8 Days A Week By Jim Macnie December 15, 2002 The Providence PhoenixHave a sexy Christmas - That's what SCTV told us one holiday season long ago. Los Straitjackets, the instrumental band that conflates surf-rock and kitsch-pop while sporting Mexican wrestling masks, plan to do just that. Their Rock'n' Roll X-mas party finds them in cahoots with The World Famous Pontani Sisters, a trio of dancers and provocateurs who are central to the red-hot neo-burlesque movement that's emerging in clubs right now. They're glamour mavens with a retro-Rockettes vibe - elaborate headdresses, glitzy costumes, and decadent dance numbers define their artistic persona. "I love over-the-top performers," Angie Pontani told Culturalsociety.org. "Elvis is a huge influence in my life: the jumpsuits, the kung fu dance moves, the hips and shoe polish hair - that's entertainment! I grew up watching MGM Technicolor musicals and my father, too is an influence. He's an artistic genius and sees beauty in everything. He taught me to look at things in different ways. I mean, who says just because a fruit basket is a fruit basket you can't wear it on your head?"
|