ASHLAND —
A burlesque act scheduled to perform on the street in downtown Ashland as part of September’s First Friday ArtWalk was shut down before it could begin on Friday night.
Joe Waugh, owner of Banshees on 16th Street, said he was visited by Ashland Main Street Executive Director Danny Craig a few hours before a scheduled show by Deadly Sins Burlesque and was told the dancers would not be allowed to perform because someone had watched a video of the troupe that included a topless performance. Waugh said he assured Craig, and later members of the Ashland Police Department, the Ashland show was not planned with nudity and then offered to have the performers, who traveled from Lexington, wear full clothing or even “long underwear,” but was told he might face legal action if the dancers performed outside his shop. Waugh’s supporters reported a series of visits by city police and fire officials in the hours preceding the show.
Standing in the audience of more than 200 people waiting for the show to begin shortly after sunset, Craig verified the burlesque show was deemed “just too risky” for an Ashland audience, even with Waugh’s no-nudity assurance.
“We just couldn’t risk it,” Craig repeated before adding he did not feel the large and enthusiastic crowd that gathered was a reason to second guess the decision.
Aware of the city’s action before their arrival, members of Tinderbox Circus Sideshow were unable to resist a few jokes about the city’s police department and any threat of public nudity. Male performers Barely Legal Ben and Mason Doodle the Human Noodle, who removed their shirts as part of the traditional sideshow act which included fire breathing and other acts designed to shock an audience, made a show of wearing pasties on their chests to make sure no laws were broken.
The crowd for the monthly downtown celebration of art, music and entertainment was otherwise relatively light considering the nearly ideal weather, although several remarked about the quality and quantity of antique and custom cars and motorcycles lined up along Winchester Avenue.
Songwriter/guitarist/singer Cat Cirner entertained dozens at a time with solo sets and duets before bringing her full band, Cat and the K9s, on stage for a full-tilt acoustic barrage that had people dancing on the corner a block away. Solo performer Louis McNeal played from the middle of a circle of roman-style columns at the newly renovated CCC Trail Cafe inside the Pendleton Art Center. Musicians Bill Stambaugh and Ben Slutz teamed up as BS2 inside Sincerely Yours Consignment, as eight young ladies took turns modeling dresses in the shop’s window and artist Briann Stubblefield climbed a ladder to put paint on a portrait of the shop’s owners.
The evening concluded with a selection of original songs, and more popular tunes, performed by Ben Robinette and Matt Marinchick as part of the Ashland Main Street Songwriters Showcase.
TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2651.
Local News
A show-stopping Friday
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