Masa matches music with its mexican meals
Posted: Jan 24, 2008 by Bobble Tiki
Bobble Tiki is a tiki about town. Of course, he’s also a social anxiety ridden hermit at times, but that’s the nice thing about Bobble Tiki. He mixes it up. He’s a little like everyone and a lot like no one.
Being a sometimes socialite, Bobble Tiki truly enjoys the resurgence of Tacoma’s Sixth Avenue. Resurgence talk in Tacoma is as popular as Ageless among health conscious heavy drinkers, or bickering between Ruston’s Mayor and City Council, but that’s not to say, in the instance of Sixth Avenue, the talk is overblown.
An intersection of particular interest for Bobble Tiki, considering his affinity for amazing food and equally amazing bar tabs, is Sixth and Pine. As you probably know (maybe because it’s been well documented in this paper) over the span of 18 months in ’06 and ’07, Asado and Masa, both owned by Tacoma entrepreneur and Bellermine alum John Xitco, have turned Sixth and Pine into one of the hottest and most delicious corners in all of T-town. These days, Bobble Tiki typically enjoys his birthday dinner at Masa thanks to the restaurant’s mouth watering and hard to pronounce steak dishes; and Bobble Tiki typically enjoys three or four margaritas and more from-scratch chips and salsa than should be allowed when he sits down at Masa, which is at least once a month.
Bobble Tiki is a fan of Xitco’s work, I guess you could say. Before last month and a discussion with Tacoma’s music business quasi-godfather Reed Riley, Bobble Tiki liked to think he followed Xitco’s activity closely. Riley blew Bobble Tiki’s mind when he started to describe Xitco’s vision for “House Blend Thursdays,” which will bring big name music to Masa’s cozy confines every week from now on. Starting Thursday, Jan. 31, with a performance by Jason Webley and Handful of Luvin’, “House Blend Thursdays” will provide an intimate and tasty setting to experience awesome music up close and personal. The way Xitco has it planned (with booking help from Riley) is as follows: The first Thursday of every month will feature Handful of Luvin, the second Thursday Portland’s Intervision will play, the third Thursday will feature the Kim Archer Band, and the final Thursday will be left open for a special, big name. For example, to close out February, on Thursday, Feb. 28, Giant Panda Dub Squad will lay it down Afro-beat style.
“I want to do this because I love music. We’ve got a great spot here. I want the restaurant full and people entertained. I want people who go out to Asado and Masa to know that Thursday is a night they can go out and have some great food and listen to some great music,” says Xitco from a booth inside Masa during a Friday lunch rush.
“I really want music that gets people up dancing and having fun. I want it to be stuff that really entertains people.
“It all started for me when we first had Vicci Martinez play on Cinco de Mayo, and we had the best party in the state. It was incredible. So I thought how can I continue something like this? I didn’t want to compete with Jazzbones with their music, because that’s not really what we’re all about here. What I want to be about is great food and a place to have fun. On Friday and Saturday nights we’re so busy with dinner we’re not really able to transform the restaurant into a venue for live music. Thursdays just seemed like the perfect night.”
What really surprised Bobble Tiki about Masa’s “House Blend Thursdays” was not that Xitco and his restaurant had decided put a strong emphasis on bringing in top notch musical acts, but that so few people have heard about it. Off and on, Masa has been hosting music on Thursday since last summer.
“We’ve taken a little bit of a winter break to reformat it,” says Xitco.
“What hasn’t been working is people don’t know about it. Some people think we only do Latin music here.
“I don’t want to be the place that’s hot, and then not hot. I want to be the place 10 years from now that people are saying ‘Thursday nights at Masa are just great.’ (The key is) being consistent and putting a good product out there, and just doing our jobs.”
For now, at least, it seems Thursday nights at Masa are about to get hot. If Xitco’s determination and stick-to-itiveness are any indication, that should be the case for years to come. Check out a full schedule of Masa’s musical lineup at www.masatacoma.com.
Guess what? Bobble Tiki doesn’t give a damn what you do this week because he doesn’t even know you. These are facts, and they’re not likely to change anytime soon. Unless you can tell Bobble Tiki where he’s going to find his high alcohol content malt liquor once Tacoma’s City Council votes to ban its sale in the Lincoln District and East Side, then Bobble Tiki probably doesn’t want to meet you. Scratch that. Just like every other drunk, Bobble Tiki will probably buy the high octane booze somewhere else. Guess your chance of becoming Bobble Tiki’s friend just got that much smaller. Why don’t you join Bobble Tiki for breakfast every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at www.weeklyvolcanospew.com and leave good enough alone.
[Masa, Jason Webley and Handful of Luvin’, Thursday, Jan. 31, 8:45 p.m., no cover, donations to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital will be accepted, 2811 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.473.3510]
Bobble Tiki is going out of his head via e-mail at bobbletiki@weeklyvolcano.com and www.myspace. com/bobbletiki