I arrived at Speakeasy in Birmingham on Friday night, August 12th, around 10 p.m. Speakeasy was one of the many local venues playing host to the Birmingham Arts and Music Festival. I'd come to see Magick City Sirens, the Birmingham-based burlesque troupe, but made it just in time to catch the Ian Sturrock Memorial Pipe Band, who ushered in local faves Jasper Coal. The tiny venue was packed, and nearly everyone had their pint in the air for an almost-punk, pipe and drum rendition of "Amazing Grace".
The Sirens arrived around 10:30 in full pre-show accoutrement, each of the ladies bubbling equally with charm and cleavage. They weren't scheduled to take the stage until 1:15 in the morning, and I was a little concerned about how many people would still be in attendance at the late hour. Many people left between Jasper Coal and The Stop (a talented jazz/funk trio, who were unfortunately called "the porn music band" several times that night), and it might have been just me and the Sirens—which would've been totally okay. But a crowd of about 300 poured back in just before showtime, and they were treated to a spectacularly fun little treat.
The Sirens had a new apprentice, Frankie Bluu, who was working as the barker for the evening. She did a great job of getting the crowd frenzied in preparation for the show. She was a natural in front of that group of equally-beguiled men and women, and I was surprised to learn it was her first time out.
Due to limitations of the sound system, the nature of BAAMfest!, and the timing of the show, the Sirens didn't actually sing for this shorter-than-normal set. Although the troupe doesn't normally repeat songs from show to show, I'd seen each of the evening's numbers before, though none was a disappointment.
Abigail Lee, opened the show with a peel (it's not stripping, it's burlesque!) set to "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". The beautiful blonde looked sweet and innocent as stripped down from her cute blue apron to her pasties and sponged off in an inflatable kiddie pool. The fun irony had the crowd cheering and ready for the cutie-pie comedy of Ariiel Blaze's "Beyond the Sea", a beach-themed peel that included toy crabs and a confetti-rain-filled parasol. The adorable red-head had everyone ready to set sail in search of a bathing beauty of their own.
Tawny Rex pranced down to her bare minimums to "But I Am a Good Girl", her lovely dark skin contrasted against her white satin corset. "Dance: Ten, Looks: Three" was heralded by the most voluptuous of the Sirens, Tatiana Heire. "Tits and ass can change your life/they sure changed mine," delivered by the classically-trained, voluptuous lady in purple was lively and tongue-in-cheek. (Which takes on a whole new meaning in such a bawdy setting!)
The troupe's final number brought Abigail Lee, Tawny Rex, and Ariiel Blaze back to the stage for "Be Italian", joined by Jinx the Graceful and the incomparable Jezabelle von Jane, who founded Magick City Sirens in 2007. Jezabelle gave the crowd her all without ever losing a stitch, her dark hair and smoldering "come hither" engaging every single eye in the place. Days later I learned she was so into her groove that she gave herself bruises, banging her thighs with her tambourine.
As usual, Magick City Sirens gave a grand performance, doing an amazing job of engaging and enticing the crowd from the moment they stepped into the venue. You can catch them again on September 10th at the Barking Kudu in Birmingham, as part of Beer, Bands & Bullies. Tickets are $15 at the door, with all proceeds going to Bama Bully Rescue.
Comments