Swung like a monkey
The Saints And Sinners
burlesque troupe has sainted and sinned tumultuously at Tilt for just about
a year now. But last Friday’s performance was simply the best so far. The
costumes were excellent — titillating even — as they vibrantly accented the
flamboyant bump ‘n’ grind.
Despite all the
sweet, swivelin’ eye candy, it was the addition of Rochester’s Southern
gothic darlings The Lobster Quadrille to the proceedings that sent me fo’
sho’. The band gave the night a real traveling
carnival/tent revival feel full of sweat and linen and redemption. It was
gorgeous. It was perfect. It was heaven and hell. Music for
my soul and T&A for my DNA. I was thoroughly sassified.
Come with me next time… bring napkins.
Rob Cullivan’s last show and
testament rocked WaterStreetMusic
Hall. Cullivan jammed
with countless friends and musicians just as he’s always done. Except this time
they were joining him, and they were actually invited.
The first time I ever
played slide guitar on stage, Cullivan was at my
side. Together we butchered Dylan’s “Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat.” Well,
the butchery continued as the soon-to-be departed (just the West Coast, not the
dirt coast) and I limped (or waltzed, if you wanna be
kind) through several jump shuffles. Hi-Riser guitarist/songwriter
extraordinaire Greg Townson sat behind the drums and
played them. What can’t this cat do?
And in keeping with
my temporal gratification in temporal gratification, this was the first and
last show of Rob Cullivan
& The Lousy Catholics. Our swan song was on
its maiden voyage. This group will never happen again. If in some weird
off-chance it did, it would be strictly a tour of church bingo halls.
Speaking of alternative venues, hobo troubadour Baby Gramps played an intimate set at The Record Archive Monday
night. With his battered National on his knee and Hypnotic Clambake’s Maury
Rosenberg at his side on the stomach Steinway, Gramps traversed the American
folk underbelly with a wink. Lyrics are this guy’s jungle gym which he swung
from like a vaudeville monkey.
This article appears in Oct 4-10, 2006.
