Yard Dogs Road Show & Lady Rizo at Highline Ballroom

Last night I saw the Yard Dogs Road Show at Highline Ballroom. The Yard Dogs describe themselves as "a hobo cabaret, a living patchwork of vaudeville and rock and roll." They put on a hell of a show, filled with wild costumed characters, a trio of lovely burlesque dancers, elaborate props and feats of daring.

While made up of talented singers and musicians, their songs are really inextricable from the performances, so the video above is definitely the best introduction – and a strong incentive to catch one of the remaining shows on their fall tour:

Sept 28 / Lexington, KY / Buster's Billiards and Backroom
Sept 29 / Nashville, TN / Exit/In
Sept 30 / Knoxville, TN / Bijou Theatre
Oct 1 / Asheville, NC / Orange Peel
Oct 2 / Charlotte, NC / Neighborhood Theatre
Oct 3 / Atlanta, GA / Masquerade
Oct 6 / New Orleans, LA / Republic New Orleans
Oct 8 / Denver, CO / Ogden Theatre
Oct 31 / Petulama, CA / Mystic Theatre
Nov 4 / Bend, OR / Domino Room
Nov 5 / Eugene, OR / WOW Hall
Nov 6 / Portland, OR / Wonder Ballroom
Nov 7 / Seattle, WA / Triple Door
Nov 26 / San Francisco, CA / The Independent
Nov 27 / San Francisco, CA / The Independent

The opening act was Lady Rizo, a local "comedienne and chanteuse" who performs popular songs in a cabaret/burlesque style. She has a serious voice, is backed by a serious band, and is also seriously funny. Once again, the visual is necessary to the experience, so I recommend her renditions of "Halo" and "Blame It On the Alcohol", courtesy of YouTube.

Lady Rizo has a monthly residency at Joe's Pub and is also playing the Highline again in late October accompanied by her burlesque troupe, the Assettes:

Oct 9 / Click and Drag 3.2: Age of Aquarius / Santos Party House
Oct 22 / Joe's Pub
Oct 30 / Highline Ballroom (with the Assettes)
Nov 19 / Joe's Pub