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Tease-O-Rama
Hollywood, California, October 9-12, 2003
& a side trip to San Diego
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Tease-O-Rama, Day 1, Friday
We pulled into the parking lot of the
Henry Fonda
Music Box Theater, and got in the advance ticket-holders line only
minutes before the doors opened. Most folks were gussied up in retro
style of random era(s), appropriate to the event and venue. The theater
retains much of its mid-1920’s style with Spanish Colonial details.
The only thing I didn’t like was how it was set up for Tease-O-Rama. The
only seating on the floor level was a couple rows of tables right up
front, reserved entirely for performers. I have nothing against giving
the groups the full VIP treatment - many of them are performing at their
own expense - but it meant the rest of us either had to stand toward the
back for the full 6 hours of the show, or scramble for decent seats in
the balcony. The seating in the balcony was comfortable, but just a bit
too far away to really enjoy the show, even from the front row. You
couldn’t see the faces, the detailed costumes, the subtle moves that
make up such a large part of a show like this. If I bust my ass next
year to build their
web site, I’m asking for a VIP table in trade.
The distance to the stage was even worse for photography. This was the
first trip in a long, long time with bad luck in the photo
department. I picked up a new lens for our film camera on the way out of
town, only to discover, after arriving at the show Friday without a
backup, that it wasn't the correct mount for my camera and most of the
photos didn't turn out. The balcony seats were a bit too far away for
the digital camera to be effective in the low light. Then, on the way
home, a couple of rolls of film got put through the airport security
x-ray machine by accident. When I got home Wolf /Ritz Camera's black and
white processor was down - for the third time in as many months. I had
to use a new joint up the road, who do things by hand and got me great
prints, but don't do photo CD's so I had to scan everything when I got
home. Ugh! So I apologize for the lack of decent photos, especially of
Friday night. Saturday I took a zoom lens and got better pictures.
| Friday, curtains opened only minutes after the promised 8 PM. Miss
Kitten on the Keys played MC for the evening, announcing acts, joking
about Schwarzenegger, and doing
the occasional tune for filler between acts. Other filler was provided by Baggy Pants Comedy, resurrecting skits and bits from vaudeville and such. They got few laughs with their old gags and a jaded crowd, but many in the community feel this stuff necessary for the proper reenactment of burlesque. Personally, I prefer to think of it as a living, evolving art where only the strong survive and this stuff is weak as near-beer. I'm not interested in reenactment - I want new acts. |
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| My only other complaint about the show was the timing of The Sophisticats & the Sophistikittens' performance. The previous year had featured these guys at the end of the show so everyone could dance the night away, should they desire. This year they were stuck in the middle of the evening and, despite their talented performance, most folks weren't there to listen to a band, even one with the Sophistikittens go-go dancering along. It functioned as sort of an unwanted intermission in the middle of a long, long show. |
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The Lollies, formerly known as The Cantankerous Lollies, are one of my favorite acts just 'cause I have a crush on the girl on the left. Here, they were joined by a very blurry Kitten on the Keys. |
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One of my favorite acts was Ohh La La, from Denver. They started off in cheerleader costumes, then transitioned into the next set with a school teacher chasing them off stage, catching one to give her a little spanking, which transitioned into a football player and her biggest fan. The football player stripped to reveal a super sexy girl who gets her t-shirt soaked and the rest of the skit was washed away in a haze of hormones. Ohh La La indeed! Unfortunately, my pictures of their act didn't turn out. Dammit!
| The World Famous *Bob* may have actually been Saturday, but I'll put her here anyway. |
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| Bob comes out to a tune that includes a voiceover of a woman complaining about how fat someone looks. When contrasted against the lovely Bob, it makes a strangely powerful statement about body image and the definitions of beauty. Bob may have what is considered a few extra pounds, if you look at magazines, TV, or movies, but Bob is HOT. |
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| Perhaps the highlight of the evening was, just like last year, The Wau Wau Sisters. They came out with 80's style mullet wigs to the sounds of Welcome to the Jungle. An assistant helped them up onto a trapeze and handed them beers. They downed the beers then proceeded to do some marvelous gymnastics on the trapeze. |
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| They repeated the act Saturday (don't know why) so I was able to get shots from two angles. On the back of their panties, one had "Fuck" and the other "Yeah." |
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| Absolutely fan-fuckin-tastic. |
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Mr. Lucky sang a Sinatra-style tune or two each night, accompanied by The Fisherman playing a log. Yes, a log, played like a xylophone. Unfortunately, the theater only had one spotlight so The Fisherman was on the other end of the stage in the dark while Mr. Lucky got all the glory. |
The Devilettes, in a weird picture that makes it look like they're in space.
| Because of the indoor smoking ban in California, many places
have some kind of outdoor area for smokers. At the Music Box, they
have a nifty rooftop patio with a great view of Hollywood Boulevard.
They also have an additional bar up there. For TOR, they had a duo, The Fuxedos, doing some strange loungey punk/punky lounge covers - very cool stuff. Rumor has it they're in several other bands, see www.casinoroyalemusic.com for more info. |
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| They also had a projector set up so you could see what was happening on stage. |
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| Someone had a photoshoot going on the rooftop patio. Kitten deVille was modeling when I cruised by. |
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Unfortunately, jetlag kicked in around 1 AM with still half a dozen acts to go. But our bodies told us it was 4 AM after a long day of running amok and quite a few drinks, so SW was literally falling asleep in her seat. We dragged our weary selves to the hotel for some required sleep.
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