Where
We Went & Nightlife Picks
This city's fixation with strippers, shimmy-shakin' go-go-goners
and all things semi-seedy has gotten out of hand. Sometimes
it seems like no one will so much as hoist a cocktail unless
some pretty thang is peeling it off nearby.
Even so, few people do the whole sex-kitten-of-the-night
thing with panache, any hint of something more than
here-are-my-fishnets, here-is-my-bra.
But: Kitty Diggins. Diggins is full-tilt gonzo for
the bump'n'grind born when '50s highway kitsch came to know
early '60s rockadelia--in the Biblical sense. As DJ, she
spins obscure platters. As choreographer/impresaria, she
puts together hi-octane displays of cabaret decadence. As
a self-taught student of trash glam, she's bound for early
June's national gathering of go-go stars past and present
at Exotic World, the bizarro monument to the Culture
deep in the California desert between LA and LV.
Sunday night, Diggins and co-conspirators entertain the
Sex Industry Night crowd at Dante's, one of the shinier
apples to drop from Portland's Naughty Tree.Nightcrawler
cornered this feral Kitty for some of the ol' Q&A.
Max T. Malt: Why go-go, for God's sake?
KITTY DIGGINS: As long as I can remember, I've loved dancing
and outrageous costumes. I used to practice kicking off
my boots when I was, like, 3. I was really inspired by Goldie
Hawn on Laugh-In. I saw her, all painted up and psychedelic,
and thought, 'Wow, I want to be just like her.'
Then, when the whole grunge thing happened, that was it
for me and contemporary music. I stopped buying new records
and just started collecting the weirdest records I could
find.
So what goes into a Kitty Diggins show, then?
KITTY: I try to make it an experience, so when people step
into the room, it's like they're stepping into an old '50s
or '60s burlesque club.
And how do you make that happen?
KITTY: Sometimes I'll have a visual image of something--a
dance, a scene, something. And I'll imagine the music that
I want, and then it's a challenge to find it.
I'm obsessed by fairy tales and mythology, so I like to
create an atmosphere of mystery. People these days want
to debunk everything, want to know all the secrets. I think
you don't need to know everything. You don't have to open
every door. At the same time, I try to keep my tongue firmly
planted in cheek about everything I do.
SIN w/Kitty Diggins & Her Dancers
Dante's Caffe Italiano
1 SW 3rd Ave.,
226-6630
10 pm Sunday, May 7
Cover
CINCO DE MAYO EVENTS
Sabor Latino, Palante, La Comparsita
Viscount Ballroom
722 E Burnside St.,
233-7855
6 pm Friday, May 5
$7
Fernando y Los Cochinos,
Los Mex Pistols,
Los Chili Peppers
Satyricon
125 NW 6th Ave.,
243-2380
10 pm Friday, May 5
$7
NIGHTLIFE EVENTS
Regular Beatings
Art, music, hula hoops, etc.
Viscount Ballroom
722 E Burnside St.,
233-7855
11:30 pm Saturday, May 6
Cover
COMEDY LAFFZ
Bob Zany
Does the name not say it all?
Harvey's Comedy Club
436 NW Glisan St.,
241-0338
8 pm Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday; 8 and 10:30
pm Friday; 6:30, 9 and 11:30 pm Saturday, May 3-7
$8-$10
ComedySportz
X-treme Komedy Kombat!
1963 NW Kearney St., 236-8888
9 pm Friday, 7:30 and 9:30 pm Saturday, May 5-6
$10,
$9 w/ can of food for the Oregon Food Bank
Ron Osborne's Church of Comedy
Anoit thy flock, foul priest!
White Eagle
826 N Russell St.,
282-6810
8:30 pm Sunday,
May 7
Free.
Floyd J. Phillips
Bring the ha-ha.
Jimmy Mak's
300 NW 10th Ave.,
295-6542
9 pm Monday, May 8
$3
Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python
One funny frigging Englishman, yessirree.
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
1037 SW Broadway,
796-9293
8 pm Tuesday, May 9
$37.50-$55
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Willamette Week | originally
published April 26,
2000
|
