Have you ever been to a burlesque show? In my humble opinion, the top two constantly renewable activities in one's life are good sex and good food (good sleep and a couple other things are closely related)
The renewable pleasures of going out for entertainment (renewable pleasures, like sex and good food, have the capacity to be at least as good as the first time, each time) include comedy, and music you already know is good... (and when you find new music that you've never heard, and it's really good, that's a renewable pleasure too, but more difficult in practice)
And burlesque shows. I had been to two, both when I lived in LA (please note that I'm from the suburbs of Detroit, I just lived in OC for 3 years and then LA for 1, approximately) and absolutely loved them.
So having moved to Minneapolis from Michigan only a week prior, and working my first week at a new job, I found myself alone on a Friday night. I have one friend in this city (one of my oldest and best) but he keeps a fairly regular sleep schedule and has a girlfriend, thus the finding myself alone. Friday night, going crazy wanting something to do because I spent the last week and a half selling all of my furniture, leaving behind my friends and family, and moving (twice actually, between vacation homes).
So, I was looking at Citypages (the calendar of events that I found online, in my short time here, message me if there's a better one) to find something to do, and I saw that Dr. Farrago's Burlesque Theater was playing at Ground Zero. At the time I was living in Columbia Heights, off Central near 40th, so I Google mapped a bus route, got a bit drunk, and got down there in about 20 minutes.
I've read the other reviews on here, and bearing that in mind I feel I must say up front that Ground Zero, and burlesque shows in general, are most certainly not for everyone. For me though, with late high school memories of going down to the Detroit underground rave scene in the 90's (when techno was being born), I felt that Ground Zero was the perfected evolution of that formerly underground scene.
I did not dress up. I was wearing jeans, Dr. Martins (the shoes I wear to work, corporate), a T-shirt and petticoat. I never felt out of place once. The show was that wonderful mixture of comedy and sensuality, resulting in the destruction of all sexual stereotypes that I, as I heterosexual male, find very freeing. Engaging and entertaining.
So back to Ground Zero, the venue itself. It didn't take long to get the bartender's attention, I said I'd like a long island, or whiskey on the rocks, something like that, her pick. She serves me not one, but two cups of basically pure alcohol (let's say it was like a long island) for $6.00. I thought this was brilliant. Being by myself in a new city, I'm stuck with two drinks in my hand. Action is demanded.
I walk around the area in front of the stage, it's full but not packed, feeling uncomfortable holding my two drinks, I find a wall to lean, set one drink down, I'm fairly close to the stage. I relax and enjoy the show :-)
Now next to me there's this guy from Vegas (I am not a fan of show people from LA or Vegas, much prefer NYC show people) and he's talking to me here and there. I'm drinking my drink(s) so things get a bit fuzzy but I know this happens: when I stumble up to get another drink the wonderful bartender quickly convinces me to have a free cup of coffee. And it's really good coffee. I do this three or four times. The wall I'm leaning on when I'm not getting coffee, the Vegas guy, the girl, I she's talking to me before she goes on stage, because she's nervous.
In the end, I wind up wasted. I loved it. There was no static from anyone, there was no asshole (and there's usually one, right? Which means I suspect myself ;-)
I walk up Center St. while the cabs all ignore me (they want downtown business? or just getting off work?), and the normal bus fail where buses don't run at times when I need to get home from a bar, the only time I really ever want a bus, incidentally. Finally a cabbie turns around and picks me up after about 35 minutes of walking, gets me home for $5 and I give him a $3 tip.
Overall, I'd say Ground Zero took good care of me and everyone else there, offered up a show that I loved, was filled with not even one a-hole that I ran into, was friendly, welcoming and wonderful. If you're so conservative that you can't handle the pure mind expanding joy of a properly done burlesque show, or if you're not completely comfortable with your own sexuality, then this may not be the place for you.
I loved it :-) read more