Chomping On The Bits
Venmo handles at Crystal BallroomShow Me Your Bits 2 earns an extra life at Crystal Ballroom on Sunday, 3 March 2024.
Minusworld and Battlemode pour it on during a night dedicated to, you know, taking it off.
Ever been to a burlesque show?
It’s a kind of variety show with roots that go way back to the days before video games, a pre-historic era! There might be a little comedy, or a little striptease, or both elements smashed together.
You can find local events like regular Punk Rockin’ and Pastie Poppin’ at the Midway Cafe in the Hump Day Listings every month. There are so many burlesque shows around town, you could fill an entire events calendar with stripteases alone, if you wanted.
The format is surprisingly enduring, perhaps owing to many ways in which comedy and sex can be repackaged and reimagined for every generation. Case in point: Show Me Your Bits 2, the second coming of a burlesque showcase that starred performers who cosplay as video game (or video game-adjacent) characters at the Crystal Ballroom on Sunday night.
Why the hell not?
To really drive home the theme, two chiptune-influenced bands were brought in to give the dancers a little extra time to powder their Hoo Hoos and Wang Doodles in the green room. Thanks, Minusworld and Battlemode!
Battlemode
Battlemode performed as a newly-revamped trio. In addition to Biff & Astro, a third musician rocked a guitar. Was the 8-bit outfit feeling pangs of envy, surrounded on all sides by a music scene dominated by guitars? The band’s devotion to non-traditional pop music-making devices like Gameboys, electric violins, and synth flute is part of what makes the magic. But an extra layer of guitar could thicken the stew…
And it’s hard to take your eyes off the massive keytar fronting Minusworld. What a behemoth! There used to be an anti-drug campaign on TV with the tagline: “Nobody ever says they want to be a drug dealer when they grow up.” Seems like you could say the same thing about growing up to be a keytar player. That’s no slight to keytars or keytar players because, if we’re being honest, drugs are great! Television is full of lies.
Minusworld
As for the stripteasers, how much skin was flashed on stage?
Not much to be honest. Modern burlesque is often about more than just sex – it’s a platform for the creativity of the performer. There were skits, dramas, lip synched monologues, hoops, poles, feats of athleticism, and all manner of choreography.
Dollar bills and Venmo handles too.
Photo Gallery
