The Electro Swing Club at The Electric Owl Social Club
I can’t dance. I just can’t. A lot of my life is lived vicariously through the artistic energies of others, so why should swing dancing be any different? When I was invited out to the Electro Swing Club’s dance party at The Electric Owl last Thursday, I jumped (jived, and wailed?) at the chance.
When I arrived at The Electric Owl that night (after my obligatory cheap pint at The Ivanhoe), I was met at the door by Miss Lydia DeCarllo. This is always a good sign. After a brief chat, we entered together and I was met at the ticket table by Valentin, my host for the evening. The party was already in full swing (sorry, couldn’t resist that one). Deanna Knight and the Hot Club of Mars were on stage and the dance floor crowded with the “swing kids” giving it their all. Most were dressed in period-specific attire and the moves they were pulling off were inspired. Unlike most of my arrivals at The Electric Owl, instead of heading straight for the bar for a sleeve of Pilsner, I stood and watched, taking in the scene, for a good five or ten minutes before making my way to the back bar.
After the band finished their amazing set, there was a fashion show. As soon as I saw the dresses parading across the stage, there was no doubt in my mind that the gang from Scout Boutique were rocking the house. Something I have always appreciated about the clothing at Scout and the girls from Morrismore Models who parade it across the stage is the accessibility of it. The dresses may not cater to everyone’s personal style, but the variety of sizes certainly makes the dresses available to every woman, not just those who possess the magazine-perfect Size 2.
When the fashion show ended, a second swing band took the stage. Company B was the perfect band to fill the dance floor again. They were the Andrews Sisters reborn. Matching outfits and perfect harmonies turned the Electric Owl into a USO party. The mood was upbeat, the crowd truly electric (I’m on a mission to see how many truly awful puns I can reasonably squeeze into this piece.).
The closer that night was a three-performance, burlesque set. Scarlet Delirium, Lydia DeCarllo, and Burgundy Brixx took the stage like only they know how. I had never seen Scarlet Delirium perform before. She looked like a living doll. Miss DeCarllo was her usual cheeky self, in every way she could be. Any day you can see her impish grin and wonderfully cute bum at the same time is a really good day. As for Burgundy Brixx, the woman is a true professional and I almost feel bad to use the term “effortless” because I happen to know just how much effort she actually applies to her trade.
All in all it was certainly one of the best events I have been to in a while. I’d seen the poster for the show leaving the Night Owl Review but, had it not been for an email from Valentin, I probably wouldn’t have gone. So I will have to remember to thank him for that at the very least.
After I left The Electric Owl, I stopped in at The Keefer to catch Villainy Loveless, Little Miss Risk, and Cherry OnTop perform the last (12am) set. After missing my bus, I considered my options. I didn’t want to call for a ride and I didn’t want to pay the $40 for a taxi home. So, out of options, I decided to Occupy Vancouver. Yeah, I did. But that, my friends, is another story of this wonderful city of ours.
So There’s This Couch: Fall Fashion Show at Scout Boutique
If you were at Scout last night, you would have seen this incredible couch. Maybe it’s a love seat. I don’t know. Settee perhaps?
Anyhow, I tried taking more pictures of it but all these people just showed up and got in the way.
So after the lovely models cleared the way to my wonderful couch, the room filled with lots of chatty people drinking wine and vodka coolers. Everyone seemed to be milling about joyfully despite obscuring my belov’d couch.
Soon the crowd parted. But alas, no joy. As soon as the path to the couch was clear, THIS guy sat on it.
Turns out he’s a writer or something. Not only did he block my couch, he started reading. Suddenly, the couch was no longer the centre of attention. Silence fell across the room and the humidity started to climb. I could actual hear feminine thighs twitch. Poor couch.
So, as it turns out, the couch isn’t for sale. But the dresses sure are. And it’s almost office party season. If you’re looking for the dress that bitch in shipping will never find but the hunk in accounting can’t possibly ignore, swing by Scout (152 East 8th (@Main), Vancouver) and check out the Fall Fashions… and the couch.
PS: DAMN…
The Week That Was Part 1: The “Ladies of Main St. Tour”
It was a Twitter message from the bowels of the Brewery Creek Liquor Store that sent me off down Main St. last Sunday: “If you ever want to feel better about your problems, looks or life in general, hang around my liquor store Sun AM.” A cry for help like that is hard to ignore, even for the Captain of the SS Californian.
Most of my recent weekend sojourns to Main St. start the same way: harassing and confounding the talented and lovely Miss Lydia DeCarllo at Scout Boutique at Main and 8th. My reason for going was to check out visit with Miss DeCarllo. Your reason for going? Checking out the Pin-Up fashions and accessories that pack the store. To this end, I suggest attending a fashion show they have coming up on Thursday, October 20, at 8pm. Come to see ME! Stay for the clothes.
Miss Lydia DeCarllo
My next stop was a new one. I’d been there before with my “crazy redhead friend” who described it as one of her “favourite stores in Vancouver.” On this particular Sunday, I was headed up to Lace Embrace to see Miss Tristan Risk, Little Miss Risk to some. I don’t know if the “Little” is because she’s certainly not the tallest person I’ve met or because, when she’s laced up, you could fit the elastic band from a grocery store stalk of celery around her waist with little or no effort. Both are equally plausible. I don’t get to talk with Miss Risk that often, which is a shame. We’re both history buffs, especially where it pertains to this wicked city of ours. Lace Embrace is about 1/2 a block east of Main at 16th. Stop by for a custom made corset or get fitted off the rack. Who doesn’t need a corset? Boring people. That’s who. Also, buy a calendar while you’re there. I forgot to, but will rectify that error on my next visit.
Little Miss Risk - Photo by David Denofreo
Okay, so a Pin-Up boutique and a corset atelier may be strange fare for some, but they’re both locally owned and operated shops. Sure, they’re not The Bay, but the only people who shop at The Bay are 12 year olds buying perfume for their mom and/or a tie for dad.
Crossing the street and heading back down Main towards my belov’d North Shore mountains, I arrive at the Brewery Creek Liquor Store. I’m here to pop in on Miss Villainy Loveless. I get a two-for-one deal. Not only is Miss Loveless manning the till with skill, precision, and attitude, but Shiloh Lindsey is also on site. I love Shiloh. There’s no two ways about it and no way to get out of it. I wouldn’t hesitate to list her among names like Cline, Cash, Jennings, and Lynn when it came to reasons why I like country music. We chat for a bit after a hug that may have been just long enough to be socially awkward. She smiled. I melted then bought a bottle of Baron Bohemian style Czech beer.
When I get to the till, Miss Loveless asks if I plan to just walk down Main drinking the beer. Yes. Yes I do. People in Vancouver tend to leave you be provided you don’t get too extreme, in which case they just plain ignore you. I actually first met Villainy Loveless as one half of the Switchblade Sisters performing at a Shiloh Lindsey show. Our conversation goes much “drier” on this day. The last time I saw her was the Vancouver Zombie Walk and she spent the whole day covered in sticky fake blood and lisping through gold grills. San Pellegrino was required. My beer having been mysteriously opened, we had a delightfully unsticky hug and I was on my way again.
Shiloh Lindsey
Miss Villainy Loveless - Photo by David Denofreo
I made my way back down Main St. fully intending to hit up The Keefer Bar for some dim sum and a cocktail. However, as I walked past the Ivanhoe, blues music poured from its doors. Inside, the jam band was setting up and real pints of beer were only $3.75. I remember singing a couple tunes with the band and that’s about all. From this point on, things get a bit sketchy. I think I stopped at the London Pub. And I think I made it to The Keefer Bar. All this I piece together from VISA slips and quasi-reliable, secondhand witness reports.
I think I also made it to The Squarerigger as well. This last one I’m assuming as I woke up with a Rigular in my guest room.
Anyhow… Main Street: Good people, good exercise, good fun.
How Much Is That Booty In The Window: An Afternoon Stopping Traffic At Scout
“…by watching her I began to think there was some skill involved in being a girl.” ~ Scout (To Kill A Mockingbird)
You can tell a lot about a person by their scotch tape dispenser. So it came as no surprise when I found this awesome little jewel behind the desk at Scout Boutique:
Specializing “in form-fitting, pin-up style clothing for all sizes of women,” Scout Boutique has become a regular, weekend pit stop for me when I’m on or around Main Street. I was first summoned to Scout back in June to deliver a coffee. At the time, I’m not sure the recipient realized I’d be travelling over 20km to deliver a coffee bought across the street from where she was, but I happily made the trip.
I don’t think it’s demeaning to say that Scout is a girly place, provided you keep in mind that the women of Scout are more likely to buff their nails with a switchblade than they are to collect and trade Hello Kitty stickers. It’s colourful, flirty, and fun and, as far as guys are concerned, filled with a lot of sighs followed by thinking, “I wish my girlfriend would wear that.” The clothing is very feminine, yet (and I don’t dare say “empowering” or Nicole will knock my teeth in) there is a feeling that the women who wear clothes like these have a better sense of self than most. The clothing isn’t too revealing or inappropriate in any way; it’s just obviously been designed for women to wear. Some of the prints are whimsical, all the colours are bright, and the accessories include: purses, earrings, and tasseled pasties.
Last Friday, I was in the neighbourhood and popped in to harass Nicole for a while. I’d just finished a meeting and didn’t have anything to do until an appointment in Richmond a few hours later. As we chatted, she asked if I was available Sunday to come down and take some pictures. I said it was my nephew’s first birthday party and I probably couldn’t make it. She explained there’d be a group of burlesque performers from the Screaming Chicken Theatrical Society Go Go dancing at the store…
I told her my nephew would be too young to remember how long his uncle stayed at his birthday party and I’d see her on Sunday.
As part of Scout’s Sunday-Funday Sale, the SCTS was down at the store promoting swimwear as well as the upcoming production of Terror at Rock Out Beach: A Burlesque Strip-sical at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island.
I learned early on that guys need to stay alert need to stay alert when visiting Scout. Men who aren’t used to dealing with pure “sass” need to take care. Just before 2pm, Melody Mangler crossed 8th Avenue, walking towards the store. You could hear brakes lock up for miles. The two families eating at the diner beside me stopped to watch, mid-meal, the food hanging off their forks. She flashes me a smile and walks into Scout. The little girl at the diner, still in a state of awe, coos: “I love her tattoos.”
Moments later, Nicole asks, “Does this look slutty?” I turn to face her and she’s wearing a little black dress she was born to wear. “Um, no,” I stammer as my brain merely answers, “GUH.” “Maybe after five?” she asks with a smile. She walks back inside and I follow like a moth on a pheromone trail. We stand by the mirror. “You don’t think it’s too tight?” she asks. “Nah, you’ve got curves; use them.” My brain again answers, “GUH.”
As I turn to get some fresh air I notice that Goldie Monroe has taken to the window. I know that clothing retailers often take great pride in window displays that are well put together. Goldie Monroe certainly doesn’t disappoint.
Surf music fills the store, Goldie Monroe dances in the window, Nicole gives a yea or nay to a customer popping in and out of the dressing room, and Melody Mangler has hit Main Street to hand out fliers. Again, I am certain I can hear brakes locking up for miles. She returns about half an hour later, then she and Zachary Wood (also from the SCTS) relieve Goldie and take their turn dancing in the storefront.
Goldie hits the street with Karly Palmer and I tag along.
A blue pick-up truck stops in the middle of Main St. The driver leans his head out the window towards Karly and Goldie. The young woman in the middle of the bench seat glances over and laughs. The passenger on my side has seen me dogging them from across the street and gives me a thumbs up. “Holy Fuck!” he says with a grin. It’s probably safe to say that the young woman between these two has never shopped at Scout but given the chance, she probably will now, having learned that you can make a dog drool or you can make a dog heel. Both is preferable and anything is possible when you’re dressed by the women at Scout.
The Cheeky Tiki Luau: Mermaids, grass skirts, and drinks with little umbrellas at The Rio Theatre
I was invited to The Rio Theatre for “Cheeky Tiki Luau: Scout Boutique Retro Fashion Show, Tropical Party, and Pop-up Shop”. Taking my shoes off at the beach is about as “tropical” as I get. When I saw on the invite that “Aloha and tropical wear is STRONGLY encouraged, vintage or not just make it island style”, I wasn’t sure what to wear. I ended up choosing my combat shorts; jungle warfare, by definition, is “tropical” and one really wouldn’t want to be wearing a grass skirt when the napalm hits.
I’ve been to a handful of these fashion shows now and they are always a lot of fun. DJ K-Tel was spinning luau tunes in the foyer and the usual suspects were milling about. Slightly less usual was Oceana the Mermaid. Gracing a bench by the entrance, she was convincing enough to think maybe Hans Christian Andersen might not have been a fiction writer.
Oceana the Mermaid and Lydia DeCarllo
The show was hosted by Evil Bastard with the aid of two “Hula Hunnies”, Coco Cinders and Lincoln Electra.
First up on the bill for the evening was Meg A Tron as “Island Girl” with her backup, Fred from Brazil. She opened with a traditional dance that I believe was about a boat and love, though I can’t imagine many Hawaiian songs being about something other than boats and love. Then she broke out the ukulele. I’ve heard her play it a few times and it always makes me smile. Her too. When reviewing the pictures from that night. I couldn’t find one that Meg A Tron wasn’t smiling in.
Next up on the bill was a burlesque performance by Melody Mangler. Melody’s routines are insanely good. She is the consummate Classic burlesque performer. Her costumes are always ornate and her routines filled with grace and seduction. Of course, it never hurts that she is also one of the most charming, personable, and stunningly beautiful women I have had the pleasure of meeting.
It was time for the fashion show. First up – Riot Clothing
And then it was time for Scout Boutique to take the stage.
And last, but certainly NOT least, Melody Mangler Designs.
After the fashion show, Evil Bastard returned to the stage with his ukulele. Playing his own rendition of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s version of Judy Garland’s “Over the Rainbow”. It was a sincere and endearing performance. It came across as a lot more vulnerable and honest than many of Evil Bastard’s fans might be used to. He set aside his classic timing and biting humour for a moment and it was worth every note.
The burlesque performances continued after Evil Bastard’s ukulele piece. Ruthe Ordare stepped in at the last moment to fill the spot of one performer who was unable to make it. As per always, her grace and that wonderful wonderful smile make her a joy to watch every time she steps onto the stage. Before the show, I watched her rehearse the piece, the music playing only in her ears. It was spellbinding.
Closing the burlesque for the evening was Voodoo Pixie. Evil Bastard introduced her piece as “strange” but I found it to be magical. The piece was a fun and fluid number that reminded tourists in New Orleans if the dark alley you’re in smells like candle wax, burning herbs, and chicken blood, get out of that alley.
Island Girl and Fred from Brazil closed off the evening with a fun little interactive set of music.
After the show, I made my way up to the balcony to check out the “pop-up”. Local retailers set up tables to ply their wares.
Evil Bastard helps Oceana the Mermaid to the little girls’ room.
As with any night at The Rio Theatre, a great time was had by all in attendance. We all had what Corinne Lea referred to as “a kitchen party” in the lobby while we waited for the screening of “Psycho Beach Party”.
May 25, 2012 | Categories: Art, Fellatio, and Other Heady Subjects, So yeah, I'm into fashion. Sue me., Straight from The Bear's loud mouth (insane ramblings disguised as social commentary), The Loudmouth Bear Reviews (books, music, movies), [re]Discovering Vancouver | Tags: Baron S. Cameron, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, writing, loudmouth bear, humour, humor, photography, music, art, fashion, burlesque, Scout Boutique, Lydia DeCarllo, Rio Theatre, Melody Mangler, Meg A Tron, Evil Bastard, Voodoo Pixie, Oceana the Mermaid, Ruth Ordare, Riot Clothing, DJ K-Tel | Leave A Comment »