The event of the week happened at Reggies Chicago on Friday, January 31st. A Burlesque and Rock mix that attracted crowds of people who would enjoy tributes to Rob Zombie and Godsmack. Ranging from their mid-20s to early 40s, the audience cheered for crowd interaction and explosive performances.
Graffitied walls, covered in dim red and purple lights greeted the guests and performers. Posters with a mix of different bands, beer logos, and advertisement covered some surfaces from top to bottom. It was late in the evening with doors opening promptly at 8:00 p.m. They were hosting three different events on separate stages.
However, the directions for each concert were only available by asking a crew member. This posed for a bit of confusion, but, it was interesting to walk around the heavily decorated interior. Everything was covered in layers of iconic and ironic stickers that made you point to and laugh.
This venue was very punctual from the opening of doors to performing early in order to transition effectively between bands. The transitions were filled with fun music and individual performances by the burlesque dancers. Impressively, no act transition lasted more than six minutes. Shoutout to the bands for switching sets so efficiently. There were about 50 to 60 concert-goers in the space concurrently with a few reserved tables.
The burlesque performances and tribute acts were unified in theme and aesthetic. There was coherence with the rebel attitude of all the acts, creating a friendly escape from a world of rules. Burlesque is an exaggerative performance that mixes theatrics and hypersexuality. These performances were set to ‘90s rock with high energy from the talents and the crowd. Body positivity and confidence radiated from the women who clearly rehearsed their routines, costume changes, and recovery from mishaps.
The performing acts consisted of VooDoo, Hellbilly Deluxe, Grunge Candy, Ammunition, Miss Nyxon, The Vaudettes. Many of the performances were introduced by the host, Candy Rock. She is also the Vocalist and manager of Grunge Candy, who was performing that night.
As the night grew darker, the crowd grew larger. Traditionally in the music industry, opening acts are less known compared to later acts. They have the toughest job of the evening, warming up the crowd who are largely there for someone else. Often opening acts are exposing themselves in order to create a following of their own and have the chance to demonstrate their talent. Even if the opening act has a successful performance, there is often a harsher critique due to their lack of popularity.
The selection of a performer’s portfolios are decided by the club’s management. They watch bands to decide who has honed their craft the best. This, in turn, has created a tendency for less experienced artists to perform first.
The Vaudettes opened the evening program as a group of empowering dancers, who showed no weakness in popularity or experience. Their body-positive performance was confident and sensual. It incorporated dynamic choreography for both solo and group dances, costume changes and props, along with a strong selection of songs ranging from Gina and the Eastern Block to Motley Crue. They may have been first in the lineup but their act was worth an early arrival.
Performances from the fabulous Ammunition, Miss Nyxon and The Vaudettes continued to propel the program into an exciting night. Commendably, with confidence these women performed a well-rehearsed routine and knew how to maintain the character and handle adversity.
Miss Nyxon overcame not one but two technical difficulties. Beginning her performance with sounds of cheering and music, the audio source stopped mid-act. She continued flawlessly through the absence of music. Urging crowd participation with her own energy, they began to cheer louder. Members of the Vaudettes watching from the crowd helped hype the energy of their fellow performers. With all of them cheering made, the absence of music seemed unimportant while the sound engineers quickly solved the hic-up.
This performer’s second recovery came from a costume malfunction. Nearing the end of her performance, her already burlesque costume became more revealing than expected. She flawlessly executed a coverup while continuing to dance the remainder of the song, gracefully leaving the stage to a supportive team.
I think this spoke wonders about the ladies. During a performance mishap, the talent is supposed to carry on without hesitation. A break from character to acknowledge the mistake only throws off the performer and those watching. By continuing her performance, the crowd was consistently engaged. By not expressing discomfort with a costume malfunction, the crowd didn’t show discomfort. These qualities demonstrate a well-rehearsed burlesque performer.
The setlists seemed mostly inspired by the early ’90s. This was not discouraging, however, because the setlists had some iconic songs and some for the fans of the Tribute Bands. The bands of the evening included Grunge Candy, Hellbilly Deluxe, and VooDoo.
One comment made by Candy Rock introduced an independent burlesque performer who was performing in between a music set. The host called this performance a “little appetizer.” I found this demeaning from performer to performer. In regard to a hypersexualized performance appetizer seems like an okay word to stay in theme and introduce talent that is not the main act. It is understood by the crowd that the main acts are musical performances because it is a rock bar. Many of the acts, however, incorporated these women dancing on stage alongside the band and they also performed as solo acts. This suggests that they are important to have for visual engagement for the crowd. The interludes between sets could have easily been treated as being its own performance. Instead of contributing to the character of the host, it sounded like personal spite. Considering the theme of the night’s success hinged on the execution of burlesque performance, treating an act as small seems disrespectful to the time and energy they put into being hired as talent.
Solo performer Ammunition had an exciting set. She has been performing risky acts that have led her career since 2006. Ammunition is an award-winning artist who performed at the Spring Awakening Music Festival from 2012 to 2016 and other impressive venues.
For this evening, sparks flew as her burlesque performance incorporated expressive dance with daring stunts. By rhythmically striking a power-saw against a metal plate on her body, she produces a shower of metal raspings that lights up the crowd.
Each act is different and entertaining from start to finish. For some performances, she uses feathers and fans for a soft and sensual act, only to reemerge on stage eating and breathing fire. Needless to say, Ammunition gave a jaw-dropping performance.
The fluidity of the performances was likely the most successful aspect of the show. Many group shows can face continuity issues in regard to sounds and aesthetic, but the talent selected for the evening all seemed to be experienced performers with profound professionalism. Soundchecks were subtle to the crowd demonstrating the speed and accuracy of the audio engineers of the evening. Sets of equipment and props were quickly removed with many helping hands. Seeing so little of the transitions expresses the collective investment in keeping the show going.
As a concert goer, it is great to show up and know that staff and talent are ready to give a nonstop performance.
The whole evening was entertaining. The mood of the venue and the theme of the performance was interesting. The talent connected with the crowd’s energy. The visual aesthetic and sound quality was reflective of a rock venue. The music honored rock from the entire ‘90s, making it relatable to rockers with different ages or levels of familiarity.
The variety of events hosted at Reggies Chicago Rock Bar are more than just burlesque. This is a venue that rock lovers should absolutely follow. If you don’t see an event that immediately engages your interest, it is likely that there is an upcoming event that will. This is a venue for veterans and newcomers of the rock scene, welcoming different crafts and walks of life. Reggies Chicago Rock Bar is definitely a venue to experience.
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