Saturday, April 26, 2014

3rd Annual New York Boylesque Festival

April is turning out to be an amazing month for boylesque.  In addition to the two monthly boylesque shows - Homo Erectus at the Stonewall and Power Strip at The C.O.W. - this is the weekend for the 3rd Annual New York Boylesque Festival.

The first night featured a veritable smorgasbord of local and international boylesque dancers.  Hosted by The World Famous *BOB* - a talented performer in her own right, and someone who really knows how to fire up a crowd - the evening featured some of New York's most talented boylesque stars, including Matt Knife (of Homo Erectus), Lucky Charming (of Power Strip), Hard Corey, Johnny Panic, Gogo Gadget, Jack Nasty, Brooklyn Irons, Jason Mejias, and the oh so aptly named Mr. Gorgeous.

Also shaking their stuff were Ron Dez Vous (Hollywood), Pussy Noir (DC), Damien Wunderluv (CO), Mr. Valdez (CO), Mustang Monroe (CO), Paco Fish (Baltimore), Sir Willy Waterlily (Finland), drag king Lou Henry Hoover (formerly of Seattle, now a New Yorker), Jacques Patriaque (Austria), and the Mansfield Brothers (Canada).

A good audience really helps make a good burlesque show, and last night's raucous audience was there to party.  Naturally, the performers gave them more than their money's worth.

Among the highlights were Jack Nasty's Elvis inspired strip, Jason Mejias and Mr. Gorgeous's magic act (watch the clothing magically disappear), Damien Wunderluv's sultry strip (with live singing… the boy is talented), Lucky Charming's quest for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, Matt Knife's steampunk strip, and Mustang Monroe's hip hop strip.

As amazed as I was by the first day's performers, I can only imagine what tonight's "main event" at B.B. King's will be like.

Tickets are still available.  The doors open at 6 PM; the show starts at 8 PM.