Choreographer Wendy Denney is the functioning fulcrum for the Sweet Tease Burlesque Revue, which makes its official debut with a Friday (Sept. 20) performance at the Jinx.
The show is a tie-in with the publication of the dancing ladies' 2014 calendar, with 12 provocative shots from photographer Geoff L. Johnson — who happens to be a regular Connect contributor. And hey now, it is titled "Calendar Girls."
Denney herself is "Miss October," appearing scantily-clad in a Halloween, voodoo-themed photo.
And that's a clue as to what to expect from the Jinx show. It's not just T. It's not just A. It's not just feather boas and tassels and boop boop bee do.
"Many people don't realize that back in the day, there was a lot of comedy in burlesque," Denney says. "And our show is a mixture of a throwback to old-school stuff, and maybe neo-burlesque. Just to kind of hit everybody — because if a show is all old-school, some people aren't going to be entertained. And the same for people who are expecting old-school, and it's all new-school stuff."
At the heart of burlesque, of course — either school — is titillating striptease. The Sweet Teasers are mostly women, to be sure, but Denney has recruited a couple of men for this performance.
Can you say "something for everybody"?
As a dancer and choreographer, Denney explains, she's always had an eye for burlesque. "I liked that burlesque was more theatrical," she says. "It's more than just taking your clothes off; it can be funny, it can be raunchy, all I also liked the fact that it was all different types of women. And as a woman, going to a show like that, it's nice to see that in reality, people aren't perfect.
"Men, I think, don't care. Men just love women. So we have women of all shapes and sizes and colors and ... we put a lot of work into this, in the theatrical sense, too. We have an emcee. We have a script that we follow. We have a costumer. So it's not just going up there and taking your clothes off, there's a lot of content."
The various teasers are local folks, with stage names like Erin Go Brahless, Venus Thightrap, Daisy Von Darling, Ginger DuMonde and, yes indeed, Jack N Thacox.
DJ Lucky Bastard — the regular Monday night Jinx jock — will emcee. A rockabilly band called the Chop Tops (from California) will perform after the calendar girls' performance.
"We hope that there's something in our show that people won't be able to stop talking about when they leave," Denney says. "In a good way."
Admission is $12; for 21+.
Half notes
• Eric Britt and filmmaker/musician Craig Tanner have made videos for two of the songs from Britt's exemplary Greener collection; they'll screen them, along with a third video for another tune, Sept. 19 at the Mansion on Forsyth. The catered event — hey hey, food! — will also feature live sets from American Hologram, the new band that puts Britt, Tanner, Britt Scott and Eric Dunn together. Did you hear Britt's tres cool "Lemonade" on our 2013 Connect playlist? By all means, get thee to connectsavannah.com and check it out now.
• Also on the 19th, the Sentient Bean brings in Americana singer/songwriter Dean Johanesen, from Bradenton, Florida. His witty, uptempo guitar/vocal tunes have gypsy jazz swing and will remind you of another act that ambles through here every once in a while, the Two Man Gentleman Band. Check him out.
• If you missed last week's Revival Fest, don't worry. Get your dose of '70s-inspired Americana Friday and Saturday night (Sept. 20 and 21) at Tybee Island Social Club. It's the Nashville trio Friends of Lola, doing that whole CSNY/Poco acoustic thing. With a little bit of harmonious Fleetwood Maciness tossed into the colorful mix.
• On Oct. 12, Savannah gets its third cigar box guitar concert (amplified, these little three-string buggers become big, bad blues guitars). A benefit for the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum, the show will be at Dub's Pub, and feature Roy Swindelle, "Georgia" Kyle Shiver and Mark Malloy.
