The boys returning from the Pacific at the end of World War 2 brought back with them the sights and sounds of exotic Polynesian islands. This would become the genesis of the 1950s/60s Exotica movement, typified by artists like Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman. It’s a blend of jazz, lounge, Latin rhythms, and Polynesian or Hawaiian pop — all stirred together with a bit of rum.
The genre survives and thrives as part of today’s modern Tiki sub-culture, and, musically-speaking, nobody does a better job keeping the sound alive than the Tikiyaki Orchestra.
It was therefore a real pleasure seeing Tikiyaki perform again on Sunday at Campus JAX in Newport Beach, California.
The whole crew was there: Jim Bacchi, guitar and lead vocals; Jonpaul Balak, bass guitar; Gary Brandin, slide guitar; Pablo Baza, drums; Anthony Storniolo, percussion; Ian Harland, vibraphone; and Paul Vargas, keyboards.
The first half of the program featured the Tikiyaki Orchestra playing favorites from their albums over the years. As is traditional, they opened our evening Tikiyaki Airways flight to paradise with “Bachelor #1”, followed by songs like “Bombs Away”, “Walkabout”, “Mysteria”, “Zero Gravity”, “Last Days of Summer”, and their always fun Pink Panther / spy themes medley.
The second half added a 3-piece brass section (Pete Nicholson & Carvell Holloway, trumpets; Rocky Fox, trombone) for the concert debut of a new formation: Tikiyaki & The Hawaiiana Brass. A fun mix of Exotica and Herb Alpert, they played both Tikiyaki favorites (“Weekend in Waikiki”, “Bachelor #2” and “Bachelor #3”) and Tijuana Brass covers (“A Taste Of Honey” and “Tijuana Taxi”), among others.
It turns out Tiki and Herb Alpert (or 60s post-Exotica, if you like) blend surprisingly well. We’re now looking forward to hearing more from The Hawaiiana Brass!
As for the venue, this was our first time visiting Campus JAX. It’s a great spot with a lot of potential. On the outside it’s a non-descript building near the airport, with its own free parking; on the inside it’s a comfortable jazz lounge and bar. The food (full dinner menu) is good and reasonably priced; the drinks are not bad (but could be stronger).
Our only gripe of the evening had absolutely nothing to do with the band. While our server was nice and took good care of us, we witnessed a different waitress being rude to a friend of ours seated at another table. He had done nothing to deserve it, and he didn’t even complain about it, but we were a bit offended on his behalf. The incident made us a bit wary at the thought of going back.
That issue aside, which again had nothing to do with the band, we had a lovely evening. Tikiyaki Orchestra never disappoints. Aloha!
Tikiyaki Orchestra Tickets and Tour Dates
As a bonus, we found the concert was streamed in its entirety to YouTube. Enjoy!
