Side Show By The Seashore

Pirates: Love lost at Sea

By Roger B.

August 13th, 2009 - Coney Island, Brooklyn

The Coney Island Burlesque experience is something you never quite forget...kind of like a near death experience. Most of the memories are fond, but occasionally I’ll be in bed asleep and some twisted dream or image of a skin-tight blue bunny-outfitted dude in roller-skates smoking a cigarette, or some scary clown-faced sword swallower will pop into my head and make me shiver. All is usually very funny the next morning, but I have to say that nothing really ever escapes you.

For the money, there’s no longer lasting effect than what the Coney Island Burlesque has to offer.  I have to admit that like the chill-inducing roller coaster ride on that wonderful, rickety Cyclone, nothing better matches the impact of the Burlesque by the Beach show or offers greater thrills for the money!

In short, I love this show for the gritty, down and dirty, no-nonsense danger and excitement it creates. Midwesterners, Euro-trash and Amish farmers should all partake of this New York classic.  If you trek to Coney Island for the Nathan’s hotdogs then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t walk a few blocks over and catch this show.  And if you’re a New Yorker, then there’s absolutely no excuse for not seeing this show at least once a year. It runs throughout the entire Summer and offers some of the most memorable variety and Burlesque acts anywhere in the tri-state area. And I am not even talking about their incredible freak show which is world renowned.

On this particular evening the theme is pirates, colors, boobies, tassles, music, tattoos, wine pouring down a naked woman’s body and into a plastic cup for audience members to enjoy gratis. Maybe there’s something to this instant concoction of wine mixed with the sweat from the naked body of a woman who’s been crawling around a dirty stage floor on a hot sweaty night that makes so many in the audience jump up and beg for a cup? Whatever the case, I’ll pass and settle for the campy but very funny and engaging burlesque acts these local ladies offer and a simple brew at the bar.

From loads of candy falling out of one bodacious treasure chest bikini top to a glitter infested explosion of another act to stuffed sharks attacking the boobies of a drowning Little Brooklyn, this show somehow packs the house to the point of standing room only and manages to turn a regular Thursday evening into a wild party. And if you think the girls onstage are hot (and they come in all sizes and shapes for all types of fetishes and tastes), you should see the characters and hotties in the audience, some of whom are performers themselves.

If your fetish is things kinky and sexy or you ever thought of joining the circus, this is the place to be!

Hostess Remy Vicious kicks off the evening’s Side Show By The Seashore, Pirates: Love lost at Sea with a 30 minute set from a hyper cool folk band called The Dirty Teardrops. They were simply great, fun to watch and had the audience stomping and kicking! Normally, I would be pissed having to wait so long for the “real” show to start, but in this case, they (and the lovely Betina Law) were more than worth the price of admission! Not to take anything away from the likes of the evenings burlesque performers, Dirty Martini, Bambi The Mermaid, World Famous Bob, Little Brooklyn, Velocity Chyalld, Jellyboy The Clown, and Celia Next Time which are all standouts in one way or another!

Lead off the night with a few beers at the colorful Freak Bar prior to the show or stick around to party with the stars of the shows and some of the local performers later. For more information log on to http://www.coneyisland.com/ and click the Burlesque at the Beach page.

Tell us what you think!

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