These Days

These days I have only 10 minutes to write.
These days I cannot put up a fight.
These days I am not willing to lose.
These days I cannot pick or choose.
These days I barely recognize my life.
These days I remember I was almost a wife.
These days I feel rather confused.
These days I think I acted too soon.
These days I know I did the right thing.
These days I know I am ready to win.
I love you.

Wonderful Someone, You

I know this someone wonderful—

Really, it’s a shame.

This someone is too wonderful—

You all probably know someone quite the same.

The sort that is so wonderful—so beautiful and deep—

Who dips down far into your soul—

Who grabs it and runs for miles and miles—miles and miles—

Miles until it’s hard to stop—

You’ve chased so far and you want your reward.

But, your reward was already there to start.

Your reward is the years you’ll be parts of a whole.

At least I hope.

You’re the best in so many ways.

And you’re right, it’s what’s in between the fucks and sucks, sweet friend.

Between is where your Wonderful does play.

Knowing

To know what it means to desire—to yearn.

To know what it means to hate—to loath.

To know what it means to use—to exploit.

To know what it means to lust—to crave.

To know what it means to fail—to lose.

To know what it means to try—to endeavor.

To know what it means—so fuck me, please.

I know what it means—or part of it, at least.

I know what you need—you need to feel me.

I know what it means—we’re weak and carnal.

I know what you need—I want it, too.

I know what it means—I’ll fuck you, too.

I know what you need—at least I think.

I know what it means—we’re using each other.

I know what you need—use me, please.

I know what you need—use me, please.

I know what you need—use me, please.

To know what it means to be pathetic.

To know what it means to be hurt.

To know what it means to be desperate.

To know what it means to be destitute.

To know what it means to be nothing.

To know what it means—I know what it means.

To know what it means—you know what it means?

To know what it means—I know what it means.

I know what you want—you want to forget.

I know what you want—you want to cum.

I know what you want—you want to feel.

I know what you want—you want to leave.

You know what it means—it means I’m your slut.

You know what it means—it means you’ll get what you want.

You know what it means—it means the feeling is mutual.

You know what it means—it means you’re my slut.

You know what it means—it means you’re my toy.

You know what it means—it means we’re made for each other. For now.

Blue Skies Burlesque Dreams Up Desire

The "strange beauties" of Blue Skies Burlesque

            What is it about a woman’s bare back that intrigues imagination and rouses desire? How about glances of a woman’s upper thigh peeking through black gauze or jewel-studded breasts delicately draped with red tulle? Audience members saw all this and more at Blue Skies Burlesque’s opening night performance of “The Dreaming” at the Magnetic Field on August 17.

            Cherry-Oh, a former Bootstrap Burlesque member, masterminded the troupe, including Odessa Dawn, Lacey Lyons, Shotgun Kelly, Ahnyae, Tony Bravo, Ginger L’May and stagehand Insomnia Djangle. The performance opened with a short introduction from a craggy yet loveable Jim Henson-esque puppet host named “the Sandman” and quickly began with a tantalizing strip tease from Oh, Dawn and Lyons as the Memory Trio.

Cherry Oh

            The show started at 10:30 p.m. and boasted a full house of onlookers eager to behold the “strange beauties” of Blue Skies Burlesque. The show’s title, “The Dreaming” comprised eight decadently devious dances, each inspired by a dream. The second dance was “The Erotic Dream,” a solo performance by Shotgun Kelly. The stage was prepared with thick bushes of crimson tulle, with Kelly encapsulated in the center of the fleshy material.

            Kelly, adorned with jewels and curled ram horns jutting from her head, delicately pushed against the tulle with her arms and legs as if an unborn deity tucked inside a celestial womb and preparing for her birth. Kelly’s lean, ivory body and long limbs glowed in contrasted to the ruby hue of the lacy tulle.

            When she finally found her way out of the gentle netting, the entrails of tulle transformed into an impressive boa that Kelly wrapped around her mostly nude body and sensually danced about the stage.

Shotgun Kelly

            The third routine, titled “A Possession Dream,” equally captivated the imagination with Ahnyae’s darkly seductive belly dance performance to Marylin Manson’s Goth-metal cover of “Sweet Dreams.”

            The serpentine dancer shifted and shimmied across the stage, demanding the audience’s attention with her exotic face and movements. A scimitar balanced on the crown of Ahnyae’s head further complimented the precise undulations, pops and glides of her body.

            Next up was a bewitching dance by Cherry Oh.

            Titled” A Flying dream,” Oh’s routine incorporated sensual belly dancing and graceful pole dancing that enchanted the audience with demonstrations of strength and feminine beauty. Oh, dressed in a layered point skirt of gauzy noir and aubergine panels, hoisted herself to the top of the slender metal pole a number of times in feats of aerial wonderment as she skillfully balanced her body and twirled around on the phallic post. The combination of fluid belly dancing and bursts of pole climbing guided the audience through a twilight flight across a dark and erotic dreamscape.

Odessa Dawn sporting a red head

            After a brief intermission, Odessa Dawn resumed the stage with her performance, “A Nightmare.” The blue-haired vixen donned a silver sparkled skull mask and performed a delightfully macabre dance, eviscerating delicate lace guts from inside of her before removing her mask and clothing to reveal her supple body but for skin-tone pasties and a thong.

            Before Dawn’s act, the stagehand prepared a black tarp-lined corner with a very large goblet filled with red substance placed on top of it. Dawn’s final deed consisted of her pouring the goblet red goo upon her illusionary nude body and rolling around in it like a sultry slip-and-slide of blood.

            Lacey Lyons graced the stage next. Wrapped in an emerald tulle skirt, Lyons strutted to a swaggering rockabilly nugget. Her voluptuous form bounced rhythmically to the primitive rock rhythm until the music stopped—literally—and replacing the rock ‘n’ roll jangle was Flight of the Bumblebee. Lyon turned to a rushed madwoman trying to twirl out of her skirt until—back to the swagger.

Lacey Lyons

            Lyons resumed her cool and her strut and looked damn good until the music stopped, again, and a frenzied can-can melody took over. Lyons took pair after pair if panties off in an equally frenzied hurry until the sexy swagger resumed. The playful tease offered a lighter tone to the previous dark and sultry performances.

            The seventh act was a duet performance by Tony Bravo and Ginger L’May titled “The Fever Dream.” Bravo, dressed like a 1950’s traveling sales man, falls into a sexy slumber where L’May seduces him into a hot fever of desire. Quite fitting, the duo danced to the song “Fever.”

            While the duet was a sexual and playful bit, Bravo’s mannerisms fell a bit too heavy on the “hey guy’s I’m getting laid tonight” attitude and casted a campy and typical feeling to the routine. And, when Bravo’s pants final came off, I think it would have been in better taste to see him in something other than a jock strap. Just sayin’.

            The final act was “The Future Dream,” with Oh, Dawn and Kelly disguised in white boar, elephant and lion masks, respectively, and clad in white pearlesque g-strings and pasties. In their anthropomorphic forms, the women danced like primal beasts, with their hands contorted like claws and their spines rolling and undulating like wild women casting a spell around a cauldron.

Tony Bravo gets pampered with a shave and a hair cut

            Soon the lights went dark, and a black light illuminated the trio’s white masks and clothing, and brought to vision smeared streaks of ultraviolet striating the women’s bodies. As the women left the stage, they removed their animal masks and the other performers came out to take a bow and accept their ovations.

            Overall, Blue Skies Burlesque nurtured some seriously positive vibrations with their maiden performance of “The Dreaming.” The troupe performed again on August 18, and they’re putting on a second weekend performance Aug 24 and 25 at the Magnetic Field; tickets are $15. Oh has plans on touring her troupe in the future, so you can keep up with Blue Skies Burlesque on Facebook or on their website at www.BlueSkiesBurlesque.com.

            People love seeing a woman —or a man—take off almost all of her clothes. Burlesque’s relentless beauty is the art of the tease and of the fantasy, and its powerful intrigue steams from what still remains unseen. The strange beauties of Blue Skies Burlesque will, hopefully, continue to captivate curious crowds in their future dreams.

57 Days of Dresses, a retrospect (part 1 of 8)

    As the final day of 57 Days of Dresses approaches, I've realized that there's things about this project I'm going to miss, and there's things about this project I'm not going to miss too much. One thing I'll miss is an excuse to wear my dress wardrobe--which, by the way, has expanded to 91 dresses since the inception of this project--and not wear only my favorite pieces. One thing I won't miss is finding locations to take photos, but I'll miss seeing the wonder and beauty in the random, the wild and the mundane. The serendipity of wearing each dress and learning that I don't really like it has allowed me to clean out my wardrobe some, and I might even make a substantial downsize. I even learned that I love sweatpants!
    So, before presenting my last dress, I feel that a full retrospect is in order. So here we go, in celebration of the uncomfortable, the restrictive, the oppressive, the liberating, the beautiful, the empowering, the dress.

The seminal Dress Day 1: A vintage a-line mini that I still have. I went to the Is She Weird, Is She White show that night. Oddly enough, considering this Pixies tribute band took its name from a Pixies song, the band didn't play that song during their set.

 Dress Day 2 on my Nashville apartment balcony. That aloe vera plant of mine has pretty much turned into an overgrown weed in a pot that sends out shoots of new aloe plants at any chance. I love that plant, and I love this dress, and still have it.

Dress Day 3 was a lazy day. Honestly, I don't think I left my apartment at all that day. Still have this one, too

On Dress Day 4 I used my dented-up old van as a prop. Interestingly, many people who saw this thought someone really did hit my van recently. Six years ago Jason hit a parking lot pole when leaving my apartment in Arizona. I do still have this tender little mini

Dress Day 5's photos were taken in front of this massive rosemary bush in the back of Gojo. On a side note, Gojo is the best Ethiopian restaurant in Nashville, and I hope it's there forever. I do still have this dress.

Dress Day 6 was a quickie before heading off to the Scene. At the time, I just started interning there and I was very excited! I don't have this dress anymore, but Jason still has this guitar.

Dress Day 7 was the Psychedelic Furs show at the Cannery Ballroom. They played "Talk Talk Talk" in its entirety. It was awesome. According to the bassist, Tim Butler, the Furs get a lot of their influence from Roxy Music and the Sex Pistols. I do still have this awesome dress.

Day 56 of 57: Ring my bell

    On day 56 of 57 Days of Dresses Jason and I had a lazy day of rock 'n' rollin' at home. Jason and I had an awesome time jamming on some improv rock 'n' roll riffs. I was feeling like a pussycat and totally missing the stage. I can't wait to start playing shows again. I got a new mirror pickguard for my bass, and it shines the light of rock 'n' roll right in your face. Mirror, mirror, on my bass, who's got the prettiest face? Just teasing!

You can see my reflection!

   After an afternoon of music, we went for a drive in the country and found this quaint ole' bell house with lush, green ivy vines climbing its stone face.
      This is by far one of the most amazing vintage dresses I have in my wardrobe, and I got this at Diamond Star Halo Vintage, located inside of Fanny's House of Music in Nashville, Tenn. This midi-length, spaghetti-strap party dress is rather striking with its alternating red and white chevron striped bodice and red polka-dot skirt. The the dropped V-shaped waistline is form-fitting to the hips and the skirt, which has an attached crinoline petticoat, flares out nicely.The decollete bodice zips in the back, and has a sweetheart neckline.
     I have this dress paired with a rhinestone collar to showcase my decolletage, a hair bow, vintage white earrings, my trusty chucks and red socks with white polka-dots. To offer a splash of contrast, I'm also wearing my solid blue hoops in my upper ears and solid blue sunglasses.

Day 55 of 57: Rummage me this

    On day 55 of 57 Days of Dresses I had a afternoon of rummaging with Jason and our friend Emily. Our first rummage was at the "Really, Really Free Market" at Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville.
    What a disappointment.
    The premise of the event is great in theory; it's essentially a public swap meet that's held the last Saturday of every month. However, in practice, it became an stunningly pungent, unorganized pile of old, dirty clothes with the sparse remnants of Asheville's Occupy movement holding a rather confused General Assembly, foul-smelling faux-hippies picking through some underwear, and a bearded woman discussing the latest extremist feminist trends with a glamorous tranny queen. Emily did find a cool Jawbreaker band tee. Besides that, we promptly scrapped up the bits of our dignity we had left after about five minutes of subjecting ourselves to the stench and found a bathroom to wash our hands. Jason didn't participate in the dirty clothes rummage, needless to say.
     Next on the agenda was looking for a birthday gift for Jason's father. Emily recommended the Lexington Avenue Antique Mall. This place is huge! From the outside it looks like a small shop, but the store expands into a supermarket sized space.
    We spent a good two hours poking around, and decided to leave after Jason and I started having a sensory overload from the amass of stuff in there. The was an impressive inventory of vintage clothes, and quite a bit looked reasonably priced. I'll have another visit, and soon.
    After an oddly fruitless trip to the antique mall, We went to Karen Donatelli Cakes on Haywood Ave. to enjoy some absolutely delicious desserts. I'm a huge fan of French macaroons, and the bakery had chocolate macaroons and raspberry macaroons. Yum! Jason got a  German chocolate cake ball, and there was a gluten-free flourless chocolate tort that Emily was able to thoroughly enjoy.
    We parted ways with Emily and head to Black Mountain in continuance of our search for the perfect birthday gift, and we found it! Happy birthday, Waymon!
    Our last order of business was a photo shoot by the old red truck.
    I got this 1980s vintage dress at Local Honey in Nashville, Tenn. It's a very comfortable, slouchy, dropped-waist cotton tennis-style dress. The ruffled skirt has two layers that have a nice bounce to it. The bodice has a paint swatch pattern that's quintessential '80s design.
    This simple dress is a great springtime piece for daytime activities, and looks great with or without accessories--I think with this dress less is better. I have it paired with some other authentic '80s pieces: a pair of denim pumps and an over-sized fish barrette straight from my mother's boxes of her old clothes from the '70s and '80s (I remember her wearing these when I was, like, five years old), and a great vintage patchwork leather purse I picked up a a vintage boutique. Now if there was only a New Order concert sometime, somewhere soon! I can always dream!