photos by Chris La Putt, words by Andrew Frisicano

I'm pretty sure Davila 666, a six-piece rock outfit from Puerto Rico, don't have much stake in Mexican-American holidays. Regardless they obliged the attendees of Vice's Cinco de Mayo party/concert/open-bar on Thursday night, with a set of Spanish-language rock to the largely-inebriated-on-free-tequila crowd. The sound wasn't that great, and the guys do much better when not penned in by the ropes of a wrestling ring, but still, the band managed a set similar to their Cake Shop performance a few weeks back: all of the fast songs and very little filler. The live show doesn't sound much like their excellent new album, Tan Bajo, but that's ok, both are worth hearing.

After their gear got cleared away Silverio, a Mexican comedian/musician with a moptop and a shimmery suit, regaled the crowd with bawdy humor (also in Spanish), before introducing a pair of luchadores. The wrestlers grappled for a few minutes, drinks flying at them through the air, before spilling into the crowd to search for the culprits. Afterwards, they posed for pictures.

More pictures from the night, and some videos too, below...

Continue reading "Davila 666, Silverio, wrestlers & tequila (last night's Vice Cinco de Mayo party @ Good Units in pics & video)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Between matches we were treated to a bit of burlesque, all of it wonderful, but I am proud to say that at the end of the day the girls from New York outshone their Los Angeles counterparts with audacity and grit.

During the intermission, L.A.-based Lux LaCroix--who had earlier in the evening made her star turn doing a reversedrag striptease as a Purple Rain-era Prince -- told me, "New York burlesque is more performance art, L.A. is more rockabilly."

This made little sense coming from a girl sporting a Zorro moustache. Fortunately, in this case, the "performance art" was local gogo heroes the Wau Wau Sisters, whose trapeze act set to a Guns 'N Roses song featured not only death-defying stunts but also a giant baggie filled with drugs. Never let it be said that I am not an appreciator of fine art.

By the end of the night there had been enough high-flying grappling, giant Day-Glo insects, booby-shaking and gender-bending to satisfy even purists like myself, and certainly the curiosity seekers had something to text each other about on their way back to the L train. [NY Press]

LA's Lucha VaVOOM visited Webster Hall last Sunday (9/20). More pictures from the show, below...

Continue reading "Lucha VaVOOM (wrestling, comedy & burlesque) came to Webster Hall in NYC - pics (NSFW)"

Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy

Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats. It's good vs. evil played out in a one fall, Lucha Libre exhibition-style match for maximum enjoyment.

In between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound us; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we've got it all.

But wait there's more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Jeffrey Ross, Chris Hardwick and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming "Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!

Lucha VaVOOM sounds like a good time, and Lucha VaVOOM visits NYC Sunday night (9/20). The show is at Webster Hall and tickets are still available, and I have two pairs of them to giveaway. The flyer with more details and the exact lineup, and a promo video, are below...

Continue reading "Lucha VaVOOM is Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy. Sunday night it's @ Webster Hall (win tix) "