu Tiki. We were just pointing out that the name JT chose was the same as the name of our home bar, something that we assume he knew since he has been in our little homemade paradise on several occasions. I was disappointed when I read that since our home bar is our tiny escape from the noise, cold, and grey that life in Chicago can often be, and as such is very special to us (even it the name is not so special). I pointed that out myself when I wrote this:
https://tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=7354&forum=1&vpost=73328
Like I said in that post, we were given a sign that says "Tabu Tiki" as a wedding gift and if that name is going to now be associated with a successful event at Trader Vic's, then, well, it's going to change how I feel about having that name glowing in our home. Not saying anything bad about any event or Trader Vic's, it just makes it a little less special for me. When we picked that name we intentionally picked something that had not been the name of a former Tiki Bar (to my knowledge anyway) and the beer and the German bar did not exist. There is also a difference between a beer, a bar on another continent, and an event right downtown. I mean, I assume that we will now be seeing the Tabu Tiki name advertising the event all over town. I imagine that Otto would be bummed if a big media outlet appropriated the name Tiki News. I mean, they are both pretty common words but I'm sure the name is very special to Otto.

I'd rather not continue to debate this or have people poke fun at me. We just try to respect others while we are doing our thing and we try to have fun and be easy-going. It's not like we are doing a Donald Trump and trademarking "You're fired!". I was just pointing out that the name chosen for the TV event was what we were using for our home bar, certainly not trying to suggest that we are so incredibly creative, or unique, or we have any proprietary right to a name. Sorry if I'm being silly for feeling the way I do.

Now please on to the festivities. James, how did the first night go? Unfortunately, we don't even have the opportunity to enjoy a Tabu Tiki night at Trader Vic's right now; our little guy has us quite occupied in the evenings.

-Amy

I was using my parent's camera, which I was unfamilier with, so forgive the crappy pictures...
But here are a few of the event... I had a lot of fun and look forward to the next...
Thanks to all who came and thanks for the compliments on my work!
I'll have more tikis next month... bring some $ :)

James setting the mood with music...

A few of my works...

Our lovely hula dancer...

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer on 2004-07-22 22:21 ]

Great job JT and glad you were able to make it there Lake, please tell me you sold something to someone down there so the people of Wisconsin can be ashamed. I am going to find some way down for the next night. Boutiki you and Duke need to find a sitter so I can buy you for being so kind to sponsor my event. JT got the books THANKS MAN the cd rocks!

On 2004-07-22 23:00, Tiki-Toa wrote:
glad you were able to make it there Lake, please tell me you sold something to someone down there so the people of Wisconsin can be ashamed.

Yes...:) The people of Wisconsin should be ashamed... Chicagoans have Zazz...

Wisconsinites have a chance to redeem themselves in a few weeks... :wink:

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer on 2004-07-22 23:53 ]

LakeSurfer, thanks for posting some pix.

Folks, that big leopard skin-covered blob in front of me (in LakeSurfers pic) is my sound equipment, with an eye-pleasing leopard tarp thrown over it for exotic camoflage.

LakeSurfer was too modest to mention in his own post that he DID sell one of his lamps, breaking his no-sell streak. Good deal!

Trader Vics' management (and me) were thrilled with the turnout. Considering it was a weeknight, and the first go at this event, we still got a great crowd.

The exclusive-to-this-event Singapore Symphony drink (in a pineapple shell) was a hit, the kitchen kept the free pupus full until 10, the hula dancer was talented and charming, and the free Shag items from Surrey Books that we gave away were greeted with enthusiasm (of course) as well.

The second Tabu Tiki Nigts will be August 18... of course there will be a reminder here a week or so before the event.

We are still looking for live music for the future events, and also any Tiki carvers or artists that want to display their work are welcome to contact me.

Mahalo and maururu again to everyone who showed up, and we hope to see even more of you next month...

AnD Tiki Toa: I'm still working to arrange my schedule so I can make it north for the big Oshkosh event. It's a Tiki, Tiki, Tiki summer!

On 2004-07-23 10:35, tikibars wrote:
AnD Tiki Toa: I'm still working to arrange my schedule so I can make it north for the big Oshkosh event. It's a Tiki, Tiki, Tiki summer!

Mahalo JT hope you can work it out and I am going to do my best to be down there for the next one to support you.

I'll be in Chicago in August, but not in time for one the events. I would like to check out the Chicago Trader Vics though! Where is it?

Boutiki, hopefully the name of the Trader Vics event won't continue bugging you. Maybe you'll get used to it or maybe you can turn your sour (my words) feelings into "happy" ones. Sorry if this seems a little simplistic or naive, but my philosophy of trying to turn bad into good has done me (overall) okay so far.
As a kid I used to look at the shadows on the ceiling in my bedroom that were created by passing cars and I thought they were monsters and I found that very scary. At some point I made those monsters into my friends and I was never scared of the dark again. Turn it around into a positive if you can-good luck!--bruce "not really a hippy" smiley

I am glad that the management of the Chicago TV's had decided to welcome the tiki crowd. Even better, they were pleased with the turnout. If only the management at the Beverly Hills Vic's would adopt a similar attitude. I hope they wouldn't pick Wednesdays as that is L.A.'s Tiki Tik night!

gonna try to make it up for the next one, glad the chicago t.v are changing their attitudes towards this crowd!

Bah, I can't believe I missed this! I usually don't check events because "nothing ever happens in Chicago".

I there for the next one, and all the others!

Thanks for putting this together.

Flange!

[ Edited by: Tiki Flange on 2004-07-24 07:51 ]

Aloha, JT! Can't wait! I'll be there late on the 18th...bout 10....I've never known TV's to be a relatively late night kinda thing...usually dies around 7:30...props to you for being the impetus for change!

Is everything still a go for this month!

If so, count on me being there and soaking up some zombies!

Flange

The event for September 15 is a big 'GO'.

It'll be a nice little pre-Hukilau warm-up!

I'll be posting a new topic making an 'official' reminder / announcement in a day or two.

But, at risk of redundancy, here's the scoop...

September 15:
Tabu Tiki Nights III at Trader Vic's, Chicago!

In celebration of the 70th anniversary of Trader Vic's and the 60th anniversary of the invention of Trader Vic's signature drink - the Mai Tai - Trader Vic's and Tiki Road Trip author James Teitelbaum have teamed up to bring you a monthly celebration featuring exotic drinks, Polynesian performance, sumptuous delicacies and mysterious music!

This month:

Special "Exotica Unplugged" performance from midwest surf-rock legends The Cocktail Preachers.

Hula dancers from Barefoot Hawaiian.

Lei making by Gwen from Barefoot Hawaiian.

Free door prizes courtesy of Surrey Books: new stuff from the artist Shag.

Free door prizes from Mai Tai Magazine: free copies of the 'zine.

Pop art Tiki prints on display from Chicago artist Esqui.

JT's Kon-Tiki Sound System (spinning vintage Exotica and Hawaiian music).

Tiki carver Dave from Lake Tiki.

1/2 price Zombies.

Free pupus.

The legendary Singapore Symphony drink: served in a pineapple shell and only available at the monthly Tabu Tiki event.

Tabu Tiki Nights will be held the third Wednesday of every month (the further dates planned are: September 15, October 20, November 17).

The island madness begins at 7:00 and lasts until 11:00.

No cover!

It's never too late for Tiki carvers, artisans, and entertainers to arrange to bring their work for display (contact James): [email protected]

Updated live entertainment schedules and further information can be found on Trader Vic's web site
http://tradervics.com/rest-chicago.html
and the venerable Tiki Bar Review Pages site
http://www.tydirium.net

Trader Vic's is located in the lower level of the Palmer House Hilton at 17 E. Monroe, Chicago, IL, 60603. (312) 917-7317