Experience paradise, Tucson style, as the Kon Tiki Restaurant and Bar (located at 4625 E. Broadway Tucson, AZ) presents Relight the Night on April 10, 2010.

Unlit for 25 years, Tucson’s oldest tiki bar will join forces with Flam Chen, Tucson’s renown fire performance group, to make the grand relighting of the Kon Tiki’s signature tiki torches a truly scorching affair. The evening festivities will include a relighting ceremony by Flam Chen, accompanied by local drumming troupe The Disillusionists, a dinner show with The Tikiyaki Orchestra, the muscial stylings of Tucson’s own Shrimp Chaperone and the hypnotic rhythms and hula-hooping gyrations of Las Vegas’ Thee Swank Bastards.

Drink specials, and special drinks, start at five, when there will also be the opportunity to visit the vending booths of Tiki Artists Doug Horne, Ken Ruzic and Eric October and Hawaiian Shirt specialists The Hana Shirt Company.

The Tikiyaki Orchestra will perform a dinner show at 8 pm, with their unique combination of exotica, traditional Hawaiian, lounge, surf, spy and cocktail genres. Make dinner reservations and get there early.

Tiki enthusiasts from every terrain won’t want to miss the limited edition tiki mugs created specially for the event, designed by Velvet Glass and sculpted by master mug maker Dave ‘Squid’ Cohen.

Admission to all performances is $12 in advance, $15 at the door. Tickets purchased before March 31st will include a free Kon Tiki shot glass. For out of town travelers, the Viscount Suites (4855 E. Broadway, 520.527.9666) is offering a Relight the Night special of $125 per night.

The Kon Tiki is one of the last remaining, operational tiki temples from American's mid-century tiki past. The interior is almost completely original from the opening day - including, what some tiki historians call, the largest collection of Milan Guanko tikis, still in situ, in the world. The collection is about to get bigger as two more recently discovered Milan Guanko tikis, original to the Kon Tiki, will be returned to their proper place and unveiled for Relight the Night.

We have many local and California artists that have donated items for our charity raffle, proceeds from which will benefit Hope Animal Shelter, Tucson’s only no kill dog and cat shelter.

Produced by the Kon Tiki and local mosaic artists Velvet Glass, this cultural event illuminates the future while reigniting a beloved piece of Tucson history.

About the performers:

Below you will find bios of the individual performers along with a graphic and links to high resolution versions and black & white versions.
Tikiyaki Orchestra
Evoking the island spirit of past masters such as Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman, and Les Baxter, The Tikiyaki Orchestra is a musical experience unlike any other today. Utilizing a unique combination of sounds...smooth, mellow vibraphone, twanging, reverb-drenched surf guitar, pulsating theater organ, lilting Hawaiian steel guitar, bongos, congas, and an arsenal of exotic perucssion from around the world, all set against the sounds of the ocean and jungle. The Tikiayki Orchestra transports the audience to a place and time when Cantonese food was "exotic cuisine" and people escaped the mundane with the aid of strong, sweet rum-based cocktails served in tiki mugs with little colorful umbrellas... i.e. Waikiki in 1955.
Hi Res Tikiyaki 878 x 1042

Black and White Tikiyaki 878 x 1042

Flam Chen
Tucson performance group Flam Chen has been perfecting “extreme theater” for over a dozen years. With their remarkable mix of fire and flair, the captivating costumes and otherworldly mix of flame dancing, martial arts, and aerial acrobatics of Flam Chen promises plenty of desert heat at this unique tiki event.
Hi Res Flam Chen 878 x 1042

Black and White Flam Chen 878 x 1042
Thee Swank Bastards
If you think a surf trio doesn’t belong in Las Vegas, you’ve never experienced the foot stomping riffs and eye-popping personae of Thee Swank Bastards. The fervent live sets evoke the frenetic energy of sin city, while serpentine guitar, propulsive bass, and syncopated drum patterns distill old-school surf music with a modern twist that makes it melodic and memorable. Thee Bastards are accompanied by the hypnotic hula-hooping gyrations of Miss Szandora LaVey.

The Disillusionists
The Disillusionists, a local band of renegade drummers, will accompany Flam Chen and provide the powerful tribal rhythms essential for summoning and appeasing Pele, the goddess of fire.
Shrimp Chaperone
Shrimp Chaperone and the Tainted Meats was formed in 1996 in Tucson, AZ. Professor Ernie Coli and Shrimp began the project to fill the void in desert surf music. Of course, this was long before surf became the dominant form of american pop that it is today. Shrimp and Ernie were soon joined by Johnny Rainbow. The position of drummer has been filled over the years by; Dug, Davey Davenport, D Davey Davenport, and Little Donnie Ray. Nowadays, Bryn "Opakapaka" Jones drums up some thunder for Shrimp and the Meats. Shrimp has opened for the likes of Jan & Dean and Link Wray. Our best gig ever was the grand opening of Babies R Us. Best quote, "Is homeboy a small person who chaperones, or an escort of prawns? It's troubling either way." Influences? "Dick Dale, Ventures, Martin Denny, James Bond soundtracks, Link Wray"
Hi Res poster 792 x 1224

Black & White poster 792 x 1224
Hi Res banner 1750 x 888