Farewell to Re-Bar

 

Re-bar

     Oh Re-bar when I saw those tall buildings going up all around you, I thought, sooner or later they would get to you. I hope you do reopen in South Seattle and I’ll look forward to that day but I will miss walking down the street and seeing that iconic arrow over the entrance as I turn the corner on Howell street. I remember the first time I walked through your doors. It seemed like you were in the middle of nowhere. It was in September 2005 and it was for a burlesque show called “Back to School” hosted by Indigo Blue. It was a benefit show for victims of Hurricane Katrina. At that show I met Tamara The Trapeze Lady, Red Delicious and Heidi Von Haught. I had just purchased my first ever DSLR camera and I snapped a bunch of photos that night. Over the next 15 years I snapped thousands more. But I won’t take any more photos there and I will never walk through your doors on Howell street again. But let me put aside my sadness and resentments and instead express my gratitude for you.

The Magic of Burleskaraoke

    All the way back in May of 2019 Ruby Mimosa introduced us, along with Queer Bar on Capitol Hill, to Burleskaraoke. This is a wonderful night of singing and stripping, sometimes a marvelous symbiosis of singer and burlesquer. The night is filled with mirth, merriment and even downright hysteria as dollar bills, along with peeled-off gloves, stockings and g-strings(sometimes lobster claws and narwals too)fly through the air as performers bump and grind on the stage, tables, bars and lucky laps. This event is all glued together with DJ Baby Van Beezly, always getting the night started and finishing us all up strong. Baby keeps the flow going the whole night as the singers come up to the stage and the go-go dancers and burlesquers get freakin' down. I think what makes these events so special is not just the magic of burlesque and mixing it with the fun of belting out your favorite songs, but also the immersive atmosphere of the night. Sometimes it feels like all of us, the burlesquers, singers, DJ and audience are all part of one big orgasmic explosion. The best part is the performers don't know what songs they'll be stripping to. Will it be an epic 80's rock ballad? A funky Hip Hop standard? Lizzo, Led Zeppelin or Disney's "Be Our Guest"? They never know what they'll get. There may even be an opera singer or two to bring down the house. And since the beginning of Burleskaraoke, I've had the privilege of photographing every show. This is probably the most I've ever sweated photographing a show as I'm running back and forth and sliding on my knees to get the best shots. I am exhausted at the end of the night. So here are some photos from all eight Burleskaraoke shows so far. The next show is Wednesday, January 15th . Don't miss it.

Max

 Beau Briefs

Ruby Mimosa

10 years in Burlesque

     Ten years ago I entered the wonderful world burlesque. The setting was the gritty old Jewel Box Theater inside the Rendezvous Cafe in the city of Seattle. The show was a recital of recent graduates of Miss Indigo Blue's Academy of Burlesque, which routinely offered a six-week course in the art of the tease. After developing a persona, learning the craft, and picking a burlesque name, students graduate in the form of a recital in front of an audience. One of the graduates that night was my friend Joy who went by the name Ruby Caliente. Ruby had asked me to take photos of her act. It turned out to be one of the most pivotal moments of my life and would lead me to many incredible experiences as a burlesque fan, photographer, and performer.

Me in 2003 at which point I didn't know nuthin' about no burlesque
(photo by Carla Loo)