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High Time for Tiki Time

By Rob Christopher in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 13, 2007 2:00PM

"Exotica was a round-trip ticket departing everyday for something more fabulous. It had the feel of distant places, but it took you to spots never before trekked by man ... All this cultural production promised a world more primitive and less mediated than life in the burgeoning white collar states. Exotica was more than a sound, it was design movement, and a pop art reaction to a Cold War paradigm that said all that was evil lurked barely outside our sacred borders. 'Let's cross over!," exotica replied." --RJ Smith, from "Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 1: Mondo Exotica"

2006_6tiki.jpg According to James Teitelbaum, author of the brand new book Tiki Road Trip 2, in the mid-'60s Chicago boasted no less than two dozen tiki establishments. In its heyday it was as ubiquitous, perhaps, as karaoke is in ours. But changing tastes (including the quagmire of Vietnam) saw tiki going out of favor during the '70s. The last remaining vintage Chicago tiki palace, the Palmer House Trader Vic's, closed on New Year's Day 2006; it had been there almost 50 years but the hotel's new corporate owners decided that the Loop needed more underground shopping space. It's set to reopen in a new location but that may not happen until next year. Although The California Clipper does have a "tiki room," for real exotica action you have to head to the burbs. Places such as Hala Kahiki, the Tiki Terrace, Chef Shangri La and Tong's Tiki Hut still offer wonderful escapism for the discerning lounge tourist.

A hardcore group of aficionados, using sites such as Humu Kon Tiki and Tiki Central to stay connected, has kept the tiki torch burning bright. And since summer is the perfect time to indulge in tropical libations, surf-music and the wearing of Hawaiian shirts, tiki fans Duke and Amy Carter have organized Exotica 2007: Surfin' in Chicago, a four-day festival.

The main event is Saturday July 7th at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn, which starts off with a Tiki Bazaar. Vendors will be displaying everything from vintage and contemporary Tiki mugs, to Aloha attire and hand-carved tikis. Later, guest DJs will spin the best of Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman in preparation for the headliners, the legendary Minneapolis group The Trashmen. In 1963 they mashed up two songs by the Rivingtons, named it "Surfin' Bird," and rode the charts to #4. Other bands include The Bikini Beachcombers, The Reluctant Aquanauts, The Volcanos, The Neanderthals and Los Santos.

Modern tiki doesn't have to be the stereotype of sorority girls getting wasted on sugary sweet "jungle juice" while their boyfriends drunkenly sing-along with Jimmy Buffett. Instead it can be a fun appreciation of vintage cocktail classics such as the Mai Tai and Shrunken Skull, the musical arranging genius of Les Baxter and the utterly relaxing environment of an ersatz tropical paradise. So let's cross over.

Full details and advance tickets available at the Exotica 2007 site. Image via ROCKOVERGRACELAND.