By, Gabriel Zucker

As each piece of clothing was taken off, the crowd cheered louder and louder in approval. Crumpled dollar bills were thrown at the stage from all angles. The glitter of rhinestones glittered as a skirt was thrown into the crowd. This was a night of self expression and art colliding on stage to a rapt audience.

According to Olivia Gambino, a local burlesque performer, burlesque is a form of adult entertainment that not only celebrates sexuality but also makes a satire of it.

“Burlesque is an art form that is inherently comical in its very performance. It is meant to delight, entice, entertain, but ultimately take the audience to a place where they can enjoy something sexy without pressure and anxiety,” Gambino said. “Neo-burlesque is defined by its choice of modern music and fashion. Furthermore, it incorporates more modern dance moves and contemporary reveals.”

On Friday, Sept. 27, new neo-burlesque group Renegade Revue held their second-ever performance, College Night, at the Siren’s Song Tavern in Old Town Eureka. After the audience filled the bar to the brim, they put on a show that had the crowd screaming and cheering all night. 

This was very different from their first performance at Crisp Lounge, where the crowd was sparse. The expectations going into the second show were not high, but to the surprise and joy of the production team and artists, people were still showing up during the second half of the show. Lotties Deluscious, one of the founders of Renegade Revue, was overwhelmed with the love and support she received during the show.

“We chose Siren’s Song as a location because it’s great in Old Town,” Deluscious said. “They’ve been nothing but supportive and they always have events here. And again, just having people come in, some people just like to go there anyway. I’m really excited about the turnout that we had and the huge support from the different artists, because they also brought in a lot of people too. It’s a great community.”

Renegade Revue started with an idea of community and teamwork. It is a collective of different burlesque artists, who have all come from different walks of life. They wanted to create something unique and special together.

“Renegade Revue started off with four girls who loved burlesque and decided that we wanted to come together and do it connected,” said Tinytr2ntup, an artist and producer for the show. “So instead of having one person be in charge and have a president, we all collectively decide who does this project, who can help with this. How we can help each other as a team, instead of being a hierarchy.”

Every artist who performed for College Night had a different story to tell. Each performance was unique and told something different. Napoleon Dynamite came alive when Dixon Lips came out dressed in a Vote 4 Pedro shirt and a curly wig, before throwing off the outfit to the joy of everyone in attendance. Felix Flex, another local artist, drank from a bottle of alcohol in the middle of their set. Baby Fontaine came out dressed as an old meager librarian before stripping down revealing the freak hidden underneath. Tinytr2ntup brought inspiration from a childhood photo with a close friend and the film Not Another Teen Movie, bringing these very different ideas into a beautiful choreographed dance. Each artist prepped individually for their own performance, using Renegade Revue for support if they needed anything.

“That’s the cool thing about burlesque, you are your own producer, choreographer, costume maker, [and] marketing team, so you’re always learning,” Tinytr2ntup said.

On top of setting up shows and rehearsing performances, Renegade Revue also needs to fundraise to make sure that they can pay the artists and put on a complete show. They try to meet up weekly, running ideas between each other in regards to finances, fundraising, and to check in if everyone needs help. They also plan meet-ups so all the girls can get to know each other on a more personal level. Recently, they ran a sensual flow dance class and are preparing for a Sex Toy 101 class in partnership with Peaches and Pearls.

For a lot of these artists, burlesque is just one of many performances and shows they do. Deluscious used to be in a local fire dancing troupe, and hopes to perform at different shows and festivals out of town. Tiny has been a dancer for most of her life, and is working on getting a masters in dance. She first stepped into burlesque in college, and when she moved to Humboldt County, she joined a burlesque boot camp, and the rest was history.

Gambino was also the MC for College Night. Unlike other artists, she uses her legal name. 

“I realized I did not need to make a distinction between my private life and stage life,” Gambino said. “I enjoy the holistic experience of being OG 24/7.” 

This was only her third time performing as an MC and it was very different from what she was used to. Trying to come up with the jokes was a journey in self-discovery.

“For some reason, I thought I was going to be very classy, very demure,” Gambino said. “But it turns out, I love dick and fart joke island a little too much. So, my jokes can be a little off color and a little raunchy, but I think it loosens up the crowd. Now that I’m older, I don’t look back at my cringe moments and let them consume my life.”

One thing all of these artists have in common is their shared love of performance and self love. Gambino emphasized the collaboration and reciprocity between the artist and the audience. Deluscious fell in love with burlesque because of the confidence it gives her.

“I’ve had a lot of body image issues, and so with burlesque, you kind of can’t really hide from your body, and so it’s given me a lot of empowerment and trust in my body,” Deluscious said. “It’s been really affirming as an artist and as a creative to be like, ‘Oh, I’m making the art. I’m sharing this art, and people actually like and appreciate this art that I’m sharing.’”

Renegade Revue is preparing for their next show, Kinktober, on October 18th at Siren’s Song. Their instagram is @renegaderevue, where they regularly update their followers on what projects they are working on.

Gabriel Zucker is a senior journalism student at Cal Poly Humboldt. He is the photo editor for The Lumberjack. He loves photojournalism and wants to use his platform as a journalist to give a voice to the voiceless.