If we've seemed a bit quiet since our return from SF, here's why - one of our two giant shows a year is just 3 weeks away. This year's edition is at least one third longer and more complex than last year's LOW LIFE @ HOWL! our first "howlucination".

Here's the dish and we cant wait to see you in the park on September 7.

HOWL! FESTIVAL AND THE JACKIE FACTORY PRESENT
HOWLUCINATION '08:"LOW LIFE CITY"
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 7
5-7 PM, FREE ADMISSION
TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK, NYC
mothernyc.com/lowlife
howlfestival.com

CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF BRILLIANT BOWERY PERFORMANCE

On September 7, JACKIE FACTORY producers CHI CHI VALENTI and JOHNNY DYNELL will present their second annual HOWLUCINATION to crown this year's HOWL! FESTIVAL. HOWLUCINATION is a new spectacle created by the JACKIE FACTORY each year as an evening event for HOWL!. The new LOW LIFE CITY follows on the heels of their first HOWLUCINATION at HOWL! - last year's scandalous LOW LIFE.

LOW LIFE CITY is a two hour theatrical showcasing the East Village - and especially, The Bowery, in a lavishly costumed production starring dozens of downtown's finest. A time-travelling, bawdy and witty cavalcade of talent, this show is not recommended for children!

This year's superb cast is now complete - MCs PAUL ALEXANDER (of "The Ones") and HATTIE HATHAWAY, Bowery Belle DEBBIE HARRY, icon JOEY ARIAS with master puppeteer BASIL TWIST, burlesque supernovas DIRTY MARTINI, MISS DELIRIUM TREMENS and JONNY PORKPIE and NASTY CANASTA of PINCHBOTTOM BURLESQUE, GOON SQUAD featuring MISS GUY, drag divinity SWEETIE, butoh ensemble VANGELINE THEATER, WORLD FAMOUS *BOB*, LOGO song star ADAM JOSEPH as The Irish Tenor, slapstick duo DUELLING BANKHEADS, sister act ACID BETTY and EPIPHANY, sensationalist AMBER RAY, Bay Area artiste FAUXNIQUE, BLACKLIPS eminence POISON EVE, members of THE PIXIE HARLOTS, and New Bowery treasures TRINA ROSE, HEATHER LITTEER aka JESSICA RABBIT DOMINATION and TIGGER!

For pictures from last years edition visit LOW LIFE @ HOWL 2007 on FLICKR


HOWLUCINATION '08: LOW LIFE CITY was inspired by the seminal LUC SANTE book "LOW LIFE: The Lures and Snares of Old New York." It continues a body of work born at JACKIE 60 a decade ago, with past editions in London, Minneapolis and of course, last year's HOWL! For the show's producers, East Village residents for over two decades, this annual show is a Valentine to the neighborhood's past, present and future stars.

Dress Up and join us in the park! Wear NYC demimonde evening glamour (1860-2010), Gangs of New York, Victorian/Edwardian rags, newsboy caps, B'hoy for Butch Women, corsets and vintage lingerie, Bowery Belle ringlets, Opium Den loungewear, Vampyre of Gotham, black parasols, Bowery Twink, velvet, 19th century Clownwear, Top Hats or Bowery Punk.

THE HOWL! FESTIVAL was named in honor of the groundbreaking poem by ALLEN GINSBERG and began in 2002. HOWL celebrates the East Village and Lower East Side's role as a preeminent locus of culture, with signature events like the group reading of HOWL and ART AROUND THE PARK. Centered in Tompkins Square Park, the festival attracts more than 100,000 visitors bringing to the clubs, galleries, parks, streets, and theaters of Manhattan's Lower East Side.

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Gorgeous!

I hope you're back for it.

I'm back and front for it, Daddy.

Yeah!
Welcome home!

WHO IS ON WHEN

Here's the show order for LOW LIFE CITY tomorrow so you can be sure to catch all your favorite stars! We must go up at 5 PM in order to finish the show in natural light, so dont be late!

1) Welcome to Low Life City - Amber Ray, Pixie Harlots, Tigger!, Patrick Bruce, Trina Rose and the Jackie 60 MCs Chi Chi, Paul and Hattie - 5 PM

2) Heather Litteer
3) Joey Arias and Basil Twist
4) Dirty Martini
5) Pinchbottom Burlesque
6) Adam Joseph
7) Acid Betty and Epiphany
8) World Famous Bob
9) Vangeline Theater
10) Voltaire
11) Fauxnique
12) Tigger!
13) Duelling Bankheads
14) Delirium Tremens
15) Poison Eve and Company

(If you dont see someone listed, they have either dropped out of the show or are grounded due to weather elsewhere..)

Great show.
Perfect weather for an afternoon of low life in the park.
Fun to see:
At least 20 kids under twelve sitting close to the stage none of whose parents yanked them away when it got naughty. Some covering of eyes but by the children themselves, and only one bewildering bit when the Bankheads worked the word "dildo" in and got a great round of laughter from everyone over 15.

Choice: Asian man asking 8 year old son, "Do you think it is a girl or boy? Girl or boy?" 8 year old son, "MAN!"

Audience hits, if you go by the aplauseometer:
Joey,Dirty,Adam,Vangeline; but everyone got great response and there were no acts the audience found slow. Also, Tigger got a great response for the crude nudity and his use of the word fuck was the only time I saw three people get offended and leave -they shoulda stayed for the live penise whose charm consisted of how unimpressive it was.

The audience was in awe of these visuals: Amber Ray, BOB, Basil's creations.

I give pointed thanks to all the
neo-burlesquers in the show. You all are the people who are really making the performance scene very vibrant when straight 'performance art' has evaporated so much during a chilly ultra-conservative era.

Since I saw Maki, Tina and Ahrlene and many other camerajunkies in the crowd I expect we'll get some choice photos here soon.

Generally the audience was kind of weird. A lot of the new neighborhood people who seemed to go through the whole show kind of unsure about what the whole thing was.

Also, for the producers, in the audience I overheard one of the festival organizers make an unflattering comment about the show. I know nothing of the production politics you have to deal with but somewhere in the hierarchy they are being condescending to Low Life.

For me and hundreds of others it was a beautiful day in the park, you could smell the Bowery and it was a day when the Lower East Side was in the least amount of danger of being cleaned up than it has been in quite some time!

THANK YOU EVERYONE

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Empress, Daddy, Hattie and everyone involved in putting on Low Life City, a huge Thank you!

What an amazing scene it was out there in the park yesterday. Truly gorgeous. I cannot imagine the work that went into this (though you made it look effortless) and also, it is really amazing (and generous) that an event of this caliber was free to the public. Talk about a Valentine.

Congratulations Empress and Daddy! It was a great day to see some spectacular numbers. All the numbers were amazing, I specially liked Poison Eve's insane closing number ...although I was wondering how far Eve would go when he brought out those 2 chickens. I was half expecting Eve to take a bite out of one of them for a truly Blacklips effect!

well i had a blast. i looked like the monopoly man, or mister peanut, and the weather was gorgeous so i didn't sweat my eyebrows off. it was such fun to hang with what seemed like everyone i know, and meet some legends i always wanted to. thanks for the invite, and i hope to do something with you all again!

oh, and yes, this is my first post.

OH! i hope people start putting pictures up- because we took so many!

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I got most of Joey and Basil's act on video with my little camera--hence not very good quality visually, but you can hear Joey's voice quite well.
Joey and Basil at Low Life City

Thank you so-- much for such a gorgeous decadent Sunday evening! It's been a while that I felt like I'm in NY...
Pixies in backstage..

Arias with a Twist in backstage..

What a fun show!
Everyone was great.

I've got some fun backstage shots.
I'll start posting them as soon as I can.
(It's Fashion Week)

A couple of Harlots (Pixie Harlots)
PamperZ & Darrell

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My beautiful girl, Dirty Martini

Doesn't get much better than Dirty Martini.

A couple of bums.
Robert Flowryder & Matthew Benedict