A September Evening at the Phantom Cabaret!

September so far is warm and stuffy, and while the days are still like we're in the depths of summer, at least the nights are longer and more relaxed.

Tonight, we're indulging in an evening out at that cabaret in town. We haven't been in for a while; they haven't booked any acts that appeal to us, and that one band we saw there was a disaster. But we're assured by the manager that they're getting things back on track. After a light supper, we gather around a comfortable table, and the manager sends out a complimentary bottle of cava, so we're all in a good mood.

And the act is great! Just the thing for a meditative September night....



We have a great time, and promise to return soon....

A Phantom Tango for July

Feeling raffish and naughty, we're off to that cabaret in town where the music is quirky and the atmosphere conducive to diablerie.

We've been there enough times that we're greeted at the door and shown our favorite table. Bottles of ice-cold cava and an array of light refreshments are brought to the table: moules mariniere, olives, gravlax, cheeses, cups of delicate consomme, chartucerie, and salads, followed by fruits and sherbets. It's a grand evening together, all in our best bohemian finery, Viola in a vintage gown, May and James both in tuxedos, Ramsey opting for a smoking jacket, and Laura in a fetching ensemble she made herself. You're in something classy and fun yourself. We're the envy of the club, with other patrons casting glances our way as if they wished they were at our table.

And then, the band comes on, and the music starts.



Couples take to the floor; tangos ensue. You dance with James, and with May. Cava flows. We make friends with some of the other patrons.

We'll be late for work tomorrow, that's for sure. When it's all over, you're reluctant to even glance at your watch, and are wondering about calling in sick....

At the Phantom Cabaret: The Tiger Lillies are in Town!

It's opening night of the new cabaret in town, Le Cafe Fantomas! We're given the royal treatment as we go in, with a few knowing winks from the staff. It turns out the owner knows who we are, and welcomes us to what he's sure will be a favorite spot.

The drinks are good, the decor grand, the chandeliers lit, and our bohemian finery fits in very well. We have one of the best tables in the house as the Tiger Lillies take the stage!



The Tiger Lillies are a London-based trio famed for their modern cabaret style, a sort of Berthold Brecht in the 21st century thing, and for songs that push the envelope, attacking society's sacred cows and reveling in bestiality, blasphemy, and death. The song above is from their Grammy-nominated album The Gorey End, which was a series of unpublished Edward Gorey works set to music. Although the Gorey estate isn't fond of it, it's still a fabulous album.

The evening winds to a close, we applaud the band, pay our bar tabs, and bid good evening to the staff after sharing a glass of champagne with the owner, promising to be back soon. Le Cafe Fantomas will be our new home away from home!

At the Phantom Cabaret: A Requiem

We're gathered in the coolest cabaret in town...at least in our opinion! Drinks are served, conversation is flowing. And then the lights dim and the Slomski Brothers take the stage!

I took this myself at a show last fall.

And we spend a fun evening of great musicianship, humor, and sheer enjoyment.



And now for the requiem part:  Phil Slomski, the burly one with the Amish beard, passed away this past Saturday, a few days after his 44th birthday. It's a loss that hit like a ton of bricks, even though he really wasn't a close friend. It was just so sudden (a heart attack followed by a series of strokes), and he was so young. It always seems so damned wrong when someone younger than yourself passes away.

At any rate, he was a great musician and comedian, and an intensely likable person. I know many people who have worked with him, and many who wanted to, and his loss is a blow to the local burlesque/vaudeville community. You are missed, Phil; save us all a seat at the bar....

Cabaret Macabre!

I'm being a bit of an old poop this Halloween. I've been experiencing some foot pain (I probably need to replace my inserts), and getting around without a car has occasionally been a freakin' annoyance. (I should add that some of my friends have really come through for me, and for that and them, I am extremely grateful.) We had a dreadful cold snap today, with record lows, sleet and snow making dicey traveling, and a freeze expected in the small hours tonight. Also a bit of personal drama (not going into detail, except to say that someone's been crossed off the Christmas card list, at least for the time being) has left me in a sour mood. So rather than be a killjoy at parties, I've been going to the movies and the theater, and actually having a good time.

Tonight I hit Happenstance Theater's delightful "Cabaret Macabre," the second of what will hopefully be an annual event. There's no real plot here; it's a series of sketches, all influenced by sources as scattered as Edward Gorey, Tom Waits, true crimes, Tom Lehrer, Goethe, and others. There is a loose connection around the concept of a school for "Precocious Twins" but that's merely an excuse for some loosely-connected skits. As there always is, there's parts that aren't as funny as others (a repeated gag seems like a bad idea), and sometimes the audience was chuckling at stuff that was really meant to be serious (a dramatic reading of "The Erl-King", which I saw coming almost at once), but overall it was a grand experience. There's skits, readings, and musical interludes, including Schubert's "Du Bist Die Ruh" on cello, piano, and musical saw.

Mark Jaster, one of the two brains behind Happenstance, is an amazing performer, communicating volumes with a single gesture or small change of expression. Sabrina Mandell, the other brain, combines an appealing goofiness with sharp-as-a-tack expressions. The rest of the cast is quite good, and Matthew Pauli was memorable when he strutted onstage, shirtless, as "Shears the Groundskeeper." (Alas, it's only one brief bit. Yes, I'm being a toad.) Karen Hansen's original music livens up the proceedings. It's also one of those shows that makes you appreciate good lighting design.

It's all great fun, and rekindles my yearning for a full-time cabaret. One of my many recurring pipe-dreams (at least, one of those I can comfortably share on this blog) is having my own nightclub/cabaret...although I'm undecided if I'd call it "Le Cafe Fantomas" or "Das Kabarett Mabuse."

"Cabaret Macabre" plays at Round House Theatre's Silver Spring facility, right on Colesville Road next to the AFI Silver. It plays Thursday through Sunday till Nov. 13, with a show on Halloween night as well. Tickets are $15 and worth every penny. See it, folks, this is Dust & Corruption delirium.

Death is a Cabaret

A friend just purchased some postcards from this establishment, the Cabaret du Néant, which I had never heard of before tonight!

The Cabaret du Néant (meaning "Cabaret of Nothingness/Death") was a ghost show cabaret. It featured morbid and macabre theme throughout, with patrons sitting at coffin-shaped tables, and a show where a living person was seemingly transformed into a skeleton. (It's an old illusion frequently used at carnivals in the U.S., usually with a mad scientist turning a beautiful woman into a gorilla or something similar.)

Anyway, when it's a dreary Saturday night and I'm at home because there's damned little going on that interests me, and I'm trying to watch my pennies anyway, the idea of the perfect watering hole for all the gentleman adventurers and lady adventuresses who follow this blog, a place to gather and joke and laugh and enjoy a macabre show, sounds delightful. Somewhere in a parallel universe we're all happily gathered there...

Here's a video honoring the cabaret...