Burlesque Show
Melody Inn
Saturday, Oct. 16

More than 120 people packed the sold-out Melody Inn last Saturday for the annual burlesque show and three hot punk bands. This was not, however, the misogynistic night of demeaning debauchery that one might expect. The girls of local burlesque collective Speed City Sirens put on a very professional show that wasn’t the least bit degrading, but instead captured the history of the time-honored style.

Dressed in flirty fishnets and garters, the girls began the night on a stage opposite the bands. The crowd gathered ’round to listen as one girl sat in a chair reading hilarious raunchy limericks about bad one-night stands. Then, Rash the Clown defied conventional neurology as he stuck nails, pins and knitting needles up his nose without wincing. The girls took the stage for a dance with chairs set to hip-hop music. The quick, sharp, well-rehearsed moves recalled “The Fly Girls” from the days of In Living Color. Britney Spears has nothing on the Speed City Sirens.

The Crypto-Kats then took the opposite stage for some of the heaviest rockabilly punk I’ve ever heard. It’s not often you see an overdriven upright bass in a punk band. The singer crooned out some brash, bluesy lines before howling like a dog and quivering on the floor, Jim Morrison-style. These guys had the fans bouncing to their ’50s throwback jams.