Are you talking about the 2 red spikes, Kim? Looks more like a Vriesea to me, but I have no clue which one. Are the undersides of the leaves purple, or does it just look that way in the pic? That might help narrow it down, but the trouble with Vrieseas is that you're more likely to be dealing with a hybrid than a species, and there are a bazillion hybrids with single red spikes. Still, somebody might recognize it if they have it in their collection.

catkim,having gone thru most of the books with Til. photos,and almost all FCBS Til's,I'm not sure if this is a tillandsia in your pic. The closest I've come is Til.lucida,having a single unbranched inflorescence,[Tillandsia handbook,by H.Shimizu].But the FCBS lucida shows photos of branched inflorescences',so I'm not sure what to think. I've got a tillandsia hybrid that looks like your photo,its a Vrieslansia [Vr.incurvata X Til.flabellata].I'll post a pic of it.There are many feather-like inflorescences'in tillandsias and vrieseas,but not many tillandsias having soft green leaves as well.Not much help here,but its what I have so far.
THE INFLOR.TO THE RIGHT IS THE ONE.
{{gwi:487272}}

I recall seeing a plant in one of the WBC displays in San Diego named Vr. 'Red Cockatoo'. If my memory serves me well, that is very close, if not identical to catkim's plant. Too bad there's no photo on the fcbs site. Almost certainly, it is a hybrid of Vr. erythrodactylon. Check out photos of Vr. 'Purple Cockatoo', 'Rosa Morena', 'Purple Haze', and you'll see the similarities.

The 3 you mention are similar,but I think they have about twice the width of catkim's pictured plant's inflorescence,and not the height of it.I have a Vr.'Pink Cockatoo',and am familiar with it. If any vriesea is a look alike,it would be Vr.incurvata [see fcbs].So far,I've been trying to find a match in the tillandsia species that catkim referred to. [I am doubtful that it is a tillandsia tho] The search goes on. Bob

Sorry! Didn't mean to make everyone work so hard! Lisa, yes, the leaves are purple underneath, but not solid, more like a vertical striping. The only reason I thought it was a tillandsia is because when I bought it and asked what it was, the answer was "some kind of tillandsia". Rather indefinite...

I have looked at all the photos I can find of the suggested names, and Bob's Vr. incurvata looks very close. The size and curvature of the leaves is right, the infl. appears the right size, and today some tiny yellow flowers starting to peek out of the red-orange parts (duh, what is that part called?).

You all are very impressive with your knowledge, thanks for tolerating the lame ID questions!

Note to self: Do not buy unlabled plants! Repeat: Do not buy unlabled plants! Do not buy unlabled plants! Oh, that's pretty...

Kim,it was fun! no sorrys needed. If everything was easy,broms would be blah.Its what keeps us interested and always looking to find out more.Everyone that contributes,adds to everyone else's knowledge,and we get to meet some great people,and make new friends,world-wide.
Its ok to buy unlabled plants."Oh,thats pretty" says it all !...or...Wow! I need that! ... Bob