jimmy james - legend or has-been? so last night i was out with my old friend, singer/songwriter, eric himan and new friend, photographer, john arsenault. after a wonderful dinner at don giovanni's here in the city - we headed to xes on 24th street. xes is going to be the venue to house the monday party I'll be hosting starting on april 4th. there we met up with friend and author of 'metrosexual guide to style', michael flocker and his friend from san francisco - corey.
we laughed as contestants were eliminated from american idol - sorry kids - you won't be missed - and sipped on our amstel lights and various other beverages. in walks in james beltzer and deryck todd (promoters for galore) and introductions happened. michael and corey shortly thereafter excused themselves and made way to the door.
just at about that time - music starts and a shrill nelly voice comes booming over the microphone, 'the show will begin in about 5 minutes - grab a seat and a drink.' - so we did. we (eric, john and i) propped ourselves by the bar and waited patiently for what would come next.
turns out - each wednesday at about 10:00PM - the (once) legendary jimmy james (pictured at top) tests out his material in a workshop format at xes. i was excited - i've never met nor have i ever seen jimmy james perform. i know him only from his photos taken by the fabulous (may he rest in peace) kevyn aucoin.
for those who know - jimmy james is/was one of the most successful illusionists of the late 80s and 90s. he frequently appeared on talk shows as the one and only marilyn monroe. (i personally thought he looked a bit like anna nichole smith - but beautiful nonetheless). what makes jimmy unique is that he's fully mastered not only the legendary looks of the women he portrays - but he also has mastered their mannerisms and most impressively - their voices. you see - jimmy james performs live music as the entertainers he impersonates.
last night we were treated with a little eartha kitt, patsy cline, nancy sinatra, a sonny and cher duet (where jimmy sang both parts - try that one for talent kids), tina turner, some judy and an interesting marilyn tribute where jimmy played a dvd on the screens in the bar with all images and video on the dvd were him as marilyn (sorry honey but this really showed your age - geraldo, marsha warfield, and sally jesse's talk shows were cancelled years ago).
i was sad to learn that jimmy no longer 'dresses' in these illusions (which made sense as he has gained a few pounds since his heyday - guess that month on the zone diet didn't work too well) but still - i was absolutely captivated by what this man could do with his voice. jimmy was decked out in 'face' and a black blouse and pants - short 'crew' cut and a red tie (think gothic biker lesbian).
the biggest let down of the evening had to be the crowd. lots of drunk straight women talking over the singing and the even drunker chelsea boys heckling the entertainer who was just trying to do his show. (note to the fags - keep your drunk friends at home if they can't handle themselves in public - no one likes a messy fish - or gym bunny for that matter!) the heckling got out of control - which led jimmy to resort to what anyone with a microphone would do - heckle back. we decided that we had had enough by this point and politely said good-bye to friends and headed out into the 20 degree evening.
i was proud to see the bit of the show i saw. very interesting concept. i hope to see more of it in the future. for entertainment value - i was entertained. will i go back - doubt it - but you never know when I may suddenly appear and catch your show - now do ya? um hummm - gals at roscoe's in chicago - you know what i'm talking about!
haha - until next time kids!
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