Author Archives: davidleesimmons

Check out the best in New Orleans burlesque, circus and sideshow for 2015

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I’ve looked at the New Orleans burlesque and circus scenes for 2015. This was capped off with a series of “best of” polls recognizing the work in several areas. The reasons for the polls were many. It seemed like a nice way to help put a cap on what became for me a year of covering a vital facet of New Orleans’ performance scene. It also seemed like a nice way to shine a spotlight on both the performers and productions throughout the year, both to provide exposure for the scene and to serve as an informal taking of the pulse on what fans were responding to.

The appearance, rollout, structure and even idea of the poll, however, made things more complicated than expected, and the rollout seemed to enjoy all the smoothness of the Obamacare website — a bit of excitement, a healthy dose of confusion, and some fairly heated discussion about its very existence. So there were basically two concurrent discussions — why do it, and why do it in the manner presented?

The first discussion was by far the most complicated, because for many in the scene it raised the possibility of turning what serious, artistic-minded people do into a popularity contest. (More than one performer told me privately it was like being back in high school again, with the prom queen title up for grabs. Some politely requested not to be listed in the polls.) This particular discussion inspired Bella Blue to blog about it with a post titled “Competition vs. Community.” In it, she set up the two notions as a false choice and argued that, in the real world — one that acknowledges that burlesque is also a business — competition can be just as beneficial as community. She went on to point out that burlesque can be about both the art and the commerce; that polls can be fun and motiving; that going for titles (or “crowns”) and striving to be the best doesn’t necessarily have to come at someone else’s expense.

(Indeed, when Bella Blue was voted the No. 16 burlesque performer by 21st Century Burlesque, and Trixie Minx didn’t make the poll, it didn’t seem to hurt her popularity or business or art at all.)

That’s all to say that, as Bella Blue noted, a discussion about polls in particular or competition in general is perhaps something that might have been needed for some time. On a personal level, I appreciate that ambivalence in spirit while firmly believing the overall benefit is invaluable. I’d add that New Orleans has not one but two awards for the music and theater scenes. When someone as legendary as former Meters bassist George Porter Jr. openly campaigns for votes on Faceook in Offbeat’s “Best of the Beat” awards poll, well, it helps put things in perspective.

As for the structure of the poll, there was discussion primarily about which performers and productions initially were placed on the poll, and where everything and everyone belonged — which led to some unnecessary confusion. If this had been conducted in my previous position, it would have benefited from a larger team in place and perhaps a longer build-up and promotion. But being a “one-man show,” so to speak, I went with my knowledge of the scene or scenes — admittedly a work in progress — in creating a core group of nominees for consideration and added names based on reader suggestions. I also took the advice of some producers and divided the circus and sideshow performers into separate polls.

So I moved forward with the polls, with two clearly stated guidelines: Readers were welcome to add their own candidates/nominees, and readers should refrain from voting multiple times for their favorites. Readers were very good, often passionate about the former, but not so much about the latter. So the votes had to be analyzed, and multiple voting was tossed.

But taking that into consideration, I decided to present the results in a more inclusive fashion, with winners broken down into a “Top 10” or “Top 5” list, and listed alphabetically — along with an occasional “honorable mention” to make note of some pretty tight voting in some categories. A first-time poll, and a rather unscientific one at that, didn’t need to focus too heavily on the very top vote-getters.

For me, ultimately, there were few surprises. The balloting, with some notably obvious exceptions, reflects what in my mind is out there: a lot of talented performers who have made their mark, and productions that are establishing a legacy. As for the future, I might offer some thoughts in another post, but for now, let’s enjoy this informal take on the best of New Orleans burlesque and circus arts.

And once again, check out my overview of this landmark year here.

BEST OF NEW ORLEANS BURLESQUE, CIRCUS AND SIDESHOW

PERFORMERS
Best burlesque performers in New Orleans 2015
Bella Blue
Cherry Brown
Leo Danger Lace
Remy Dee
May Hemmer
Roxie le Rouge
GoGo McGregor
Trixie Minx
Charlotte Treuse
Angie Z
Honorable mention: Xena Zeit-Geist

Best circus performers in New Orleans 2015
Chatty the Mime
Guglielmo
Lady Satine
Magic Mike
Ooops the Clown
Honorable mention: Thugsy Da Clown

Best sideshow performers in New Orleans 2015
Kitty Kaos
Dr. Sick
Lydia Treats
Donny Vomit
Kali von Wunderkammer
Honorable mention: Eli Rose

Best burlesque/circus show emcees in New Orleans for 2015
Dante the Magician (Bustout Burlesque)
Chris Lane (Fleur de Tease)
GoGo McGregor
Dr. Sick (Big Deal Burlesque, Bustout Burlesque)
Rev. Ben Wisdom (Dirty Dime Peepshow)

PRODUCTIONS
Best burlesque/circus show in New Orleans 2015 — annual production
Cirque du Gras 2 (Feb. 13-16), St. Roch Firehouse; produced by LadyBEAST
New Orleans Burlesque Festival (Sept. 15-18), multiple locations; produced by Rick Delaup
NOLA Nerdlesque (Nov. 19-22), Frenchmen Theater at Bamboula’s; produced by Persé Fanny, Vincent Galliant
Snake Oil Festival (June 19-21), Howlin’ Wolf; produced by the Rev. Ben Wisdom, Ginger Licious and Little Luna
Storyville Rising (May 16-17), Café Istanbul; produced by Kali von Wunderkammer

Best burlesque/circus show in New Orleans 2015 – specialty
“CREAM!: A Night of Decadent Burlesque, Drag, and Cabaret,” at One Eyed Jacks (Bella Blue and Kitten N’ Lou)
“The Demon Boobs of Skeet Street: A Sweeney Todd Burlesque,” at Old Marquer Theater (Picolla Tushy presents The Bluestockings)
“Doctor Who-Ha: A Doctor Who Burlesque Play,” at Eiffel Society (The Society of Sin/Krewe du Who)
“Home: A Burlesque Tribute to New Orleans,” at Republic New Orleans (Remy Dee)
“In Wonderland” (Cirque Copine)

Best burlesque/circus show in New Orleans 2015 — monthly/seasonal
Big Deal Burlesque, at various locations (Roxie le Rouge)
Bustout Burlesque, at House of Blues (Rick Delaup)
Dirty Dime Peepshow, at AllWays Lounge (Bella Blue Entertainment)
Fleur de Tease, at One Eyed Jacks (Trixie Minx)
Fly Movement Salon, at Café Istanbul (Liza Rose)
Honorable mention: Bad Girls of Burlesque, at House of Blues/The Parish (Rick Delaup)

Best burlesque/circus show in New Orleans 2015 – weekly
“Blue Book Cabaret,” Saturdays at Bourbon Pub and Parade (Bella Blue Entertainment)
“Burlesque Ballroom,” Fridays at Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Trixie Minx)
“Vixens & Vinyl,” Wednesdays at Spitfire Bar
“Talk Nerdy to Me,” Saturdays at Dragon’s Den (The Society of Sin)
“Comic Strip,” Mondays at Siberia (Chris Lane, Ooops the Clown)
Honorable mention: “Whiskey & Rhinestones,” Thursdays at Gravier Street Social (Bella Blue Entertainment)

No, seriously, check out my overview of this landmark year here.

A look back at New Orleans burlesque, circus and sideshow in 2015

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The year 2015 in New Orleans burlesque, circus and sideshow entertainment might go down as one of the more memorable in a scene that might be approaching a turning point. As producers sought more ambitious shows and performers sought greater exposure, the scene felt by year’s end like it was on the edge of something bigger.

Four of the top burlesque producers were emblematic of both the growth and challenges of the industry. Bella Blue, who in January was voted the No. 16 burlesque artist in 21st Century Burlesque magazine’s popular readers’ poll, was able to do the unthinkable and stage a weekly burlesque show, “Risq,” at Harrah’s New Orleans Casino. Trixie Minx, whose Fleur de Tease gave Bella Blue her start, launched her “Fantasy” show for an adults-only cruise. (She also ruled as the “Queen of the Insane” for krewedelusion and used the year to help promote the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic.)

Both Minx and Blue enjoyed notable performances outside New Orleans — Blue as the featured performer at the international Boylesque Festival Vienna, and Minx (with Piper Marie) in “The Burlesque Show” at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City in late December.

Roxie le Rouge continued to build on her reputation as the most consistent exporter of the form by taking variations of her Big Deal Burlesque across the Southeast while continuing to perform with Fleur de Tease. Her Big Deal shows enjoyed increased attendance to the point of sell-outs.

Rick Delaup’s two regular shows — Bustout Burlesque and the 2014-launched Bad Girls of Burlesque, at the House of Blues and its Parish room, respectively — continued to draw large crowds. (Stupid Dope tabbed Bad Girls as “the most dope show in town.”) He marked Bustout’s 10th anniversary in 2015, and his 7th annual New Orleans Burlesque Festival broke attendance records while crowning Miss Stormy Gayle as the Queen of Burlesque. It came after the Bustout Burlesque regular’s return to New Orleans after spending the past few years in Los Angeles.

Even Miss Exotic World, the competition held at the annual Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend, featured New Orleans connections. Former New Orleans performer Perle Noire, who earlier in the year finished second in the 21st Century Burlesque poll, finished as first runner-up. (A former Bustout Burlesque regular and Queen of Burlesque winner, she also returned to New Orleans to perform at Bella Blue’s “Risq” show.) Dallas’ Ginger Valentine, a frequent guest performer with Bustout Burlesque and who’s recreated the famous “Evangeline the Oyster Girl” act, repeated her 2014 finish as second runner-up.

But there were some challenges. Bella Blue’s attempt to bring drag and burlesque together on Bourbon Street hit a snag when news of the dismissal of performer Ruby Rage (presumably over her weight) from the “Blue Book Cabaret” lineup at Lucky Pierre’s led to Bella Blue ending her relationship with the club. Lucky Pierre’s closed later in the year. “Blue Book Cabaret” wound up at Bourbon Pub and Parade and remains there. She was successful with another burlesque/drag mash-up with “CREAM!” at One Eyed Jacks over Southern Decadence, inspiring her to do a similar show, “Touché,” at the Joy Theater for this year’s Mardi Gras.

Her weekly “Risq” show was shelved at Harrah’s over the football season, though there remains a chance it will return in 2016. Also, she found a permanent home for her New Orleans School of Burlesque inside the Healing Center on St. Claude Avenue. And as popular as the New Orleans Burlesque Festival has become, one African-American performer, Chicago’s Jeez Loueez, expressed concern after her experience as emcee for the “Bad Girls of Burlesque” show at the House of Blues. In a YouTube video, she discussed everything from the traditional aspects of the festival to the use of such black-culture dance forms as twerking — and the lack of performers of color. (This was in keeping with related issues raised by New Orleans performers right before the festival.)

And by year’s end, some performers complained about a lack of work in town, which could either be a blip or an indication the scene might be hitting another peek.

Still, 2015 remained a year of major highlights. Other aspiring producers brought a flood of new and possible annual shows to the stages over the course of 2015. Blue Reine’s seasonal “The Roux: A Spicy Brown Burlesque Show” became so successful that she announced on Jan. 1 that it will become a festival in September. This underscores Reine’s reign as New Orleans’ main host for shows featuring performers of color. Another performer, May Hemmer, launched her first-ever New Year’s Eve party, “A Gatsby Affair.”

Kali von Wunderkammer brought two new festivals, the Southern Sideshow Hootenanny and Storyville Rising, to town, while the Rev. Ben Wisdom teamed up with Little Luna and Ginger Licious for the wildly popular Snake Oil Festival at the Howlin’ Wolf. (That festival will return in 2016.)

Von Wunderkammer and Remy Dee each produced Katrina-themed shows in August — Dee with her “Home: “A Burlesque Tribute to New Orleans” and Von Wunderkammer with “Broken Levees, Broken Hearts” on Katrina’s 10th anniversary, Aug. 29.

Both The Society of Sin (led by Xena Zeit-Geist) and Picolla Tushy presented a flurry of themed shows throughout 2015. The Society of Sin tapped into nerdlesque with narratively driven shows such as “Dr. Who-Ha,” and Picolla Tushy created such literary-minded shows as “Summer Lovin’.” (“Dr. Who-Ha” will enjoy an encore performance at this weekend’s Wizard World Comic Con, Jan. 8-10.)

As burlesque continued to establish its foothold in the scene, the circus arts enjoyed a stronger presence as well, most notably through the work of producers LadyBEAST and Liza Rose and their tapping into a wide variety of performers. They were notably featured in LadyBEAST’s Cirque du Gras 2 during Mardi Gras and Rose’s monthly Fly Movement Salon, an incubator of circus arts performers. The pair also formed the all-female troupe Cirque Copine, which presented the popular “In Wonderland” show in Bywater.

(Bella Blue wasn’t the only performer to go international, either. Circus performer Clay Mazing performed overseas for Syrian refugees, first with Clowns Without Borders and later with his own Emergency Circus. And Magic Mike, the Fleur de Tease regular, competed in the 2015 FISM World Championship of Magic, held July 6-11 in Rimin, Italy.)

LadyBEAST and Rose plan more larger-scale productions in 2016 as the circus-arts performers and producers stake out a larger claim of territory in the wide and often hard-to-define world of variety performances. Stay tuned for more from them.

So what else to look for in 2016? Bella Blue promised a big announcement at her “Touché” show on Jan. 28, so there’s that. Trixie Minx always has something up her sleeve, as does Roxie le Rouge. Rick Delaup’s New Orleans Burlesque Festival will probably continue to be the biggest show in town.

But what should happen for New Orleans’ burlesque and circus scenes in 2016? What would it take to get burlesque mentioned in the same breath as, say, the city’s venerable music and theater scenes? What defines a successful burlesque scene? Regular work for its performers, or at least enough to keep them in New Orleans, might be a nice place to start. Performers, while on social media, constantly question whether they can keep doing what’s fun when they’re faced with mounting bills. Only a handful of the city’s burlesque artists do it as a full-time concern, and a vast majority of them spend a lot of emotional capital on moral support for one another. Musicians face a similar challenge, but when you’re literally bearing your body along with your soul onstage, it seems somehow different.

I’ll save my thoughts on what might make for bigger and better burlesque and circus scenes for a future post — mostly, frankly, playing off what the producers and performers might like to see. But based on private and on-the-record interviews, it would be nice to see, among other things, a scene with producers and performers working more collaboratively, both outside and within. I was reminded of comments by J.D. Oxblood, co-creator of Burlesque Beat magazine and frequent New Orleans visitor: “What’s most exciting about the New Orleans scene is the crossover with the drag community and recent attempts to move into traditionally tourist-dominated spaces. But like many cities, New Orleans seems to be dominated by just a few producers — who may be amenable to out-of-town performers, but less welcoming to outsider producers.”

It would be interesting to see how the scene plays out in 2016, and whether it continues to grow or suddenly plateau, but one thing is certain — growing exposure of what’s happening in the city can only benefit its performers and producers. That said, here’s a look at the “best of” in these two scenes.

Read the results here.

 

Bella Blue returns for Mardi Gras with “Touche” Jan. 28 at Joy Theater

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Building on the success of last year’s “CREAM!” show, Bella Blue Entertainment returns with another variety show in time for Mardi Gras with “Touché” on Jan. 28 at the Joy Theater. Drag queen BenDeLaCreme, the former “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant who emceed last year’s show (held at One Eyed Jacks), returns as the emcee for this show that promises performers from the over-lapping worlds of burlesque, cabaret and drag.

“In true New Orleans fashion, ‘Touché’ ́promises a night to remember with an eclectic mix of performances ranging from classic Bourbon Street style burlesque to drag, boylesque, neo performance art, and more,” Bella Blue said in a press release Monday. “… We will also be revealing the latest project from Bella Blue Entertainment … you’ll have to come to the show and see it for yourself!”

Tickets start at $20 and are available here; VIP seating is available.

The lineup: Chicago’s Ray Gunn, 2013 King of Boylesque; New York City’s Gal Friday, “The 5 Alarm Fire of Burlesque”; New York City’s Madame Rosebud, “The David Bowie of Burlesque” (watch video below); Nona Narcisse, co-founder of New Orleans’ Slow Burn Burlesque; and Bella Blue. The “CREAM!” show, held during Southern Decadence, was co-produced by the burlesque team Kitten ‘N Lou (with former New Orleans burlesque performer Kitten LaRue) and featured BenDeLaCreme as emcee with performances by New York City’s Chris Harder and New Orleans entertainers Vinsantos, Eros Sea and Lady Satine.

The Thin White Duchess from Abe Goldfarb on Vimeo.

At Dook’s Place at the airport, a New Orleans-style family of fare

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(FULL DISCLOSURE: I’m related to the Chase family by marriage.)

Jason Owens and Desiree Perez hate airport food, but after room service was slow to deliver at their downtown New Orleans hotel and they had to make their flight back to Tampa on Saturday (Jan. 2), they didn’t have much choice.

“I said I’m not looking forward to it,” said Owens, an AllState employee who’d scored tickets to the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. Before departing for their flight, they decided to walk into Dook’s Place, located just to the right of Concourse B at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

Their timing was perfect. Dook’s Place, opened by Edgar Chase IV — grandson of Dooky and Leah Chase of Dooky Chase’s Restaurant — and cousin and executive chef Gavin Goins Jr., was enjoying its soft launch on Saturday, and so the couple feasted on Sweet Chili Wings, The Classic Burger and Southern Fried Chicken.

“The wings were really good,” said Perez, 31. “The sauce had a nice little kick to it.”

“It’s got that real good chicken,” said Owens, 34, referring to the friend boneless chicken breast that came with pickled red onions and jalapeno, along with tomato, arugula and pickles. “I was definitely impressed, especially considering what I was expecting.”

They dined underneath the kind of vivid artwork that has been a hallmark at Dooky Chase’s, which opened a spot on the other side of the airport at the Concourse C check-in a few years ago. But for all the similarities to the Orleans Avenue institution, Dook’s Place is Edgar’s in every sense of the title.

“Dook” spent a few years at Dooky Chase’s (which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2016) after graduating from the “intensive track” program at Le Cordon Bleu in France back in 2008, and then after working for Entergy and having two children with his wife, Gretchen, helped open Dooky Chase’s out at the airport before starting to chart his own path. A spot nearby, but with more of his influences, seemed a logical progression.

“I worked in the restaurant with my grandmother, my mentor and teacher, and then at the airport, but it was always a place already in operation,” Chase said. “It never had my personal touch. I always wanted to do my own restaurant, to get a feel for it.

“I see myself opening a French Creole restaurant, and this is more of a casual version of New Orleans food,” he said. “It’s reflective of both New Orleans and the South. It’s Creole, seafood and soul. And it’s something that we can logistically put out at the airport knowing what customers expect in that kind of time frame.”

So while there are plenty of New Orleans staples such as Creole Gumbo and BBQ shrimp and that fried chicken, diners also can enjoy a Blackened Shrimp Remoulade sandwich (complete with a fried green tomato) and entrees such as the Grilled Louisiana Red Fish and Shrimp Linguine (dotted with Shiitake mushrooms).

As for the recipe for the gumbo?

“That’s straight off Orleans Avenue,” Dook said with a chuckle. “You know how that works with that gumbo; there isn’t a recipe!”

The blackened shrimp was plump and tender, as was the Pork Belly appetizer, lightened up by the candied yams, greens and fried pickled okra.

Goins has plenty of experience crafting seafood dishes, having spent several hears with Landry’s (both out at the Lakefront and in the French Quarter) as well as at Gordon Biersch, where he learned the discipline of operating in a corporate-run kitchen but also felt constrained by the menus. When he told some of his current and former co-workers in the front and back of those houses that he was making a move, many were thrilled to join the two cousins in their new venture.

“Everything we did, it had to have that love, but we had to get it to the guests, so we did the majority of the work that we could in the prepping,” Goins explained For example, he said, “Our pork belly has to get marinated and braised for three hours, so we do that in advance. All we have to do when the ticket comes in is to sear it.”

But when it comes to something like, say, jalapeno cole slaw, it’s gotta be made on the spot to taste fresh and not soggy.

“Everything we thought about was to have that perfect bite,” Goins said.

Dook’s mother, Alva Chase, serves as the bookkeeper.

Family members popped in an out for moral support and a meal, including Gavin Goins’ mother, Giselle, and siblings Jessica and Shane. Trevor’s twin brother Travis stopped by, as did their cousin Victor Haydel and his daughter Emily — in town from Atlanta for the holidays — with his father James.

It may be a family affair, but it’s not a humble undertaking either; Dook’s Place has a crew of nearly 30 for the front and back of the house, including a raw bar that seemed consistently cranking out places of raw oysters (along with the occasional Oysters Rockefeller).

The family influence doesn’t stop there; cousin Trevor Chase manages the front of the house and is server himself. Gretchen helped collaborate on the industrial but warm interior, with copper-framed lighting fixtures and a granite-counter bar that soft a wavy lap around the back center of the space and offers a view of the runway. (That bar features Louisiana craft beer including my favorite, Parish Canebrake, The concept was a year in the planning and then another six months of construction with the help of Perez Architects. It also features five of the restaurant’s seven flatscreen TV’s.)

“We wanted to let (customers) know you do have a lot of options when you come to the airport,” she said. “We wanted it to look and feel inviting. We wanted it to be true to what we would’ve done if we’d opened a restaurant on Esplanade Avenue.

“It’s a place where you want to come and stay.”

Until, of course, it’s time to fly.

Make it a burlesque New Year’s Eve with parties in New Orleans and beyond

Posted on by under burlesque

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Considering what a big year it’s been for burlesque around New Orleans, it only makes sense to mark its end with a party, and a few of the area’s top performers and producers are sending off 2015 with burlesque-themed New Year’s Eve parties. And they’re not confining themselves to New Orleans; Roxie le Rouge’s Big Deal Burlesque will take their show to Marksville for a party, in keeping with her practice of exporting burlesque to the Southeast area. I asked some of the producers for their thoughts on their shows and their work in 2015, and will continue to update.

Here’s a roundup of the shows. Please feel free to add any others you know about tonight in the comments section, and they’ll be added in with the relevant information.

Also: Voting in the “best of New Orleans burlesque” polls will close today, Thursday, Dec. 31, at 5 p.m., with results posted Wednesday, Jan. 6.

House of Mayhem presents “A Gatsby Affair”
Thursday, Dec. 31, 8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Mag’s 940, 940 Elysian Fields Ave.

Description: “Looking for a way to ring in the New Year in style? Want to have the decadent atmosphere without the decadent price? Then join May Hemmer for a New Year’s Eve bash that will bring you back … back in time to the 1920s. Join us as we transform Mag’s 940 into a speakeasy complete with music, booze, and burlesque! At midnight join us for the champagne toast and a different spin on the balloon drop. But before the festivities kick off, Mag’s Coffee House (which is right next door) will be having an hors d’oeuvres and cocktail hour before hand! Between 7pm and 8pm for only $12 you can get some tasty finger foods and two complimentary drinks on the house!! Be sure to get there early because space will be limited for this mix and mingle event.”

Lineup: New Orleans performers Nikki LeVillain, Roux La La, Grand Mafun, Persé Fanny, and touring performers The Baroness and Gabriella Maze

Dress: Cocktail, with 1920s-style attire encouraged. Tickets:

Tickets: $11.24-$82.99. Visit event website

From May Hemmer: “I feel that taking on a bigger production so early in my production career is a big step for me. After working in the corporate world for so long, I have become pretty keen on how to put out fires and handling tense situations. And trust me… I’ve put out some fires with this show. I’ve made mistakes and I will continue to make mistakes but that’s part of the learning process. The main component that I’ve learned is to ask for help; my production assistant on this wild ride, Tsarina Hellfire, has been there to hear me ask and express frustrations. This show is also going to be a catalyst of seeing whether I can to just do smaller regular shows or compete with the big dogs and focus on just a few events throughout the year. All in all, I plan on providing a fun environment not only for my patrons, but for my entertainers. I want them to feel as fabulous as they really are and I think I’m really stepping up the game when it comes to that for ‘A Gatsby Affair.’ That way people can walk away and say that they enjoy working with me not just because they know they will get paid … but that they are treated like the top-notch performers I know they are.”

Bella Blue Entertainment presents “New Year’s Eve at the Social”
Thursday, Dec. 31, 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Gravier Street Social, 523 Gravier St.

Description: “Join us at The Social for a fun and sophisticated evening of drinks, dancing and burlesque this New Years Eve. Burlesque presented by Bella Blue and sounds from DJ Otto. Great music to dance to in an eclectic venue with a cool crowd! 9 p.m. until late. Reservations: info@gravierstreetsocial.com or 504-941-7629.”

Lineup: Angie Z, Meredith Mon Archm, Charlotte Treuse, emcee Stevie Poundcake

Tickets: $45-$60. Visit event website

New Year’s Eve with Slow Burn Burlesque and Debauche
Thursday, Dec. 31, 9 p.m.
Hi-Ho Lounge, 2239 St. Claude Ave.

Description: “Ring in 2016 with Debauche and Slow Burn Burlesque on Thursday, Dec. 31, at The Hi Ho Lounge!”

Lineup: Sarah Duprix, Ladee Lucerne, Porcelain, Natasha Fiore

From Ben Wisdom: “The Slow Burn Debauche show will be an unforgettable way to bring in the new year. No where else will you be able to dance to a live DJ playing Balkan dance music, see a troupe of professional and sexy belly dancers, experience the hell fire of one of New Orleans most recognized burlesque groups Slow Burn and party with the wildest band in all the land Debauche! It’s a night of unique alternative entertainment unlike anything else in the city.”

“Mon Cherie Amour” featuring Roxie le Rouge & Big Deal Burlesque
Thursday, Dec. 31, 10 p.m.
Bailey’s on the Square, 113 E. Ogden St. Marksville, 318-240-3495

Description: Champagne toast, balloon drop, party favors, breakfast buffet. Benefits the Avoyelles Arts Council.

Tickets: $75

From Roxie le Rouge: “My number one goal since starting Big Deal Burlesque over four years ago, has been to broaden our audience bringing top notch burlesque, sideshow and variety acts to new audiences. I do enjoy performing in big cities and often do as a soloist but, it is so rewarding to give smaller cities a first time experience and build an ever-growing fan base. The level of enthusiasm is really on a whole another level and all the performers remark how great it feels connect with the audiences. We have met some of the loveliest people on the road. These trips are reminders of why I do what I do. It’s pure joy. I’m really excited for 2016! I have many things I would like to accomplish for Big Deal this coming new year including a new group act, new concepts, collaborations and an expanded tour. Personal goals include polishing up my business skills, a new act with a fantastic costume is in it’s infancy stage and the always and ever present lesson of balance between work and personal life. I’m finally getting the hang of it.”

 

 

 

Do dive bars in New Orleans still matter?

Posted on by under nightlife
The Black Penny on Rampart Street — formerly The Ninth Circle. (Photo by David Lee Simmons)

The Black Penny on Rampart Street — formerly The Ninth Circle. (Photo by David Lee Simmons)

There’s a pretty funny, sharply observed and snarky post from Munchies making its way around the Internet thanks to a re-posting from its original 2014 publishing titled “The Slow and Painful Death of the Dive Bar.” Basically it’s a barfly’s screed against the gentrification that’s occurred all over the land in which former dive bars are taken over by a kind of hipster management awash in cleverly disguised bourgeois trappings such as IPAs and craft cocktails and digital jukeboxes. Here’s but one witty shot across the bow:

Does your daytime bartender have full arm-sleeves? That’s cool. Do ALL your new bartenders, barbacks, door men, regulars, and social-media coordinators have full arm-sleeves? That’s bad. See, tattoos are meant to indicate individuality. If everyone is uniform in their individualism, then this place is no better than Hot Topic. You can’t mass-produce an identity. In fact, you shouldn’t even have a social media coordinator. That dumb new mustache logo isn’t helping, either. The only logo a proper dive bar should have is that cold look a regular laser-beams at you when you open the door at 11 AM and it lets in too much light.

Indeed, New Orleans, having in its post-Katrina population boom embraced many national trends including a certain strain of hipsterism in its nightlife (often for the better), has experienced an almost tectonic shift in its seemingly myriad dive bars. You can see it most evident in the French Quarter, especially with several divey gay bars being converted into such spiffy and shabby-chic joints as the Black Penny (pictured) with its impressive canned-beer selection as it sits perched on an ever-transforming Rampart Street. And if the French Quarter is the canary in the coal mine for New Orleans bars, what do these conversions mean for the rest of the city?

For the article’s author Josh Androsky, it’s the end of an era: “Remember the good times? Back when it was that other place, the good place? Before you bought it. Before you ruined it. Before you renamed it something along the lines of an ‘eco friendly neighborhood pub SERVING IPAs ONLY, Bring Your Kids!'”

This reminded me of the days managing the bar guide at the previous publication, and painful — I mean PAINFUL — 2014 debate we had in deciding on the top five dive bars in New Orleans. It was painful not just because of the slow death of the dive bar, but also the crazy criteria for what constituted a dive bar in the first place. There were the obvious ones, like a locally owned spot primarily embedded in a neighborhood, and maybe with its fair share of “characters” along with cheap drinks and beer and an organically well-worn feel to it and a jukebox that didn’t try too hard to be cool but was anyway. Stuff like that.

But also, as I believe some commenters may have pointed out, it just felt unseemly to “promote” or “rank” dive bars to begin with, to celebrate something that very much seemed to want to operate exclusively under the radar and didn’t need your help, thankyouverymuch. (Certainly not from a corporate-owned publication, but that’s another discussion for another day.)

So what do you think? Do you believe New Orleans’ dive bars are going the way of other bars nationally, as Josh Androsky has suggested (twice now, LOL)? Do you also agree that they have an intrinsic value, or should we even care anymore? For me, the beauty of New Orleans bars do lie in their ability to become a treasured part of a neighborhood, and identify with it. I’d wager some newer New Orleanians, for example, might be surprised at how just you Finn McCool’s is. While a true neighborhood bar, it’s barely more than a decade old, yet feels very much a part of Mid-City while not being a dive bar at all. And there are other bars that, while renamed and under more recent ownership, that still have that divey feel — like JJ’s Sports Lounge in Bywater (Bywater!).

And so, as we approach New Year’s Eve, I’ll repeat the question: Do dive bars in New Orleans still matter?

 

Vote for the best in New Orleans burlesque and circus performers, performances for 2015

Posted on by under burlesque

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(UPDATE: Voting has closed. Thanks for participating. Results will be posted Wednesday, Jan. 6.)

The year 2015 became a landmark year for New Orleans’ expansive burlesque and circus arts scene. Throughout the years, audiences were entertained by new productions from weekly shows all the way up to festivals and specialty productions. (We even saw not one but two Katrina-themed shows). As part of a look back at this banner year for a scene that promises to be discussed in the same breath as the city’s vibrant theater and comedy scenes.

I’ll take a more direct look in that year later in the week, building the coverage I wrapped up while at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. But first, here are some polls to consider in terms of your favorite performers and performances. One rule, and this will probably done on everyone’s word of honor: no ballot-stuffing. Please, one person, one vote, for each poll.

Let’s start with the biggest one: the performers, broken down by burlesque performers, circus and sideshow performers, and emcees. (Please note: The burlesque performers category was so obviously loaded down with talent, for this poll I wanted to A) Focus about the top 30 in my mind, and then let the readers add in any they feel are missing, and then B) Present a “finalist” poll later in the week. The other performers are in small enough categories to remain as is. That said, the burlesque performers category:

And now for the circus performers:

And now for the sideshow performers:

And now for the burlesque and circus show emcees:

Next up: annual productions, which include multiple-day festivals that have become magnets for national touring artists (and a lot of first-timers in 2015):

Next up, we’d like to look at the “specialty” shows in 2015 — shows that also happened once in the year (more or less) but at this point might be considered unique to 2015 (until further notice at least). Some have enjoyed encore/return performances, but the general idea is, they were special to this year:

Monthly burlesque and circus shows have proved to be extremely well attended throughout the year, and help keep interest alive in the scene on a regular basis. (If only they wouldn’t suffer from so much over-lapping bookings, but more on that later.) Here are the favorites:

Weekly shows also do a great show of providing a steady, virtually daily opportunity to enjoy the burlesque and circus scenes in New Orleans, from divey bars to Harrah’s New Orleans Casino:

So let the voting begin, and again, please, one vote per person. The results will be released at the beginning of the year (which is, like, really soon). And please feel free to share with your friends on social media with the hashtag #bestnolaburlesque.

The Avenue Pub brings the Chinese food alternative for Christmas day on Friday

Posted on by under dining

Avenue Pub 1

For years, Avenue Pub owner Polly Watts figured the coolest way to have fun Christmas day was doing what lots of other Jewish folks do: eat Chinese. (And she’s got the Atlantic article to prove it.) So she little gatherings and had Chinese food and a movie for friends who either also were Jewish, weren’t into celebrating the holiday in general, or were just looking for something fun to do besides the usual family gathering.

But when it started to get a little hectic to put on — “once it gets over 15, it gets to be too many for me!” she laughed — Watts decided this year would be different. She’s moving the party over to the Avenue Pub, where on Christmas day Chinese food will be prepared by the food truck Brothers Ball. The viewing: BBC America’s airing of the “Dr. Who” Christmas special. (Check out the Facebook event page for more details.) Dinner starts at 7 p.m. (The Avenue Pub kitchen will be open from 2 p.m. to 4 a.m.)

“It really is a fun thing, and we’re just doing it for fun,” said Watts. “It gives people who want to go out on Christmas night some unusual to do and people who don’t do something on Christmas something fun to do. It all comes from the fact I’m Jewish and my family eats Chinese (food) on Christmas.” (Note: For some of my coverage of Polly Watts and Avenue Pub, watch this video.)

It’s important to remember that The Avenue Pub is a bar and not a restaurant and is 21-plus only.

Check out the menu below:

Brothers Ball Christmas Dinner
5 course tasting menu
$25
Jumbo lump won ton soup.
Fried catfish,tong cho sauce, Thai basil, mint, cilantro, red onions, hot peppers.
“Reu Bun” (steam bun)
Smoked beef cheek pastrami, house fermented Napa cabbage sauerkraut, kewpie mayo Russian dressing, Swiss cheese.
“Mapo tofu”
Tofu, ground pork, black bean garlic sauce, crispy rice cake, hot peppers.
“General Tso”
Chicken served over crispy egg noodles with carrots, onions, celery and enoki mushrooms.
Dessert surprise!

John Waters has become a New Orleans holiday tradition, you sickos

Posted on by under comedy

Screen Shot 2015-12-17 at 3.41.31 PMOne of the first shows I got to enjoy after returning to New Orleans was the one and only, the delightfully raunchy John Waters — the director, the humorist, the author, and the general trouble-maker. It was at the Civic Theatre, and as if to remind me how fun it was to enjoy him in New Orleans (after a delightful interview, my second counting one while at Gambit Weekly), I got seated next to someone I’d met on New Year’s Day, 2006, a few months before leaving for Atlanta. (Here’s my preview for that 2013 show.)

Waters returns to New Orleans and the Civic tonight (Thursday, Dec. 17) for his annual Christmas show, subtitled “Holier & Dirtier.” (Check out the Facebook event page for details.) His years living here in the pre-“Pink Flamingos” days are so etched in our memory that, after recounting that period for Gambit in 2010, he’s grown tired of recounting them in subsequent interviews. Which is not to say Waters is hesitant to show his love of New Orleans and its sometimes-seedy ways (the whole world knows his favorite bar is the Corner Pocket), and always gives his props (as he did in 2013) to New Orleans audiences:

They’ve always been appreciative. They ‘get it,.’ I don’t ever have to worry if people are going to get it in New Orleans. Even though you are a city that does not participate in the rest of America, which I give you kind of credit for. You’ve seceded. Culturally, you always kind of had your own kind of world there, and you decided what was good there. You were not influenced by the rest of America, which I always find kind of amazing.

After all these years, he still delights in shocking people’s sensibilities, as he did when discussing Christmas on the eve of the 2013 show:

I love Christmas. I celebrate it. But I want the war on Christmas, if it’s [celebrated] on government property. I am against that. However, I decorate my house. I want to go Christmas caroling with crack addicts. I always wanted to go with crack addicts so you could go ring the door bell and really scare people. I’m for Christmas, but it should not have anything to do with the state. I do celebrate it. I even mock all the traditions of it. I decorate an electric chair in my house.

I got a chance to interview him once again in March for his traditional “This Filthy World” show at the Joy (which I missed). The highlight from that interview came when I asked him what he thought about a certain cultural shift when “more and more people don’t get mad at what you’re doing?”

It’s because I’m not mean. I think people, when they come to see me, want me to take them into some world where they might get a little uncomfortable in but they’re not uncomfortable with me as their guide. I have a lot of parents bring as a last-ditch effort bring their angry children to see me together. That’s touching. I don’t know if it works. I don’t know if they go home and discuss what “Ultimate Nudity” was and bond. Before when I was young and people saw my movies, they’d call the police. Things have changed but for the better, certainly.

And finally, enjoy one last New Orleans connection, however bizarrely:

 

Kathy Randels’ Top 5 memories from 20 years of ArtSpot Productions

Posted on by under theater

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Kathy Randels can be forgiven for cheating. The performance artist and social activist was asked for her “top 5 memories from ArtSpot Productions” (on the spot, so to speak) and while she turned it around with lightning speed, she bent the rules a bit and had some sub-topics. But consider how much this group has done over 20 years, how could she stop at five? Here’s five and a few more to boot, in advance of tonight’s (Thursday, Dec. 17) event, “20for20: A Limoncello Bordello,” from 7 to 10 p.m. at Rebellion Bar and Urban Kitchen, 748 Camp St. (See Facebook event here for details.)

1. Contesting my first grant application that was close, but didn’t make the cut to the New Orleans Arts Council in their office on Baronne. Shirley Trusty Corey and Echo Olander were in the room and many others. I was given a chance to try to convince them that they should fund the first production of “Rage Within/Without” in New Orleans, which they did! I told them it was important to fund young artists from New Orleans that moved back home to make their work! That became ArtSpot’s first production at the Contemporary Arts Center in the BankOne Black Box Theatre in the fall of 1995.

2. The various rehearsal spaces:

  • a crumbling NOCCA, my alma mater on Perrier St. that was no longer functioning as a school, but home to New Orleans Schools’ Arts in Education Offices and other scrappy performing artists like me; (“Rage,” “How to Be a Man,” “The End and Back Again”)
  • The Firehouse in the 700 block of Mandeville: NORD/NOBA partnership was operating out of it, Jenny Thompson, rest her soul, had her office there. Moving Humans ensemble started there with J Hammons, and Lucas Cox, rest his soul. We created “Rumours of War,” “Venus Vulcan Mars” and the “Dancing Dwarf”; “Nita & Zita”; “The Maid of Orleans” and “New Orleans Suite” there.
  • In and out of Anne Burr’s Dance Studio with all the amazing Uptown dancers.
  • Lakeview Baptist Church, the church my father pastored for 37 years and I grew up in, that housed our office for four years post-Katrina
  • Catapult, our new home, and lab space shared with Jeff Becker; Mondo Bizarro and New Noise in the Marigny.

3. Our residency at the CAC from 2004-06. Getting the news from Larisa Gray, then performance curator there; all the performances; Brotha T, Zohar Israel and Shaka Zulu’s drums echoing through the warehouse while Roscoe Reddix, Ausettua Amor Amenkum and Monique Moss danced and Sean LaRocca amazing score for strings while Lucas Cox descended a rope over a banquet table designed by Shawn Hall during “Rumours of War”; “State of the Nation Series” and “Festival” with a special altar for Lloyd Joseph Martin; the TIME MACHINE from “Chekhov’s Wild Ride”; “Artistic Ancestry,” our 10-tear anniversary festival with amazing artists from all over the globe, including Roberta Carreri poking her hands and head through a wall of Salt in the Freeport; and Torgeir Wethal, rest his soul.

4. Site-specific work over the last 10 years:

  • Learning how to ride a horse and dive backwards into a shallow pool of water in Gentilly for “Go Ye Therefore” in 2010.
  • Singing and dancing all over the Studio in the Woods with “Beneath the Strata/Disappearing” when we thought New Orleans was dying in 2006.
  • Watching and helping Nick Slie become a werewolf with Moose Jackson and Jeff Becker for months in the old east Golf Course in 2009.
  • Watching, learning and coaching the Kiss Kiss Julie ensemble to become better lovers (Ashley Sparks, Lisa Shattuck, Rebecca Mwase, Nick Slie)!
  • Singing up and down the Central Wetlands Levee led by Sean LaRocca along with a chorus of wild boar, coyotes, alligators, spiders, hawks and snakes!

5. The work with students at the Center at Douglass, performing their writings from “The Long Ride,” New Orleans’ 300 years of black resistance; and McMain girls performing at the Red Tent in the Superdome whose entrance was a giant vagina thanks to Eve Ensler. And the work with the women at Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women, the LCIW Drama Club, every Saturday with Ausettua Amor Amenkum, Michaela Harrison and Chen Gu: feeling Mama Glo rip my heart out every time she performs … she, the two Mary’s and Sandra have been there longer than me and it’s been 20 long and beautiful years!