Pound Sign

New York City, pop culture, art and nightlife. Because nobody else is blogging about those things.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

You followin' me, camera guy?

Oof.

An ignominious end to a dazzling career. He flew too close to the sun!

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Saturday, March 28, 2009

Keep on truckin, Evel


Burlesque continues to provide me with the type of mid-70s celebrity stage activities that once I could have only dreamed of; this Monday at Public Assembly, I'll be on stage for Sweet and Nasty Burlesque's birthday roast of the Burlesque Mayor of New York, Jonny Porkpie! I couldn't be more excited and I hope to channel just some of the boozy cameraderie on display in such Dean Martin classics as can be found all over youtube. Well, here's one:

See, that's the beauty of the classic roast, they set the bar so low! Really, it's not so much about humor, because the roasts are not "funny" per se (until Rickles gets up there) it's about the best bizarre celebrity juxtapositions this side of Battle of the Network Stars. Ooh, here's another good one!

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Friday, March 27, 2009

How about some good news?

It was a long, gray, dreary day, appropriately enough for the day that the MTA voted to follow years of their own fiscal irresponsibility with a rate hike-service cut combo meal that promises to fundamentally change the lives of anyone who uses New York public transit-especially those of us who frequently use it after, say, 7:00 at night. Unless Albany fixes everything, so, you know, good luck to all of us!

So, how about some happy new from today instead! Today we officially launched the hardcore promotional campaign for our biggest producing endeavor to date: the Monsters of Burlesque tour 2009! We're bringing NYC burlesque stars to venues throughout the great state of Ohio, and we're gonna blow the roof off the joint. This has been a long, long time in the planning, much more to come!

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Sunday, March 22, 2009

We're everywhere.


There's a lot happening, a lot coming up, and a lot of...not sleeping. Kind of amazing how easily a weekend of shows turns into two nights in a row of home at 5:30 in the morning. But anyway: next up! The New York burlesque community is rife with former Midwesterners. Not that this is surprising; the Heartland's primary export is artsy kids fleeing for the coasts. But as transplanted Ohioans ourselves, Clams and I are celebrating the performers like us, who came from there...to take it off here. April 9th, at the Slipper Room, it's: Lake Clothes-Be-Gone!

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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Minty goodness

I'm on the 13th floor in midtown and through my closed window I can hear the green-clad throngs screaming for the St. Patrick's Day parade. Living on the Upper East Side, getting home from work on a weeknight St. Patrick's Day is always a treat, with all of the pubs full of backwards ballcap douchebags spilling out into the street, drunk like it's midnight at 6:30, and packs of out-of-town firemen feeling up drunk bridge and tunnel girls...good times. My wise friend Creamy Stevens calls it amateur night, and second only to New Year's Eve, it's actually the worst night to go out! But there was always one good thing about it...

Thriller


Seeing our show on the sign outside of Joe's Pub, as we headed inside for our show, it was really quite a moment. We've seen so many great shows there, and the people who have been on that stage before us...it was quite an experience. We were lucky enough to be there on the first nice, spring-like day of the whole year, with a fantastic lineup, and all around it was a tremendous success and a fun show! Some great photos by Clint Hild are on flickr. And of course, the greatest timing of all: crazy, cadaverous Michael Jackson held his press conference announcing his comeback tour two days before our show! One thing that makes me crazy as a producer: there was an attractive young woman sitting at a table in the very front, taking notes the entire show! Who are you, mystery writer? Are we being reviewed? I can only google us so much. If you're out there, mystery journalist lady, drop me a line!

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Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Don't stop 'til you get enough

You'll have to click the link to see this one, but trust me it's worth it: the oldest Jackson sister Rebbie! And her one and only hit single, 1984's Centipede, which is sadly not her Pac Man Fever-style homage to the arcade hit. Nope, just a terrible dance pop song with a terrifically nonsensical early 80s video-it's got everything! Cobras that shoot lightning out of their eyes, AND tigers walking down stairs. I'm not gonna lie, I've been doing research for the show and until then I barely knew Rebbie existed, apparently she retired in the 90s and settled down with her childhood sweetheart husband and her kids...making her the most normal Jackson by a looooong mile. So, we actually have a performer in our show on Saturday, Darlinda Just Darlinda, rockin' a Jermaine solo song for her number! But sadly Rebbie didn't make the cut.

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Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Wanna be startin' something?


Hey, our show's in 3D too! On a related note, who remembers that Francis Ford Coppola directed this? Wow. I did see it at Epcot Center, though.

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