So, about that new Rudy's

Its about time we checked out the new Rudy's in their new location, which opened on the corner of Chapel and Howe a few months ago, just a few blocks away from their old location, which we now know as Elm Bar. I'm not sure what we were expecting to walk into, but totally experienced a moment of shock and confusion as we took in the large, clean, newly painted, and did I mention CLEAN landscape of the bar and restaurant area.

















(Pardon the crappy pics, the Scenic with the good cellphone camera was busy last night, probably sexting)

The stark contrast to the dark, dingy, carved up little dive bar that is associated with the name Rudy's was a little disorienting at first, but we found that many of the old tabletops and wood panels, with years of initials lovingly and deeply etched in, had been preserved and put into the back room. It certainly is spacious; the front room, where is bar is located, is clean and restaurant-y, and the back room has a teensy bit of old Rudy's nostalgia.

















The entertainment for the evening was a handsome dude DJ team doing what a friend described to us as a "Shag Frenzy-esque" dance night, which is just getting off the ground and hoping to become a regular monthly fixture. The music was fun, and I can't claim to be hipster enough to recognize most of it, but did enjoy dancing to Crystal Castles, Ladytron, Talking Heads, Franz Ferdinand, and the Ting Tings. They had this really sexy lightning lamp on their table!

















My first drink was this tiny little thing for $6.50, but I quickly wised up and asked for a taller glass for my next, um, 5.

















I saw lots of people enjoying fancy beers in interesting looking glasses, and for those of you who care, the Guinness cost $5.50. Although Rudy's now has a full kitchen, I failed to see a menu laying around or anyone really eating food, except for the fries and a few people eating salads at the bar. Its like, its Rudy's, but Rudy's plus... wearing fancy pants... with a bathroom that is not totally scary and gross.

Men, Inc.: We totally went there

The other Scenics have really gone out of their way to help celebrate my "Birthday Week," starting Friday night with a surprise night out at the all-male revue - CT-based Men, Inc., doing their monthly-or-so gig at our favorite downtown bar, Up or On the Rocks (really, it's totally our favorite). We've joked about checking one of these things out for ages. Now we've finally been there. The other Ladies Scenic had wanted to plan a party with my very own private stripper, but that was going to be overly expensive and complicated venue-wise. We're all glad it worked out this way though. I mean, we've all had personal attention from a naked dude before. The gaggle of other scantily clad drunk broads and the douchestrict setting were what really put the night over the top for us.


The Scenics are not exactly the target demographic for these kinds of shenanigans, since nothing is really taboo or off-limits in our minds, and our actual sex lives are so incredibly hot and kinky... But how about a little recognition and respect where it's due - it was fun and different to see a bevvy of dudes with rock hard, outrageously muscled, impeccably groomed bodies. This being America, it's hard enough finding a non-obese body to enjoy. We get the odd skinny guy now and then - you know, that guy who eats and eats and eats and never gains any weight? But he's no stunner with his shirt off, just scrawny, amiright? Nevertheless, we ultimately concluded that although we liked their bodies and appreciate all the work they obviously put into them, we didn't really care for what they were actually doing with them.


Their costumes were very "Not Another Porn Movie," starting with the Sexy Police Officer, and their moves included a lot of weirdly feminine lapdance-style gyrations. The other thing they kept doing was getting chicks on stage into awkward positions on stage and dry humping them, which just seemed kind of embarrassing for all involved. We were impressed with the athleticism of the dancer known as The Main Event, who did vaults and handsprings to end up with his crotch in various gals' faces and laps. Amazingly, no one was injured, though one girl looked a bit chagrined when his scrotum grazed her scalp. If any of us tried to to anything like that, there would have been ankles sprained and teeth everywhere. Yet much as we admired these maneuvers, it was just kind of weird and icky when he put that one big-ish girl down like the base of a cheerleading pyramid and lined some other slags up on top of her and gleefully switch-hit dry-humped them all.

Always sensitive to the feelings of others, I let the fellas know that we were "mostly into chicks" - a slight deviation from reality. This only made them work my lap (and Jackie's!) twice as hard, which was cute. I was particularly partial to this hunk of manflesh - he's the rock n roll one.


Without delving too deeply into stereotypes about sex and gender, let it suffice to say that there is a difference between the all-male revue and the "gentlemen's club," and a reason why the all-male revue must subsist on monthly club nights and private gigs, but the gentlemen's club is open daily. The goal for most of the attendees for Men, Inc. seemed to be to relish the embarrassment of their friends - no so much to actually get off on the proceedings. When the guys came around to lap dance and "let it all hang out" (I'll never wash that Ed Hardy shirt again!) all the ladies in the vicinity had out their camera phones to shamelessly capture their friends in the act, and this was totally all right with the guys! But hey, with a body like that, may as well get those pictures out there! That's been my governing theory lately anyway.

Check out Men, Inc. live around CT!

Shag Frenzy is back

Tonight: Shag Frenzy @ Arch Street Tavern in Hartford




















Shag Frenzy, the "indie disco night" hosted by a husband-and-wife DJ team, was wildly popular in its day and hopped around to several venues before calling it quits. Much to the delight of well, anyone who ever enjoyed dancing their ass off at this hipster fest, Shag Frenzy will be returning to Hartford on the third Saturday of each month, this time at the Arch Street Tavern.

We've never been regulars at this event, but always appreciated the fun atmosphere and setlists that include punk, new wave, disco, and britpop. Shag Frenzy, Connecticut needs you. Welcome back.

We were at the casino; everybody had matching towels

Nostalgia junkie that I am, I have a great fondness for the B-52s. My sister and I grew up listening to them constantly, and I still enjoy their fun and quirky music as an adult. They are also super fun to see in concert, which is why I made the trip down Route 2 to casino land, specifically, the MGM Grand at Foxwoods. This outing was also a celebration of my sister's 26th birthday- Happy Birthday Caitlin!



Our first stop at the MGM Grand was Shrine, a pan-asian joint with decent service, decent food, and ridiculous prices. Like, unacceptably so. How did an order of the General's chicken and some "creative" yellowtail sashimi come to $35?





























Throw in some cocktails that we could have gotten off Tisane's $5 menu, and we were up over $60.

Then it was on to wander the casino. For those of us who work hard for very little money, gambling is not an attractive activity (nor is eating at Shrine). Especially since its not even a very entertaining activity. I don't know how to play any card games, and I've played on the slot machines a few times just for the sake of doing it. Really, all you do is put your money into a machine, and continue to press buttons until its gone. How about a casino that was like an arcade? We love playing Skee Ball and Whack a Mole and Pac Man. Imagine if you could bet your skills at arcade games for cash, instead of tickets to redeem for novelty teeth and silly bandz!















We stopped into the casino bar for some pre-concert beverages. When my sister asked for a "tall" White Russian, the bartender informed her that their drinks were tall like she is. Well, thats sad.



















After (quickly!) finishing our round of shrimpy drinks, we were ready to enter the theater. But not before stopping off at the concession stand for some overpriced chardonnay and a stealth picture of this Yankees fan:



















Hey, sometimes one baseball tattoo on your skull isn't enough! But, I digress. On to the concert!















From Fred Schneider's opening barks of "Whats that on your head?!" (Kate and Cindy's reply: "A wig!") to their closing crowd favorite, "Rock Lobster", the band was high energy and lots of fun throughout their entire set. Their performance highlighted songs from their 30+ year career, including "Private Idaho", "Cosmic Thing", "Planet Claire", "Mesopotamia" and "Party Out of Bounds". They looked and sounded great, and some of the audience members were also really fun to watch. One guy wore a lobster costume and danced in front of the stage all night. An enthusiastic woman sitting to our right had some really impressive new wave dance moves and joined us in our own dance party, until a guy sitting behind her complained that he couldn't see. She felt awkward and sat down. Really? Don't come to see the self-described "tacky little dance band from Georgia" to sit there and be a dick. After several attempts to get her back up and finally, a promise that I would fight anyone who tried to stop her from dancing and having fun, the good times resumed for our nice neighbor.















Fred, with his trademark overly enunciated delivery and ridiculous posing, was my favorite to watch. Kate Pierson's and Cindy Wilson's voices sounded great, and Kate can still hit those high notes- no problem. The B-52s put on a fantastic show and we would love to party with them again. Please return to casino land soon!

We leave the house so you don't have to

That's right folks. When we aren't generously reading the newspaper for you, we're going out and having fun - so that you don't have to. And since nothing much is happening this week, we just have to keep talking about last week.

(Lily)

This past Friday, Jackie and DH were "indisposed," so I rounded up highly capable Substitute Scenics, Melinda from The Ninas and Hartford's "Playboy Paparazzi" Tony for that Holiday Spectacular burlesque and variety show we were going on about last week. Actually, Lipgloss Crisis had been in a bit of jam that afternoon looking for a photographer (Lipgloss herself being busy onstage collecting flung garments, performing a musical intermission, and of course schmoozing), so Tony was totally "working" - and totally loving it. And of course lots of people left the house, because at the height of the show short peeps like Melinda and me had to climb the bar for a view.

And what a view! (And what a transition - sheesh, go back to blogger school!) But really, I just wanted to take this opportunity to post about how adorable and sexy and charming everybody's holiday-themed numbers were. Each time I've seen a burlesque show I've ended up with a shit-eating grin (Why do they call it that? Gross!) on my face, and the utmost admiration for the ladies and how gosh-darn fun and clever they make the act of undressing seem.

(Lily)

I honestly couldn't pick a favorite, because everyone performing on Friday has such a strong onstage persona and went in such creative and amusing directions. Lily La Vamp had me laughing my ass off though, coming out for her first act basically dressed as a Christmas tree, complete with decorated tree skirt - and a tree on her head! Ridiculous! And somehow managed to top this insanity with her second act, which featured this gross hair metal tribute to "Sexy Sexy Santa."

(Dot)

I lied last week when I said I had seen Dot Mitzvah perform - I'd really only seen her assist, but I wanted to sound more in the know. And we had had an email exchange where she told me how she tries to make her act funny no matter what else and doesn't worry about being the sexiest. She is totes sexy, but her exaggerated facial expressions and aggressive physicality make her naked body seem like an ingenious punchline, and not anybody's sex object. Not to be outdone by Lily, Dot definitely appeared with a big-ass menorah on her head, scarfed latkes onstage and had equally inspired musical backing.

(Nikki)

Nikki Le Villain wore wintry and Christmas-y gear, but went a little more straight-up sexy with her bits. And she is pretty much scary hot, so we spent her act more or less drooling. Congrats to Tony for keeping a clear head and a clean lens throughout! (Eeeew, Katie, why did you say that?)

(Kitty)

Kitty Katastrophe's first routine really impressed me for telling a little story in a striptease, fleshing out a character who was experiencing the most frustrating party scenario in matter of seconds - and all of it holiday apropos! Poor Miss Kitty was having the most terrible time getting James Dean to notice her under the mistletoe, right there under his nose damn it. She started out in a modest white ensemble and went to increasingly immodest measures to try and get his attention. Alas, he was only a cardboard cutout, but everyone else paid attention.

Stay tuned for more CT burlesque... you'll hear about it as soon as we do. And of course we have much more naked-er pictures, but we like to leave a little something to the imagination and keep you motivated to come out and see for yourself.

(Another) Big Burlesque Weekend

Friday, December 17: Burlesque & Variety Holiday Spectacular @ Cafe Nine, New Haven
Sunday, December 19: Burlesque & Variety Holiday Spectacular @ Jokers Wild, New Haven

Lately we just can't get enough of burlesque, New Haven, Cafe Nine and Lipgloss Crisis. And now that we've been to like four burlesque shows we're totally experts. Expert enough at least to heartily endorse this weekend's dual "Holiday Spectacular" shows brought to us by New Haven scene-makers Lipgloss Crisis and Red Light Burlesque. All our favorite ladies will be dancing. We've seen them all before and know they each bring a little something special to the stage. There's multi-talented Dot Mitzvah, who likes to keep true to the roots of burlesque, bringing a sense of humor with her sex appeal. Nikki Le Villain has a bit of a goth vibe and a few show-stopping tricks up her sleeve - belly dancing and, if you're very lucky, her live snake. We'll never forget Lily La Vamp's naughty housewife routine set to Joan Jett. And Miss Kitty Katastrophe is all classic pin-up. 

 (Kitty)

We admire the female form and don't try to pretend that burlesque is not sexy or titillating, whatever else it might be from certain creative academic perspectives. However, we actually like that it stops short of the gross lasciviousness of plain old stripping and leaves a little something to the imagination - even if that's only a few square inches in the end. If we wanted to see writhing naked bodies, we'd just watch our old sex tapes. We demand that little something extra that burlesque delivers - Plot! Characters! Wardrobe!

But if talented, sexy women taking off flamboyant costumes to quirky music somehow isn't your bag, don't forget the variety component of these shows - live music, snarky hosts "and more." Oh, and booze. And (probably) Scenics. That ought to do it.

 (Dot)

Cracking nuts and taking names

Saturday, December 18: CONNetic Dance's "The Nutcracker Suite and Spicy" @ The Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford

We've been fans of CONNetic Dance ever since we ran into their fashionable asses one night at Tisane (we totally live there). We quickly dubbed the dance company "ballet hipsters," which they loved, and we're glad to see it stuck, even if our name didn't - unattributed quote much? We recently enjoyed the group's 80s dance party - they had killer moves and an enviable wardrobe. So we're sure they'll be bringing their characteristic sexy charm and creativity to this Nutcracker production. 

We were gonna say something about "putting a contemporary twist on the Nutcracker," but it sounded kinda filthy, so we left that out. We've heard that ballet is like so hot right now, thanks to "psychosexual thriller" Black Swan and that whole "fat ballerina" controversy that's been blowing up the lady blogs. Stay relevant by attending the show Saturday at 2 or 8 p.m.

Real Art Ways feat. Shag Frenzy

Thursday, December 16: Creative Cocktail Hour @ Real Art Ways, Hartford

This month's Creative Cocktail Hour will feature the DJ-ing talents of beloved former CT scene-makers Shag Frenzy, whose monthly indie club night was a pretty awesome thing in Hartford for several years - magically transforming a series of skanky local clubs, like the Webster Underground, Sweet Jane's and the Warehouse into dens of hipsterdom, at least for the night. And lets face it, Hartford just doesn't have enough hipsters to keep things very interesting for more than one or two nights a month anyway. Before you knew it you'd have slept with all of them. And then where would you be? So let's just stick to monthly hipster parties, OK?

Too sexy for our state: CT Burlesque in MA

Friday, November 26: Bon Appétit Burlesque's "Dirty Jobs Show" @ The Deuce, Northampton, MA

(Kitty by Lipgloss)

Last weekend we so enjoyed the burlesque show at Cafe Nine, and after Thanksgiving we're looking forward to enjoying burlesque-overs this Friday. But we'll have to travel for it. Like, a whole hour. Some of the featured performers are CT gals we've seen before - Kitty Katastrophe and Lily La Vamp - along with some new-to-us names, Serendipity Galore, Captain Elastico and Miss Bettysioux Tailor. We're sure they're charming and sexy as heck too.

Check out Ms Kitty doing her thing:



Next on our burlesque calendar (yeah, we've got a burlesque calendar now): Friday, December 17, our new friend Lipgloss Crisis presents all our favorite CT burlesque chicas that we totally know (Kitty, Dot, Lily, Nikki, All Systems Go-Go) at our favorite New Haven venue, Cafe Nine for a Holiday Spectacular.

Cafe Nine: Hot Streak this Week

Wednesday, November 17: Live Band Karaoke

Thursday, November 18: Skeletonbreath

Friday, November 19: Burlesque-a-Pades Fall 2010 @ Cafe Nine

Cafe Nine is one of CT Scenic's frequently recommended venues, where we go for the great bands and unconventional meat market, and stay for the cramped space, filthy bathrooms and middle-shelf booze selection. This week we're really wishing "they" would get to work and fix those fucking  HoFo-NewHa wormholes so that we could make it down and back nightly without all the gas consumption, drunk driving, sleep loss and working hangovers the proper execution of this feat might otherwise entail. Oh well.

Wednesday night Cafe Nine and Dean Falcone present LIVE BAND KARAOKE. How awesome is that? The Scenics love karaoke and aspire to superstardom. We have to try this!

Several months ago on one of our more ambitious outings, the Scenics enjoyed Skeletonbreath at Rudy's. This instrumental gypsy spaz punk outfit wowed us with their intensity, musicianship and shirtless sweaty drummer. We'd definitely see them again. Here's a vid from a previous Cafe Nine outing by the band:

Although that burlesque documentary we checked out a few weeks ago was kind of bust, it hasn't diminished our enthusiasm for LIVE BURLESQUE (or actual busts). Friday night at Cafe Nine it's going to be some kind of burlesque extravaganza featuring a bevy of performers and live music by The Clams. Last time we went to Cafe Nine we met one of the performers, Dot Mitzvah, who was awesome and sisterly enough to try and bail Katie Scenic out of a conversation with a predatory drunk. Dot's website tells us that she is a triple threat - burlesque performer, opera singer and acrobat. Holy crap! And she's told us that in her performance she likes to draw upon the root meaning of burlesque, which should be a parody or a joke at heart - the SEXXXY is a bonus! We're basically smitten and would love to see Dot and all the other ladies Friday.

Break for Kids

Saturday, November 13: Kids of CT Breakdance Tournament @ Hartford City Ballet, Hartford

Hey, just because the Scenics don't want any spawn of their own (aspiring partners take note) doesn't mean we can't appreciate the adorableness of other peoples' spawn twirling around on their heads and shit. Our friend Johnny B is doing it again, putting on a break dance tourney for kids. John and his grownup breakin' friends have been one of the highlights of a lot of events we've made it out to recently - creative cocktail hours and more. If there's a floor and a DJ, they'll just show up and throw down, and watching them is really great for folks like us who would need a pretty solid foundation of drugs (haha, just kidding) to work up the nerve to dance ourselves. It's five dollars to watch or participate in this event, with the winner taking home money. So get your talented kiddos out and introduce them to the concept of your 12% agent fee.

Disappointment at the Burly Q

Take ourselves up on our own recommendation, 2/3 Team Scenic attended Hartford International Film Festival's screening of Leslie Zemeckis' Behind the Burly Q at Hartford's historic Art Cinema (the porn theater!). We quite enjoy contemporary burlesque we've seen in CT and naked bodies in general, but we were pretty disappointed in this film, which uses recent interview footage of burlesque performers recounting their glory days interspersed with photos and some snatches (HA!) of archival film footage to tell a history of burlesque through the eyes of the performers. While there were some interesting details about the impoverished backgrounds the dancers escaped by becoming performers, and Alan Alda was charming as usual recalling his father's career as a burlesque comedian, overall the film just didn't cohere and jumped erratically between speakers and time periods and subjects with no grander purpose. The women look gorgeous in their old pictures, but as speakers in the present they just aren't very compelling - and less bawdy and fun than you'd expect. The film could have benefited from the inclusion of some scholarly or technical perspective or a comparison with the current burlesque trend. Instead it's just kind of a mess of random remarks and memories.

Actually, we've seen a much more coherent documentary, Pretty Things, which aired on HBO a few years back, in which filmmaker Liz Goldwyn inserted herself and her contemporary, academic perspective into the story quite a bit, but similarly explored early burlesque through interviews with very old ladies. By making it a personal story and lingering on her subjects with a longer attention span for their stories and characters, Goldwyn made a much more lasting impression. However, Behind the Burly Q may be prove to be the final word on the subject, since as the credits role you learn that many of the interviewees have died since filming.

In spite of our disappointment with the film itself, our night out was not wasted. We got a big kick out of actually going to the porn theater and exploring its own historic charm. The place is run down, and the requisite jokes about hygiene were made, but admired the old-timey architecture and decor and wondered out loud about the venue's potential for other kinds of indie events - a future Scenic party perhaps? We were fascinated by classic posters and old porn film canisters lying around at the front and back of the theater. Those have potential too! What a treasure trove of porn history!

Get with Robin Banks on the regs

Sunday Nights: The Robin Banks Variety Show @ York Street Cafe, New Haven

Just days ago we were pleased to meet Robin Banks and encouraging you to check out the drag performer's costume party and contest in New Haven... Now we're psyched to see that Robin Banks is hosting fun and really cheap beer-fueled excitement every Sunday night at the York Street Cafe. Robin is of course a riot in his own right, but tells us that these nights are intended to share the spotlight with a cornucopia of local talent, interspersing flashes of Banks-y brilliance with interludes of karaoke, music and dance. Which is pretty much what our blog is all about (substituting Scenic brilliance), so we applaud this effort and intend to attend asap.

Holla! It's gonna be compete-for-our-affections Thursday

Oh no, where shall we go this Thursday? We already mentioned the great 80s themed party for our pals CONNetic Dance, which will be going down at Shish and OK Go at the Webster. But don't forget - this Thursday is fourth Thursday which means it's Guerrilla Queer Bar (v.4). This month the Queer Guerrillas are mixing it up a bit and have their sights set on Manchester. Ooohh, where are they gonna go? Will it be the Tiger, the Main Pub, Shea's [a bar I won't even link to on account of their shitty website just put me out of commission for like five minutes - so that would probably be a bad choice]. We'll keep you posted as this story develops.

Decisions, decisions!

80s Party!

Thursday, Oct. 28: Glam Slam 80s Dance Party for CONNetic Dance @ Shish, West Hartford


While Jackie and I technically lived through the 80s, we were actually born in the [early] 80s, so our experience with 80s "style" in its day was mostly hypothetical, piped in through TV and movies or visiting grown-up cousins. And we're kind of glad we missed that boat, because as awesome as being big Cure fans or whatever would have been, hairspray is actually really bad news, and we're glad that Clueless and Clerks could be our generation defining films instead of... whatever people ten years older than us like that much. This also means we're poised to embrace 80s nostalgia at parties like this upcoming benefit for our favorite ballet hipsters and finally dress like our really cool babysitters. Or Madonna.

(Great Aunt Katherine would have had an Etsy store today!)

I'm planning on finally wearing out this great Betsy Johnson dress I happen to own (for like 10 years) that could lend itself to a Madge "Like a Prayer" look - yeah, it looks like underwear. I mean, especially combined with my luscious brunette locks and just the right crucifix. And maybe a sexy black Jesus. Or maybe something completely different. May as well let that dress simmer for another ten.

80s pop culture imagery and style dominated my childhood, including the signature styles of my first favorite recording artists, Paula Abdul and Guns n' Roses. But these were getting towards the end of the decade; in the earlier half it was more like Star Wars, Dark Crystal and Masters of the Universe capturing my imagination. Ooh and Voltron! Needless to say, my day-to-day style sucked. Believe, Katie Scenic was not a born fashionista.

(some idiot would pay big bucks for this E.T. sweatshirt)

Let's make up for lost time next Thursday!

It's burlesque time again

Sunday, Oct. 17: Red Light Burlesque & Variety Show @ Jokers Wild, New Haven

Although the venue itself proved somewhat less than ideal for sexy dancing, we still enjoyed our last burlesque (and variety!) outing to Jokers Wild. Having been to all of two burlesque shows now in CT, we even have a favorite performer, Lily la Vamp, who will be making an appearance at this Sunday's horror-themed installment. If the poster is any indication of what we're going to see, we're really looking forward to the girls' interpretations of Sexy Lil' Pinhead, Sexy Lil' Chuckie, etc.

Hottford Flashback: XY Eli's Dance Party

We happened to get chatting with area musician XY Eli and poet C.C. Arshagra this weekend, and they got to telling us about their public access show they used to produce back in the early 80s which put a spotlight on the hip-hop culture of the day, including break dance and early rap and graffiti art. These guys were on the cutting edge for our area. Check out their vids on Youtube, including present day commentary and great old school footage from their program.



We know at least one guy who is going to appreciate this post!

Break it Down: Youth Break Dance

Saturday, May 29: Break Dance Open Jam @ Hartford City Ballet Studio, Hartford

Hey, what do you know? We do know another dancer (besides the CONNetic gang). We're really going to give this tag a workout! Our old friend John Bendezu, who we knew as a metal guy in high school, is a awesome break dancer and dance instructor with fashionable hair and killer tattoos now. He will be hosting "open jam" competition for kids ages 8-13 on Saturday evening, which should be quite a sight, right?

Check out John spinning improbably on his crazy head:


Here he is getting down with the kiddies:

Scene on "Stage": Burlesque @ Jokers Wild

Last Sunday, regrettably flying solo (Jackie Scenic has other friends or something), I checked out the monthly "Burlesque & Variety" night at Jokers Wild in New Haven. As my counterpart was not there to make hilarity ensue, this write-up will be proportionately less funny than usual.

Jokers Wild is ostensibly a comedy club, and it's totally cool that a such a club exists, and exists to cater such sexy fun as burlesque nights. But it must be said that the physical setup could not be less appropriate to the medium of sexy dance, as there is no actual stage and some awkwardly placed bars where the stage would be that must be there to keep the comedians "caged in," which left the ladies with nowhere to dance but a narrow strip of floor between the comedy cage and some tables. The Real Art Ways theatre, where I saw the same performers back in February, was far better suited and lent some pomp and circumstance to the affair that was severely lacking here.

But it was still fun to watch the dancers, who made the best of a crappy space and a friendly crowd. Nicki Le Villain was particularly impressive. This night she was showing off her belly dance skills (and costumes), which were quite formidable. She can work her hips in ways I... can't. Kind of like when Shakira's ass looks like it has a mind of it's own. Actually, your ass kind of does have a mind of it's own, but that's an Anatomy & Physiology digression I'm not going to get into right this minute. In addition to her mad dance skillz, Nicki also showed off her albino python. Yes, she danced with a big goddamn live snake. She wins. All hail Nicki Le Villain, hats off, we're not worthy, etc.

If you'd like to see some more burlesque (and why wouldn't you), the Burlesque & Variety show at JW will be taking June off, as the third Sunday will Fathers Day, and something about burlesque and daddy issues, but will return July 18. See you there?

CONNetic in Wonderland

Saturday, May 22: CONNetic Dance presents Alice in Wonderland @ The Carol Autorino Center, St. Joseph College, West Hartford

We've talked about CONNetic Dance a bunch around here, because we think that mentioning a dance company over and over again is gonna make us seem more cultured. We've called them "ballet hipsters" (which they love), and called them sexy and fashionable and fun (based on observations in the bar environment). This weekend we have a chance to see them really do their thing. Alice in Wonderland is an original contemporary production conceived (LOL - conceived) and directed by one C-Paine. We're big fans of Alice in Wonderland the book, which is hilarious, you should totes read it, and we also loved that 1980s TV miniseries version. We're sure CONNetic's dance production will manage to be more entertaining that Tim Burton abomination - seriously, yeah, Johnny Depp, hotness, but sometimes that ain't enough.

But seriously, this is a great local group to check out and this production sounds like family friendly fun, for those of you family types. See, we have something for everyone here. In addition to the core company, the production also includes a bunch of kiddos and other dancers from the Ballet Theatre Academy. Performances are at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.