At the Slipper Room with Mel Frye and Matt Musselman

I perform often with live bands, and I have a great time performing with Grandpa Musselman and the Syncopators. Last night we were at the Slipper Room, with Mel Frye (actually Slipper Room owner and my business partner, James) hosting.



Matt Musselman (with redeye) and Mel




The Set List




Violetta Beretta from Hawaii, seen from the dressing room at the side of the stage, as tiki lamp




Amber Ray Backstage




Lady Lucerne




Walking home, Tigger and I ran into Pinkie Special and Melody Sweets, who had just come in from Coney Island, where they performed with a live band as well at Fisherman's Love Luau. I had to take a picture of everyone with all their bags, to document what I call "The Culture of Schlep." One of the influences on the style of New York burlesque is the lack of cars, and therefore car trunks. So we have to be able to tote our numbers around. Yes, it gets old, and we all want sherpas; but what we do is schlep. We are the glamourous bag ladies of millenial New York.


Street Walkers




Now, as someone who frequently walks the street in various versions and stages of drag and costume, I expect to get some looks and comments from people who notice that I'm, uh, colorful, but the past two nights have been exceptional in that regard. A whole new level of people who are just aghast that I (or, in this case, we) go around looking like sideshow freaks and circus characters. A little bit of this is entirely expected, but it was nonstop last night. People, calm down--we KNOW we're eccentric!




When using photos or text you found in this blog, please credit the following:

Posted by Jo Weldon, Headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque, for her Burlesque Scrapbook. Failure to credit properly will mark you forever in my eyes as shady and dishonorable.

The Society of Illustrators and Bunny Love's Little Food Show

Did I have a night off? No I did not.


Pinkie Special and I performed at a hula event at the Society of Illustrators, where Pinkie models on occasion. It was fun and I even got to teach some of the partiers a few Polynesian moves. And it was incredible because yet again I found myself surrounded by spectacular original art. If you haven't seen this place and you are even the tiniest bit of an art lover, for god's sake, go! It's worth it for the Michael Dolas pictures alone, as well as the tiles in the library. It's killing me to not be able to post all the pix I took for myself. Here's one tip of the mind-boggling iceberg:




I'm posting this pic of myself entering the SOI so you can see what I also wore to walk home at the end of the night, after going from the SOI to the Slipper Room. I was on First Avenue and 4th St in this outfit, which includes a huge rhinestone flower and gigantic drag eyelashes, and a guy in his early twenties showed off his wit to his friends by asking me how much. Pitiful attempt at wit, right? ANYBODY knows a hooker wouldn't wear drag lashes, fool!



Here's Pinkie with an image of Josephine Baker:



I can't show the amazing amazing art in detail, which totally tortures me because I want you to see it so you'll go see MORE of it, but I thought it might be ok to post an invitation and an ad.

Check this out--I love the "Black Tie. Stag Only."


I love this Nash ad because I used to actually own a 1959 Nash Metropolitan.


This was my Nash, back in the 80s when I was a groupie:




Then I went to the Slipper Room and performed my revolting Snack Cracker act in Bunny Love's food show, which was a blast. Here, Bunny Love makes a cream pie out of her face:





When using photos or text you found in this blog, please credit the following:

Posted by Jo Weldon, Headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque, for her Burlesque Scrapbook. Failure to credit properly will mark you forever in my eyes as shady and dishonorable.