 A Roaring Time
in Brooklyn
February is the time of year when a true Cad breaks out of the midwinter doldrums and heads out on the town with their honey or to meet someone new. Keeping this mission statement in mind, I ventured to Williamsburg on St. Valentine’s Day to check out what was brewing at the 5th annual Gemini & Scorpio Roaring Twentieth Valentine’s Day party. The show was billed as 'a trip through the 20th century and beyond through live music, film, burlesque, dance and performance art.' What drew me here, despite a slight cold and a sick Mrs. Fredo stuck on the couch, was Cad favorite Michael Arenella. I know what you are thinking – the Cad must really love dapper Mike! This is the second New York event installment featuring the big band leader and 1920s jazz. Well, truth be told, Arenella and the boys put on a great show; he is a consummate gentleman, showman, and friend. Further, he surrounds himself with people who likewise produce off the beaten path avant garde shows which are reminiscent of French Salons… but with a twist.
This time around, the Dreamland Orchestra teamed up with single and loving it bad girls Gemini and Scorpio to celebrate their fifth anniversary St. Valentine’s Day party in style. The scene of the crime was Galapagos Art Space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
As I entered the former warehouse turned bar/lounge/performance space, I was greeted by a heavenly woman in belly dancer attire juggling fire sticks. What an entrance! Next up came a mime which seemed odd so I decided to proceed to the bar. Trench coat checked, I was stopped by a waitress wearing a pillbox hat and fishnet veil who insisted I have a complimentary glass of champagne that actually turned out to be a sparkling vodka concoction called Nuovo. After washing it down, I grabbed a proper drink – a scotch on the rocks at the bar. After checking out the front room, which was filling up fast, I headed to the Back Room where Arenella and company were setting up for the show.
 The guests came in vintage. Some in 1920s fashions. There were fedoras, feathered boas, news boy caps, ladies in flapper dresses, and Edith Piaf wigs. Others opted for a gothic looks: capes were a-plenty as were corsets. Me, I was casual but not in the Liverpool estates sporty hooligan wedge haircut way. No, think Orson Wells. For the occasion I dusted off my vintage Paul Stewart beige glen plaid wool suit. I wore it with a blue and white Bengal strip shirt with oxford collar, cuffs, braces, brown wingtips, and topped it off with a silk ascot - maroon with yellow polka dots and brown felt Fedora.
Showtime:
Sxip Shirley kicked it off with a showing of the first silent film, George Méliès' A Trip To The Moon. This part of the evening represented the early part of the century. The eclectic Shirley, a real life composer of circus music (yes circus music!) had his Luminescent Ochrestrii and some other friends performing music of the time while the crowd enjoyed the film that was a trip indeed.
Next up was Michael Arenella & his Dreamland Orchestra. The full 11-piece orchestra kicked it up with roaring 1920s standards and hot jazz. The floor was quickly filled with dancers trying their best Charleston and suddenly it was standing room only. There were swing dancers, newbies, loungers, drunks, Williamsburg hipsters, friggin vampires, singles, couples - it seemed the whole place had the spirit of the music. Meanwhile, the Dreamland dandies played the part of time machine.
I must have missed the 1930s, but that’s nothing new. In the other room, Nat & Kat, also known as song bird Natalie Wilson and pianist Kat Sherell, performed the best of the Depression decade’s Broadway standards. Luckily, I arrived back in the front room before the crowds realized it and secured a great spot for burlesque vixen Veronica Varlow’s tribute to the 1940s. Veronica’s Bettie Page looks, flawless attention to the craft, and precision with a pair of tire sized feathers hit the spot. Plus those gambs could fill those Cuban–heeled stockings like nobodies business (gulp)!
School Night:
Unfortunately, it was a school night, so I had to leave before the 1950s could get into full swing but from what I saw of burlesque doll Molly Crabapple made me want to get detention.
As I left, the emcees Gemini and Scorpio, by now on stage and throwing back the free bubbly, demanded some answers from the increasingly packed club.
“How many of you are here solo?” – a dull roar. “How many of you are here as a couple?” – a louder roar. “How many of you are looking for a threesome?” – Galapagos erupted!
A Speakeasy Night:
The following Saturday, I took the advice of one of the Gemini & Scorpio partygoers and decided to check out what was behind the red door at Shanghai Mermaid. The scuttlebutt was there is a monthly speakeasy cabaret night that one could only find by visiting the website. Others spoke in sotto voce about a party at an underground location reminiscent of old New York where flappers and their Jay Gatsby playthings enjoyed cocktails, burlesque, and 1920s music. No, Arenella was not playing here too though this would have been right up his Tin Pan Alley. I really cannot say much more, the bearded lady would kill me, but check out the website periodically if you are game for an old fashioned good time.
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