PART 1
Cute Writes:
Our regular readers know that Cutest and I enjoy seeking out the new, the forgotten, and the unusual.
Through our trusted sources, we have discovered new bars and restaurants. Then there have been the hidden gems, long-time in business but only remembered by a few. Finally there’s the potpourri spot that’s unusual, far out, far right or left or just over the top.
This is what we discovered this past Saturday. Deep into the West Bottoms we drove. Over abandoned railroad tracks, past 100-year-old warehouses, down dusty, potholed scarred streets we bounced along. Suddenly, there it was. BLIP!
Wearing a fading coat of white paint stood this single-story building. Over the entrance, a blueish sign announced Blip Roasters. It’s a coffee store/cafe, a motorcycle accessory shop, and a weekend motorcycle gathering point. Cutest will bring you the details, she likes to share, in Part 2.
At 8 PM, not needing coffee, we were here for the burlesque. Yes, you read that correctly. Behind the Blip bar is a large room, complete with a stage, stage lighting and folding chairs for the patrons. Tonight’s entertainment was advertised as the Tassel Takedown, Burlesque Wrestling Madness.
Promptly the “ringside” announcers took their seats and the show began. The entertainers, being a rather mixed bag, battled two at a time, the winner advancing to the finals. As the matches proceeded, the “wrestlers’” costumes seemed of poor quality, as pieces large and small, fell by the wayside.
The wrestling was perhaps just a tad below what you see on tv or at your local arena, but the enthusiasm was real. Wrestlers taunted, cheated, rode wooden pony sticks, talked smack, and continued to not care about their clothing losses. We are glad to report that not a drop of blood was spilled.
Spectators, also from a broad spectrum of our fine city and often quite different looking from our previous evening's companions at the Lyle Lovett concert , cheered, booed, laughed and applauded, as did we. For more on this off-kilter night, stay tuned for Cutest’s take in Part 2.
Part 2
Cutest Writes:
What more do we need? Not much, in my opinion. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a burlesque show – watching the Broadway musical "Gypsy" was as close as I came.
I hadn’t a clue that burlesque came to America in the late 1800s and was first a variety show that included shapely and underdressed women. These women were “fearless” because they mocked the social behaviors of the upper class. This show was pretty fearless, though I’m not so sure about the shapely and upper class mockery parts, although mockery was definitely part of the evening. So were laughter, and sheer good cheer.
Blip Roasters is on Woodswether Road and while it may not be handy for most of you for a cup of coffee and its variants, they do have events all the time – in June, there were 15 different events ranging from poetry reading to family meals to acoustic guitar songwriter circles. July is looking a little lighter so far but it might be worth it to sign up for their newsletter after you go to www.bliproasters.com. More current info is on their quite active Facebook page.
By the way, the pictures and videos are the mildest of the evening. Some things you just can’t unsee –so we’re not including those. But I did have fun dancing in the aisle with my new seat-side acquaintance!
Don't you agree that we all could use a little more wacky in our lives?
Finally, below, here only for the brave, this is a choice you are making so DON'T BLAME US . . .
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