Recent Stories with tag burlesque

Yes, awards season is finally over--blah blah blah boringest Oscars ever, blah blah blah.  But all in all, the films nominated this year weren't so bad (even if the wrong film won Best Picture), so now's your chance to catch up with some of the recent Oscar losers. Let's take a look at recent DVD releases, care of our good friends at Scarecrow Video. In terms of the big releases of late, 127 Hours is out this week, and if ninety minutes in a cramped space with James Franco isn't enough for you, Danny Boyle's film is also bundled with the Oscar winner for Best Live Action Short (and probably the best Oscar speech of the night), Luke Matheny's God of Love. 

Also out now is Love and Other Drugs, which didn't get Anne Hathaway a Best Actress Oscar nomination, even though she was naked and dying (which usually does the trick). Same goes for Get Low, starring Bill Murray as Bill Murray and Robert Duvall as a crotchety old hermit who wants to throw his funeral party before he's dead. Sorry Duvall, any other year you'd get an Oscar nom, but this year his slot (Old Dude) went to Jeff Bridges instead, not that anyone had a shot at beating Colin Firth. From the creators of The Triplets of Belleville, very French full-length cartoon The Illusionist lost Best Animated Feature to Toy Story 3. You'd think that the Christina Aguilera/Cher musical Burlesque would've at least gotten a Best Song nomination, since that category was so weak this year.

Last Friday marked the release of the one- and two-disc version of Megamind, a computer-animated hero/villain story with the voices of Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, and Tina Fey. The other big release from last week was Due Date, aka Planes, Trains, and Automobiles 2. The odd couple buddy road trip is uneven and overly long, but it has its moments, and if you like Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis, then you'll like the movie well enough too. No comment on The Rock and Billy Bob Thorton in Faster.... (more)

I may have taken Monday off due to poor planning. Or it may have been part of a sinister plot. I'm reaching, here, people. Not that anything happened. The rest of the week looks interesting, though.

Greg Bear is not pimping Hull Zero Three, tonight, instead signing a Halo tie-in novel at UW Bookstore. The rest of the week is heavy on poetry, both local and imported, with Ben Lerner in town from Brooklyn, and several group readings from home-grown writers.

There's also a sprinkling of sports, science, music, and dance to keep Seattleites intellectually well-rounded, if physically still rather pale and wan. Not as pale and wan as deceased honorees Gerry Garcia and Gypsy Rose Lee, but on the vampirish side, nonetheless.

01/04/11 7 p.m. UW Bookstore
Greg Bear
Halo: Cryptum, Book One of the Forerunner Saga
The local SF legend has penned a game tie-in novel. I'm ambivalent about this. On the one hand, everybody needs to eat, right? And if anyone can write a good tie-in novel, it is Mr. Bear. But still, it makes me feel ooky. (Although, not as ooky as calling a grown man, "Mr. Bear.")

01/04/11 8 p.m. Richard Hugo House
Castalia Reading Series
Group Reading
UW folks read their work.

01/05/11 7 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company
Megan Snyder-Camp, Laura Shoemaker, & Sarah Steinke
Poetry Reading
EBBC hosts three local poets whose last names all start with an S. One of those odd little things that strike me as funny, what can I say?

01/05/11 7:30 p.m. Town Hall Seattle
Doug Merlino
The Hustle: One Team and Ten Lives in Black and White
Back in the '80s, Seattle was trying really hard to be integrated and post-racial, with varying degrees of success. One effort was an integrated student basketball team. Merlino looked up the members, twenty years later, to gauge the results. This is a "sports" book that I will definitely be reading.

01/05/11 7:30 p.m. Richard Hugo House
Scribes
Group Reading
Alums from Hugo House's Scribes program read.... (more)

Many's the day, searching through the Flickr pool, that I've had to stop and tell myself, "That poor bastard Chris Blakeley...his life sucks!" As indeed it does for the poor bastard, what with being the unofficial court photographer of the Seattle burlesque scene. Ironically, though (for my navel gazing jokes), what gets him that distinction is the fact that when he photographs mostly naked women, Blakeley tends to find the shot that captures the eyes or movement, the drama of the moment. And that's why his photography--whether in the dark of a theatre or a candid shot snapped across a bar--always overwhelms me.

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"Where Righteous Rock meets Busby Berkeley and Benny Hill," goes the House of The UnHoly tagline (runs Sept. 23-25, early/late shows at the Triple Door). It's an epic burlesque production, with thirteen dancers, three singers, and five musicians, produced by the Swedish Housewife.

And let me stop you there because surely you know by now whether or not burlesque is of interest. The burlesque I've seen at the Triple Door has always been edgy, untamed, and top-drawer (WINK), but for god's sake, we've come to a pretty pass when I have to spell out what's titillating about burlesque. (OOPS JUST DID!)

I will add that if you haven't seen Waxie Moon perform before, you may be subject to one of those weird laughing/crying jags that end in the hiccups so be ready for that. "This show doesn't resemble a typical burlesque show. It's much much dirtier," Mr/s. Moon told the Examiner.... (more)

Everyone from tattooed retro-cuties of both sexes to soccer moms to mascarada-clad lucha fans jammed the Showbox SoDo last Sunday night to bear witness to Lucha VaVoom, and damned if the sporting event/three-ring circus didn't deliver sexo y violencia in stylish spades.

Calling Lucha VaVoom a wrestler-and-stripper show is a little like calling Lawrence of Arabia a movie about some British guy playing in the sand. The lucha portion of the show emphasized acrobatics, humor, and grandly theatrical style over U.S. wrestling's litany of yelling and empty posturing; and the five ecdysiasts providing the striptease entertainment served up their wares with equally creative flourishes. 

The closest thing to the traditional American notion of a wrestling match came with the first bout between former WWE star Joey Ryan and Chocolate Caliente, and even that was spiked with humor and some swift and acrobatic moves in the grand lucha style. The 300-pound Caliente displayed surprising dexterity, and Ryan played the seventies smoothie with a wink and a smile.

Things rocketed straight to the stratosphere of Gloriously Weird with the second match on the card, a tag-team rumble which pitted Los Crazy Chickens against Dr. Horowitz (a white-masked medico assessino) and El Vagabundo. The Chickens, accompanied by their own naggingly catchy theme song thundering over the Showbox sound system, were--yep--guys in chicken suits. The silly accoutrements concealed two guys with a staggeringly wiry and energetic style; gravity-defying leaps and flips abounded. ... (more)

The wiry, incredibly gymnastic lucha style makes American pro wrestling--with its surplus of moronic chair-swinging violence and mulleted, caterwauling steroid cases--look earthbound and dull as ditchwater. Lucha libre kicks U.S. wrestling's ass in the coolness department, too: Mexico's most famous masked wrestlers--El Santo and Blue Demon--filmed dozens of movies in which they fought vampires, werewolves, Nazis, space aliens, and mummies.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, on the other hand, plays the Tooth Fairy in his latest film vehicle, for god's sake. No wonder references to the mythos of the luchador have begun to surface in north-of-the-border pop culture--from Jack Black to kid's cartoon animators to local trash-movie hosts.

Lucha's thrived with Spanish-speaking audiences throughout Mexico and the southern U.S. for almost seven decades, but until recently it's been hard for gringos to get a live glimpse at this unique bit of Mexican culture in action. Lucha VaVoom, an L.A.-based entertainment bonanza that hits the Showbox SoDo on Sunday, May 16, is changing all of that, and throwing in a pinch of laughter and sex to boot. Lucha VaVoom combines single-round lucha libre bouts, burlesque striptease, and stand-up comic shtick into an action-packed, heady, exotic, and playfully sensual molcajete.

Titillation, fun, and larger-than-life escapism are the order of the day, but this sporting event/three-ring circus isn't some smirky dilettante version of lucha libre. Liz Fairbairn--one-half of the brain-trust behind this performance mash-up--dated a Mexican wrestler for ten years, and she's lived and breathed the sport for over a decade.... (more)

Ricochet at the Moisture Festival last week. Photo by John Cornicello

Tonight

• For one night only, SF-based aerial performance duo Ricochet bring STITCH @ Emerald City Trapeze

Wednesday

• Tom DeLonge's Angels and Airwaves is back and even hookier @ Showbox SoDo
  
• It's happy hour all night (and a mariachi band) for the bar's second birthday @ The Saint

Thursday

• Sam Shepherd's True West opens @ the Balagan Theatre
• If it's first Thursday, that means it's Blitz @ Capitol Hill Arts Walk
• Lots of bands and restaurants represent at the third annual Seattle Soundbite @ Showbox SoDo
• Oh yes! Make it Purple Rain with this star-studded Prince tribute night @ Havana
• Get Lucky with Mark Knopfler @ the Moore Theatre
• Hugh Raffles, anthropologist and author of Insectopedia, tells you all about insects @ Town Hall

Friday

• My Son My Son What Have Ye Done, the unholy product of the minds of David Lynch and Werner Herzog, screens @ Northwest Film Forum
• Pour a little out for Capitol Hill mainstay Slats at his benefit/memorial @ Merchants Cafe
• Robopop! opens @ Washington Ensemble Theatre
• Singer-songwriter Holly Miranda brings her lovely, dreamy vocals @ High Dive
• SPOON! (also Saturday) @ the Moore Theatre
• A host of your favorite local burlesque artists brings Smells Like Tease Spirit: A Tribute to the 90's @ Theatre off Jackson

Saturday

• Head to the Eastside for two days of festivities, including book signings, free hors d'oeuvres, and raffles during the annual Spring Fling @ Artisanal Brasserie
• Jonsi (also Friday), Sigur Ros' enchanting warbler in chief, strikes out on a solo effort, occasionally singing songs with English lyrics @ Showbox SoDo
• Perennial indie rock favorites Rogue Wave are back @ Neumos
• Studies in Monk, Mompou, and Melancholy is an event featuring the work of eighteen separate artists exploring melancholy @ The Fremont Abbey

Sunday

• Mayda del Valle and Staceyann Chin, both poets and original cast members of the Tony-winning Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, liven up @ Town Hall
• It's the last 12 Minutes Max of the 09-10 season, featuring a variety of Northwest artists including ticktock, the aerial/dance crew who are pushing the limits @ On the Boards
• Philly's favorite shape-shifting knob-twister RJD2 has been touring up a storm of late, stopping by Seattle @ Neumo's

Monday

• Corinne Bailey Rae (also Tuesday) sings about the sad, sad The Sea at the first of the 2010 (RED)NIGHTS concerts--a portion of the proceeds from each show goes directly to the Global Fund to help fight AIDS in Africa--@ the Moore Theatre
• The xx youngsters and their lovers' whispers in the dark take over @ Showbox SoDo
• Roger Lowenstein arrives late to the "Where'd that bubble go?" party @ Town Hall
• Everyone (including Aziz Ansari) loves Beach House's organic Brian Wilson meets Mazzy Star sound. That's why they're sold out @ Neumo's
• Author and charity founder Lisa Shannon will be raising awareness and support for the women of the Democratic Republic of Congo @ the Intiman Theatre

Tuesday

• The Biava Quartet and their fabulous hair play Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major with cellist Joshua Roman @ Town Hall
• Train headlines The Mountain's Earth Day concert @ the Moore Theatre
• Take me out to the book reading! Robert Elias reads from his baseball-and-America book The Empire Strikes Out @ Town Hall
• Go buckwild and get sweaty with the psychedelic soul of King Khan and the Shrines @ Neumo's

There's plenty of great things going on this weekend, from Salt Horse's opening tonight, to ArtAttack's production of Fat Pig (just extended!) and the Balagan's Trout Stanley, to the closing of Glengarry Glen Ross down at the Rep. But that said, there's a bunch of top-notch, one-time-only events this weekend to keep you busy.

Tonight, Feb. 26, is the SAM Remix down at the Seattle Art Museum (8 p.m.-midnight, tickets $10, $8 students) the bi-monthly art-and-performance bash that tries to bring in the under-30 crowd. SAM Remix almost always sports an awesome lineup of events, but tonight's lineup is exceptionally good for two reasons: First, KT Niehoff's Lingo Dance are installing themselves as human sculpture throughout the galleries. It's part of a three-month project the company is developing with ACT Theatre called A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light. The second is a new work from Mike Pham, half of Seattle's performance art darlings Helsinki Syndrome, called Soccer Practice. Expect something funny, odd, physical, and--quite probably--involving glitter.

Tomorrow night, Sat. Feb. 27, the Canoe Social Club above Theatre off Jackson is hosting what promises to be the sexiest fundraiser for Haitian relief yet, Hotties for Haiti (10:30 p.m., $15, 21+), an evening of performance by local burlesque and aerial performers including Tamara the Trapeze Lady, Lara Paxton, and Violet Tendencies. I've been told to expect nonstop striptease and table dancing, with your drool-slathered dollar bills destined to travel quickly from g-string to helping the people of Port-au-Prince.

And finally, I've saved the best for last: all weekend, the Seattle Chamber Players are hosting a stunning series of concerts called Icebreaker V: Songs of Love and War at On the Boards (tickets $18). Here's the deal: for the fifth year in a row, SCP is presenting a festival celebrating the best contemporary European chamber composers. Each of the five concerts features a different nation and deals with different themes, and to top it off, SCP is bringing in guest performers from around the globe, from Polish soprano Agata Zubel, to Denmark's FIGURA Ensemble.... (more)

Good morning! Who needs doughnuts when you can have cheesecake? Chris Blakely gets close to the burlesque action and we all benefit. Promoted from our Flickr pool--which is open to everyone, and definitely wants to see more from you.

Christmas gets a little spice this morning, courtesy of Chris Blakeley and Land of the Sweets at the Triple Door.

How's your winter celebration of choice looking? Share the view in our Flickr pool.