22 November 2012 Dr Sketchy Set List

/ On the Beach: Ultra-sultry cheesecake shot of Bettie Page /

For this Dr Sketchy we were back at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern (for me, Dr Sketchy’s ideal venue and spiritual home, maybe because of its cabaret / musical hall history). It felt like a lifetime since the last Dr Sketchy (there wasn't one in October), and I was itching to get back behind the DJ booth. Sharp-tongued homme du monde Dusty Limits was on emcee duties, while the effervescent Frankie Von Flirter modelled and performed (she did two acts; for the last one, she reprised her drag king Top Gun act she’s done at a Dr Sketchy once before. It ends with Frankie stripped to her underwear delivering a blistering feminist diatribe, singing "I'm haemorrhaging from my vagina ..."). As an added bonus, we also had male model Grant, making his Dr Sketchy debut. And Dr Sketchy’s glamazonian promoter Clare Marie unveiled her new long black mane of hair extensions (very Morticia Addams).

For his poses, Grant wore a pristine vintage sailor uniform. It was undoubtedly the furthest thing from Grant’s mind, but of course the image of the uniformed sailor is one of the most potent and enduring homoerotic archetypes. With his sailor uniform, wavy quiff and rugged and chiselled Lil’ Abner profile Grant nicely evoked a whole range of Jean Genet-Querelle / Kenneth Anger-Fireworks / Pierre et Gilles fantasies in one package! Sadly, there were no photographers snapping pictures that night, but just for the hell of it here is some sailor-inspired vintage beefcake to give you a taste of what Grant looked like.

About 40% of the night’s set came via faithful Bitterness Personified reader Kevin Allman, a music journalist and DJ based in the steamy voodoo realm of New Orleans. In October 2012 he very kindly posted me a CD packed full of the kind of musical vintage sleaze that makes my toes curl in ecstasy:  volume six of Las Vegas Grind (the Las Vegas Grind series of obscure titty shakin’ rhythm and blues instrumentals is one of the bedrocks of my Dr Sketchy sets, and I didn’t have that volume) and a compilation of tunes from John Waters films.  The track “Egg Man” is essentially the dialogue of Edith Massey as Mama Edie (ranting about eggs! Eggs! Oh, god – EGGS!) from Water’s notorious 1972 celluloid atrocity Pink Flamingos sampled over a soundtrack of finger snapping 1950s jazz. The crowd looked pretty nonplussed by it, but it just may be my favourite songs of the moment! If any other Bitterness Personified readers would like to follow Kevin's generous example and send me some music, please be my guest!

"I'm starvin' to death for some eggs!" Edith Massey as Mama Edie in Pink Flamingos
 

Read Kevin’s excellent interview with one of my all-time punk heroines – Exene Cervenka, front woman of the mighty Los Angeles punk band X – here.

When Dusty made one of his forays into Beat poetry, I employed the city-of-night film noir big band Lydia Lunch instrumental “A Cruise to the Moon” (from her essential 1979 Queen of Siam album) as the background. The songs midway down the track list (from Mildred Bailey’s military-inspired ode to Sado-masochism “I’d Love to Take Orders from You” downward until “Boy from Ipanema” by Eartha Kitt), with yearning female vocalists channelling their inner hot pool of woman need, were the aural backdrop for Grant’s pose. The male and female duets (Shirley and Lee, Elvis and Ann-Margret, Serge and Brigitte) towards the end were when Grant and Frankie posed ensemble.

Black and Tan Fantasy - Duke Ellington
Ain't That Good? George Kelly and Orchestra
Egg Man - Edith Massey
Beaver Shot - The Hollywood Hurricanes
Endless Sleep - Jody Reynolds
Church Key - The Revels
Jim Dandy - Sara Lee & The Spades
Little Queenie - Bill Black Combo
Madness - The Rhythm Rockers
Tear Drops From My Eyes - Ruth Brown
Gettin' Plenty of Lovin' - Esquerita
Frenzy - The Hindus
Kansas City - Ann-Margret
It - The Regal-aires
Town without Pity - James Chance
I Was Born to Cry - Dion
Night Walk - The Swingers
Beat Generation - Mamie Van Doren
Viens danser le twist - Johnny Hallyday
Storm Warning - Mac Rebennack
Wimoweh - Yma Sumac
Coconut Water - Robert Mitchum
Safari - The El Capris
Night Scene - The Rumblers
Slow Walk - Sil Austin
Fever - The Delmonas
Trashcan - Ken Williams
Woo hoo - The Rock-A-Teens
Love Potion # 9 - Nancy Sit
La Valse des Si - Juliette Greco
Jaguar - The Jaguars
Little Miss Understood - Connie Stevens
The Sneak - The Towers
My Pussy Belongs to Daddy - Faye Richmonde
The Slouch - Ray Gee and His Orchestra
A Cruise to the Moon - Lydia Lunch
Welfare Cheese - Emanuel Laskey
Sick and Tired - Lula Reed
I Stubbed My Toe - Bryan "Legs" Walker
Wiped Out - The Escorts
I'd Love to Take Orders from You - Mildred Bailey
Hard Workin' Man - Captain Beefheart
Give Me the Man - Marlene Dietrich
I Want a Boy - Connie Russell with Orchestra
Boy from Ipanema - Eartha Kitt
Margaya - The Fender Four
How About It? Big Bo Thomas and The Arrows
Pass the Hatchet - Roger and The Gypsies
Roll with Me, Henry - Etta James
Crazy Vibrations - The Bikinis
The Flirt - Shirley and Lee
You're the Boss - Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret
Je t'aime, moi non plus ... Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot
Intoxica - The Revels
Hand-Clapping Time - The Fabulous Raiders
Club Delight - Jack Jolly
Suey - Jayne Mansfield
Ring of Fire - The Earls of Suave