Story by Logan Corsaut, Live Music Reporter
Photos by Andrew Mather, Editor-in-Chief/Photographer

Under blue and purple stage lights, a haze of fragrance, and a pulse of pounding base, the SuicideGirls took the stage at The Truman, for a night of humor, nerd pride, and sexy showmanship. After some pre-show stand up and a brief introduction, the girls performed three distinct blocks of acts, consisting of pastiches of–and homages to–such staples of pop culture as Adventure Time, Stranger Things, 2011 crime thriller film Drive, Sailor Moon, Rick and Morty, The Little Mermaid, Star Trek (which involved a clever use of illuminated hoops to emulate transporter beams), and Star Wars, the Blackheart Burlesque signature act, which involves gem-studded Stormtrooper helmets in a dance fit for an Imperial officer.
At the conclusion of each “block,” the hostess called for audience participation; first, a couple–man and woman–was invited onto the stage to engage in a lap dance competition with one of the girls, which resulted in an unfortunate, cringe-inducing wardrobe mishap (alcohol and tight pants is a potent mixture!). The second act was a test of a male guest’s reading comprehension and attention span: the hostess handed him a passage, and he was to read and remember details from the passage for a quiz to be given at the end of the act. The catch, however, is that one of the girls would be on stage with him, distracting him. Ultimately, the chap failed the quiz, but with encouragement from the audience, he won the award (a 1-year subscription to suicidegirls.com) anyways. The third and final audience-participation segment, near the very end of the show, was a dance competition between any and every female woman in the audience who wanted to participate. 31 women in total joined the SuicideGirls on stage and engaged in the dancing, and the winner was a woman who out of nowhere busted out that most reliable of crowd-pleasers–the Worm!
All in all, the SuicideGirls Blackheart Burlesque tour was an enjoyable affair, gleaning laughs, hollers, and groans from an engaged audience.

Click to enlarge photos!
All photos © Andrew Mather