THIS WEEKEND: Undead Burlesque!

It'll be a lot like this, but sexy.
Once again it's time for the vixenous vamps of the Orange County Undead Underground Burlesque Society to present their annual celebration of All Hallows Eve with their new show "Night of the Living Dolls." We can't say for certain, but it's a good bet that the evening's festivities will include: faux-pagan rituals; skimpy costumes; huge fuck-off bat wings; innuendos of a sexual nature; Halloween pop-hits of ages past; pretty girls; recondite voodoo rites; tongue-in-cheek references to some of your favorite scary movies; fake blood; and a plethora of burlesqueing. Bring your own candy and costumes, if that's your thing. And be sure to make your reservations early, as the show always sells out.

WHERE: The Hunger Artists Theater in Fullerton
WHEN: Friday and Saturday Nights, October 24th thru November 1st, 2008 @ 11:00pm.
COST: $15 (though you will be annoyingly unable to find that information anywhere on their website)
MORE INFO: http://www.hungerartists.net/ocubs/

The Register Profiles the Orange County Undergound Burlesque Society

Photo by Armando Brown

The Orange County Register has a great article on the Orange County Underground Burlesque Society (founded by our very own MEG), which captures the group's appeal nicely:

OCUBS' most recent show, "Once Upon a Corset: A Tale of Two Pasties," played last week to sold-out houses at Fullerton's Hunger Artists Theatre, the group's regular home. The crowd was astonishingly varied: a retired couple, a group of boisterous middle-aged women, kids in their early 20s. There were a few loudly appreciative young men, but they were a small minority. Just in case anyone got out of line, a refrigerator-sized bouncer who calls himself Joe Smash sat conspicuously near the edge of the stage, looking comically menacing.

Those interested in skin and raw titillation would be well advised to go to the beach rather than an OCUBS show. There's no R-rated nudity. And for these women, the sexiness is just one part of a far more ambitious entertainment package that combines clever writing, verbal as well as physical comedy, and creative costumes...

"Humor is one of the top priorities," said Fox, who -- more modestly dressed and without her plummy British accent -- is known by day as Melanie Gable, an Idaho native and the group's founder. "That's not the case with a lot of other burlesque shows. I think the cleverness and the humor are what we have to offer above all."

LINKS:
"Burlesque Performers Strip for the Fun of It" by Paul Hodgins of the O.C. Register
OCUBS Slide Show at the Register
OCUBS Website
OCUBS MySpace Page

THIS WEEKEND -- Belletristic Bibliophile Burlesquers

This weekend sees the return of the Orange County Underground Burlesque Society, a secret coven of burlesque artisans who, despite their name, practice their craft in an above-ground well-lit performance space, readily accessible to the public.

Their current show, "Once Upon a Corset... A Tale of Two Pasties," is billed as a loving tribute to all things bookish in nature. Via sexy dancing. Which is, frankly, a method of commendation that I feel should be more widely practiced in the literary community (New York Times Review of Books, please take note).

And no, the show doesn't feature any nudity. Pervert.

(Disclosure: Tragically Hipster's very own MEG is OCUBS' founding, er, father. We would have featured it here anyway, though, because it's awesome.)

WHERE: The Hunger Artists Theater in Anaheim
WHEN: This Friday and Saturday, August 15 and 16, 2008, @ 11pm.
COST: 15 smackers.
RESERVATIONS (heavily recommended): (714) 680-6803
MORE INFO: OCUBS Web Site
OCUBS Official MySpace Page

I think it might be 1988...

... but I'm not quite sure.


As evidence I submit 4 clips from this week's most popular TV show in America - So You Think You Can Dance...

1. Joshua dances to funk icon Zapp's mid-80s hit "I Can Make You Dance"
2. Twitch dances to 1986's "Midas Touch" by Midnight Star
3. Twitch then follows up by dancing to 1988's "Don't Worry Be Happy"
4. Lady GaGa performs her club hit "Just Dance" - while looking a little bit like Jane Fonda just walked out of her workout and grabbed a jacket and shades from the sci-fi mini-series "V" (or maybe she borrowed it from Michael after Thriller)




I swear I thought the nightly news might lead right in with a story on Gorbachev's "Perestrioka" reconstruction efforts in the Soviet Union!


Don't worry...
I'll set the record straight...
It is definitely 2008 and not 1988!!


I shall now demonstrate by recounting current world news!

Major airplane disasters have spawned a series of "based on real events" movies.
(...are they inspired by bombed PanAm Flight 103 and Aloha Flight 243 that ripped open in mid-flight, or inspired by United Flight 93 and the 9/11 disasters??)

Benazir Bhutto's party has been elected to lead Pakistan.
(...is this her first term, or is her husband ruling for her posthumously??)

Iraqi Sunni's loyal to Saddam have been fighting for years against the Shi'a insurgency within Iraq and across the border in Iran.
(...is this the "Iraq-Iran War" or the US led "Iraq War"??)

In Afghanistan, an untrained army of insurgents is defeating a major world power!
(...but is it the Soviets or US who are losing??)

Major banks are in crisis and many are going totally out of business!
(...but is this the "Savings and Loan Crisis", or the "Credit Crisis"??)

Senator John McCain's "Keating Five" political scandal is all over the news.
(...but did it just happen, or is this political mudslinging??)

George Bush is preparing to leave his current post at the White House!
(...but is it Sr. who is just finishing as VP and taking over the Presidency, or Jr. who is ending a second term??)

And... we're gearing up for the Olympics!
(...are they in Canada or China??)


Wait ... I guess I'm still confused ... is it 1988 ??
Help.

Comfort... back in it to win it!

OK... I admit it...

My name is Jeff Rau, and I'm a So You Think You Can Dance addict.


After being eliminated last week...
Comfort (pictured above) is back!

Apparently Jessica had some kind of injury that prevents her from competing any longer, so one of my favorite gals is back in it! Only time will tell if she can turn the tables, and learn from her mistakes to be another "Comeback Chris" (For those of you not in the know - Chris was eliminated in last season's Project Runway. But after being re-instated from another contestant's injury, he managed to make it all the way to the finals at Fashion Week!).

But back to what's important now... YEA FOR COMFORT!
Watch how she does on the show on FOX TV tonight!

(Of course... we all know that it's going to come down to Joshua and Will.)