Oh sure. Everybody knows the notorious Bettie Page, whose exotic beauty has inspired generations of punk-rock girls to pluck their eyebrows and cut their hair into bangs. But who remembers Lorraine Lane, the bawdy puppeteer who danced, quite literally, with the devil, to the amazement of anyone fortunate enough to catch the scantily clad illusionist’s astonishing act? Who can recall Sally Rand and her cleverly placed fans, or the gravity-defying antics of Tempest Storm, or the extraordinarily sweet Candy Barr? Who’s ready to give it up for the great ladies of burlesque’s golden age, the women who, with nothing but a shimmy, a shake, and a whole lot of sequins, once defined sexiness? The hard-skating girls of the Memphis Roller Derby, that’s who.
On Saturday, December 8th, the lovely, if somewhat intimidating, ladies of the Memphis Roller Derby will turn the Hi-Tone Café into an old-school shake shack with (ahem) artistic dancing and burlesque skits performed throughout the evening. The roller girls will be joined in their ironically erotic endeavors by the Memphis Belles, a group of local models who enjoy re-creating the look, and more importantly the mood, of classic pin-up images by artists such as Gil Elvgren and glamour photographer Bunny Yeager.
DJ Steve Anne will get the party started, and punk patriarchs Ross Johnson and Jeff Evans have assembled an all-star lineup of local garage rockers to keep the fringe shaking and the tassels twirling deep into the late night.
Memphis Roller Derby’s second annual “Ho, Ho, Ho Burlesque Show” at The Hi-Tone Café. Saturday, December 8th. Admission $10.