Click here to meet the troupe and read Minnie’s introduction…
Greetings from the road!
We started off on April 16th with a drive through the ‘Big Sky Country’ of Montana on our way to Missoula. Our host, Stella Pearl of the Cigarette Girls Burlesque, welcomed us with a hearty, home-cooked meal. She served us local Montana huckleberry wine which, with the altitude, went straight to our heads! We woke up at the crack of dawn the next day to do a radio interview at Trail 103, where we gave a shout-out to all the cowboys! That afternoon we held a session of our Burlesque Act Assessment Workshop for the Cigarette Girls. Afterwards, we all got dolled up to do a photo shoot in the middle of downtown Missoula. A mob of burlesque ladies walking the streets was a hoot! The show was so much fun and it was awesome to see the local performers do the acts that we had just worked on earlier that day.
We were sad to leave Missoula, but thrilled to have one of the most beautiful and joyful drives we’ve ever had. The snow-capped mountains of Idaho presented many Dangerous Curves indeed! We couldn’t drive five minutes without one of us squealing how amazing the view was! We rolled into Boise, a typical Pacific Northwest hamlet for eccentric folks, and performed with local favorites Mimi Meshuga and Anne McDonald. Although we didn’t spot any spuds, we still had a terrific time in The Gem State’s largest city.
Our ninth show was in Reno, NV on April 19th with Desert Rose Revue, and we were treated like royalty – we each got our own hotel room! We’re happy to say we didn’t lose our shirt at the casino… just our clothes on stage at the show!
The next day, April 20th, we were super excited to drive to San Francisco for Tease-O-Rama! However, on our way we got caught in a traffic nightmare – the highway to San Francisco was closed due to a loose gunman and a California car chase! There were many detours, but nothing was going to keep us from one of our favorite cities! Once we arrived in SF, just in time for tech, we bid Anita Cookie farewell. She headed to San Diego, her hometown, to visit her family and boyfriend for the weekend.
Tease-O-Rama 2012 (TOR) was simply fabulous! Clams Casino, Darlinda Just Darlinda and The Schlep Sisters (Minnie Tonka and Darlinda Just Darlinda) performed on Friday night. Bimbo’s 356 Club is such a special venue! On Saturday, Tease-O-Rama offered a variety of daytime classes and activities. GiGi La Femme popped in to pose for a Dr. Sketchy’s session held at the hotel. Darlinda participated in a Producing 101 panel along with Burgundy Brixx and King Fish from Hubba Hubba Revue, which was facilitated by Penny Starr Jr. Darlinda felt it was helpful and important to have a discussion about our varying producing experiences from around North America and got a lot out of it. That night, GiGi and Minnie performed to a sold-out crowd and the four of us wrapped up TOR with a few more cocktails and a photobomb session with SF’s own, Johnny Crash.
Our farewell meal was fish tacos and burritos, and with our bellies full we hit the road to LA. One of our favorite photographers, Don Spiro, opened up his lovely home to us for some much needed R&R. In the wee hours of the morning on April 23rd, GiGi took a personal pilgrimage to the original Exotic World Museum in Helendale, CA. Even though the grounds aren’t what they used to be, she was still overwhelmed by the energy of the past.
We rallied for afternoon pedicures and then reunited with Anita Cookie at the World Famous Pink’s for hot dogs and coleslaw. That evening, we performed with Lili VonSchtupp at Monday Night Tease, and thanks to the lovely Glama Sutra for picking up after us! It was our third time there and it certainly won’t be our last: we Love Lili and L.A!
The following day we had a long drive from LA to Tucson through the desert on a horse with no name (actually his name is Al, Ray-Ray for short) until we reached our oasis, the serene home of Desire D’Amor and her husband Mike. After feasting on fast food tacos and homemade margaritas, we all turned in for the night. The next morning on April 25th, Desire made us an egg scramble with cactus (a local delicacy known as ‘nopales’) for breakfast! We had a leisurely day by the pool followed by more margaritas and a crafting session, aka DCA Pastie Sweatshop. Our show that night was with Black Cherry Burlesque at The Surly Wench Pub. It was an awesome space with a huge dressing room and we each got our own dressing table! Everyone was welcoming, the show was a blast, and the burgers were killer! Next up: Albuquerque, New Mexico with Burlesque Noir!
Minnie, Darlinda, Clams, Gigi and Anita.
For more information and all the tour dates, visit
www.burlesqueonthegogo.com
Very interested in your shows and where to go in Missoula, spending the summer up there. Looks like you gals have an awesome time, would love to be a part of it and learn about your shows and lifestyle.
Love,
Calisa