THUNDER from DOWN UNDER
Las Vegas, NV * July,
2010 * As reviewed by Zaina
Hart
Part of the WOW - Wiggles of the West
Belly Dance Competition Experience
Wiggles of the West took on a whole new meaning for yours
truly this year with the addition of some interesting weather. That’s right, with tickets to the
Thunder from Down Under show at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino my weather
report for the weekend is one of “Heat, Tans, Oil, and Sweat”, or you could
call it “Zaina’s Truly Most Excellent Adventure”.
Stepping back a few
years!
In 1979, I was the first customer in line at “Cheeks”; then
a new nightclub in town with an all male review (aka: yes, bottom line (pun
intended) a male strip club). Of
course, I was under-age at the time (giggle - not), but that didn’t stop me
from standing for four long hours under the Phoenix sun for my place
up-front-and-center at the main stage.
Interestingly, not a seasoned dancer myself at
that time, I didn’t care much if the performers were good dancers and I
am not afraid to admit it. But as
luck would have it, the shows at that particular venue were of a very high
caliber (that was an unintentional pun).
The shows were always quality; with excellent choreography and each with
a theme. Dancers spent three
fourths of their time on stage with their clothes on; their themes sometimes
comedic, sometimes a little more serious, but always done well.
Within a few months other clubs moved into the area and
sadly the caliber of shows in those clubs did not compare. There were seldom, choreographed skits,
or theatrics of any kind, but rather, just jump on the stage and strip within
the first five minutes. I lost
interest after the first “other” club in which they went totally nude (which I
never went to, and maybe I am odd, but I just was not interested in Mitch
Miller’s “Follow the Bouncing Ball” (that seriously aged me). And after a few more trips to the
original club, found Cheeks was trying to keep up with the “other” by way of
getting down to that g-string a little too quickly.
Over the years I have been to a few shows that came to town (both in Phoenix, and since I moved to Vancouver, Washington - you know, that little city over the river from Portland, OR),
Chippendale's of course and a few that were local. While the Chippy dancers did stay clothed a tad longer, the
point always seemed to be - to get to the end result - and quickly and then hop out there for
tips and more tips. One show the
dancers even hit the stage in thong only – right up front (intended pun). Not my cup of highball (again, intended)! Call me “difficult” or “picky” or just
a woman who wants to be romanced first, at least a little bit and with some quality. And for Goddesses sake, do NOT try to lock your lips on mine after sliding them across the lips of the other 100 women who tipped you before me - - blecht! - Full body shiver.
But :) Back to the present!
Standing in line at the Excalibur outside the Thunder Stage
with giggling girls and multiple bachelorette parties, watching the
pre-show-antics was interesting.
As I traveled in my mind’s eye to 1979, I saw myself - - yeah, much the
same way. Giggling, eager and
goofy. While it may be a little
hard to believe, Nafiah, Nora, Masala, Kellie Marie and I were the more subdued
group of ladies waiting patiently to get in the door, and I know that is a hard
one for you to believe - especially those of you who know us. Don’t think for a second however that we were not
awaiting entrance impatiently or with a lack of eagerness. I am just comparing then to now and
wondering if it is maturity or just a lack of alcoholic beverage (bravery
booster) that kept the giggling and silliness at bay. Or maybe we were just saving our energy for the next couple of hours.
The Weather Report!
After handing over our tickets we made our way to our
assigned seats, which were crammed together to get the best use of space. While I didn’t do an actual count or
even ask, it appears the intimate theater seats 500 plus screaming, giggling
women (and a few brave men). The
process of getting everyone seated took 15 to 20 minutes, a good time to go get
a drink, which we did not do, more interested in the pending show than alcohol
(no wait staff – I am guessing it would be hard to wait the tables with guys
often jumping one table top to the other). Think Safety first. Side Note: I prefer to remember every minute of seeing my men, (or just men) scantily and titillatingly clad - my lack of desire for alcohol - no brain numbing if there is flesh to be seen, I would like to be able to recount every moment.
Then, lights go down, smoke machine starts spewing and we
are off to see the Wizard/s.
Marcus Deegan
Emcee and Dancer
And instigator of all kinds of "trouble"
(I mean that in a good way)
The Emcee for the evening is as well one of the Thunder
Men. He is charming, attractive
(okay okay – he is downright HOT) and his commentary is at times witty, often
lapsing into just plain raunchy - he actually directed the audience to be
equally “free” to express. This
was the dancer’s second show of the evening and believe me, it did not show
because there was no lack of Thunder in the room.
Marcus
(see that bad boy gleam in his eyes
the gleam women SO LOVE?)
Side Note: I had a bit
of anxiety going to the show because I clearly have high expectations (the dancer in me? - that's my story), and more
admittedly at “other” shows I have attended a tipping segment that often went
on and on was always included. I
just did not want to participate in or even witness that nor the lingering side
effects of the process – too much touchy feely. If you have ever been to these shows and seen women tip as
they are being kissed by a stripper who just prior had kissed 30 or so other
women - - well I again just say “blech”. So as I sat in my seat anticipating the
first act of the evening it was with that bit of anxiety.
As the Thunder Men moved from one act to the next with short
excursions into the audience on tables, through the room and on the occasional
lap, there were no lingering kisses and NO TIPPING. It was interesting to watch how these gorgeous, charming,
talented and barely clad men were able to work the room, giving an occasional
peck on the cheek or forehead while being “felt up” by a horde of screaming,
frantic women (yes the felt up thing happened but in brief (pun) as these guys
are constantly on the go - very classy, totally impressive and certainly
entertaining. So, the
pre-show “no, I don’t want to tip” anxiety was gone after the first act. What was left was total enjoyment of
the show (and the dancers).
Leigh Hawira (WOW - and can he dance!)
The show includes themes from all walks of life, past and present; from
businessmen and construction workers, to cowboys and pirates and even the “boy
next door”. Each act starting off
with a group and then trickling down to one highlighted performer who finished
the act with several more songs and of course with little left to our
imaginations, which for most of us were and still are quite vivid.
Highlights In Brief:
(pun intended)
The Clan: The opening of the show had all of the
guys entering the stage, one at a time, and with each the audience was whipped
into a frenzy the likes of which I hadn’t seen since 1979 – it was near
deafening. I enjoyed watching the
performers laugh as the audience screamed louder and louder – their enjoyment
of the craziness almost equal to that of the “frenzied audience” – well
probably not really, but none-the-less, they seemed to get a kick out of the
near riot. And I would be remiss
if I didn’t include the work that must go into keeping these screaming,
well-defined bodies in tip – top shape. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ But I digress.
Donovan Lewis (Pirate - Yarrrrrr)
We were treated first to a swashbuckling – sweat-producing
(ours) peg legged (not really) full on Pirate, long hair and all. Now I love Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow –
but he is deft of the muscle group this fellow was packing. So the Pirate is up there in favorites
for the night.
The end of most of the acts included a participant from the
audience and of course each woman in the room envisioned themselves in the HOT
seat. I was amazed at how well
orchestrated / choreographed even this segment was. Once with a woman standing a couple of feet away from the
performer while another performer from across the stage sent an ottoman across
the stage hitting the back of her legs, landing her square on it, prone - -
dancer over the top of her.
Leigh
There is that saying that what happens in Las Vegas, stays
in Las Vegas, hence the reason I am not going to share with you the Emcee’s
specific antics of choosing a woman to participate on stage doing - - - right,
almost went there. Also should not
share that one of the dancers took Glute Crunches to a whole new place, ON A
LADDER – impressive. And then
there was the thing Nafiah and Nora – well, no, can’t share that either. Oh, and Masala and Kellie Marie - - oh
my, you should have seen them when the Fireman needed help with his, uhm, yeah,
boots. Well, I was the only one of
our group who really was behaving.
(Heh, this is my adventure to tell!)
Kelly Marie, Nora, Nafiah, Zaina and Masala - outside the Excalibur after the show
Now, in hindsight (pun), I wish we had stuck around for a
photo with the gang after wards.
The cost is not all that extreme, based on being able to look at a
picture of you with your favorite guy or the entire gang, sitting close, lying
down in laps, or even sitting pristinely if that is your choice (ohhh, heck
no). These charmers are even
willing to personalize the photo for you and lovingly pose with you, giving a
one-fingered salute to the camera, of course for the benefit of any past
boyfriends/husbands you want to gently tell how you really feel.
All said and done, this is the best Male Revue I have been
to – and I have been to, well, I have gone to some, a few, okay, okay - - “I
have been to a lot” and I’m Just Sayin, THUNDER from DOWN UNDER, is by far the best
yet.
