Strip Maul

Date: 1/6/06
Show: Fleshtones Burlesque
Location: Lakeshore Theatre
Cost: $20
Things I missed to be there: Davy J. Sparrow, Dog Dixie, Choke Cherry and Blah Blah Black Sheep at the Lowercase Collective basement; Matthew Arkell and la radio at Zoku; Livewire at Stadium West.
Reason I went: I scored comp tix, and free titties trump half pipes and folk punk nearly any day of the week.

Burlesque is a Latin word meaning, "someone who, upon realizing that they've put on far too many pairs of underwear, undresses to music".

Location can make or break a burlesque show. When the Genderfuck Burlesque Troupe played the basement of the Beach House it was intimate and very underground, a setting where they could pull off more risque and dangerous bits than any legit venue would allow. At the same time though, some of their acts lost their inherent cabaret sophistication as the cd player skipped and performers tripped over light cords. When the Abbey Pub was doing Gurlesque Burlesque everything was professional (if a bit tame) but the crowd and the performers had to deal with Abbey Pub's obnoxious staff who really don't know what to do when their place sells out. At both places there were visibility problems for anyone who got there late.

As as a legitimate theater that is used to doing off-kilter shows, including the monthly Belmont Burlesque revue, Puppetry of the Penis, and any number of gay kitsch musicals, The Lakeshore provided a perfect balance. They're a little timid, but they know how to light a show, treat a show, and make sure everybody can see it.

Flesh Tones Burlesque is a new monthly event that gathers up many of the city's diverse acts to burlesque, busk, and strip for charity.

One of the treats of the show was when the house band, 8 Inch Betsy, performed as the soundtrack to a vintage burlesque film. For most of the night, the band played with a very Chicago, melodic punk sound, like an all-girl version of the Bollweevils, but as the film played they got really slow and really loud (think Iggy Pop with Mazzy Star on vocals).

Aside from the band, there was a lot of 90s music in the show.

From the world of trip hop, you could hear women strip to Morcheeba and White Town, then there was Cherish the Burlesque Godess dancing to the Squirrel Nut Zippers' song "Hell" and in what was possibly the sexiest act of the night, Betty Cracker danced to Southern Culture on the Skids' song "Camel Walk".


[8 Inch Betsy with vintage erotica]