My birthday week began on
Monday night with an extremely triumphant return to TriBeCa's favorite Asian-Portuguese fusion restaurant's monthly word-of-mouth show "Drunken Dragon Nights"! The last time I was there for DDN as I call it was in February. But show time moves at an accelerated speed than "profane" time (who gets the reference? I will give you a free
Beatles Burlesque tshirt!) so it felt like it's been six months away.
The night began with a cocktail class on rye whiskey led by Dushan Zaric. From what I could see, there were plenty of cocktails to sample and lots of nibbles passed around on plates. The class portion is 2 hours from 7-9pm and admission is $55 a person, I believe. Many people ask me when DDN is and the annoying answer is, "It depends." This show and party is word-of-mouth. There are 2 foolproof ways to get in the know:
- Find my fan page on Facebook (click here) where I always announce every show I'm in
- Sign up for my email news because that's where I announce the most coveted shows to attend. Don't worry, I send out at most 3 emails a month and you can unsubscribe anonymously without having to send me an awkward email saying, "Um, please take me off your email list. I don't care."
After the class and the food plates, the burlesque portion began at 10 PM. DJ Dom manned the soundbooth and the girls got ready. The room went from being only half-full to completely packed with everyone standing on the chairs and booths. The audience was Macao has been great consistently every time! Gal Friday probably is the one performer that has done DDN every single time and she agreed about the audience. They were very considerate and made a nice cleared off area in front of the bar for us to dance in. The line-up moves pretty fast at DDN with no breaks. I always change in the kitchen which reminds me of old Dim Sum Burlesque at Chow Bar where I would change next to the refrigerators and dishwasher.
Gabi Porter from Metromix was in attendance along with the illustrious Luma Rouge.
Thursday night at Nurse Bettie was spectacular! It was an extra long show with extra performers than usual. There were balloons and cupcakes and I saw a lot of familiar faces like Frances, Caprice, Bill (from LA), Mark without Lauren, it was old skool style!
Friday night capped off with the show at Hotel Chantelle. Because there were a couple of big reservations arriving at 10pm, the show started early meaning on time at 9pm to a quiet, smaller crowd. Though small, they were enthusiastic and generous with their appreciation.
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| Tansy! |
Thursday night at Nurse Bettie, Tansy Tan Dora (pictured left) did a special birthday act for me. Her entire dress was made out of birthday wrapping paper!! She even made pleats out of her dress and a little bra top! I was so moved by the thought and creativity that went into this. So amazing!
After Nurse Bettie, I went to see the bitches at
Meaner, Harder, Leather at Vig27 and to hear Brassy sing. I have to say, when I watch these drag queens do their thang, I learn more about being feminine from watching them! The walking, the posing, and the secret weapon of knowing WHEN to just stand still and let the audience absorb you. Many new performers feel like they have to always be doing something when on stage, I was there once too. But sometimes you have to slow down, relish that 3-4minutes, and allow your audience to just look at you.
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| Stormy at Meaner, Harder, Leather at Vig27 |
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| Ms Mocha Lite |
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| Stormy makes moping XXX while Santiago shoots |
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| Veruca La'Piranha. She was F-I-E-R-C-E!! Her movements were ON POINT. Everyone should learn something from her. |
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