It’s that time of the year again for our favorite “Nerdi-gras” known as Comic-con, which can only mean a few things: super-heroes, sci-fi, and… the “SuicideGirls”?
Usually the “punk/alternative” pin-up girl group isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think Comic-con, but they had definitely put their stamp on this years events!
Having a friend in the organization I heard rumors a while back that the SuicideGirls were thinking about bringing their “BLACKHEART BURLESQUE” show down to San Diego for Comic-con weekend, and my first reply was, “I don’t think this is the crowd for that kind of hijinks.” I’m happy to eat my words and be proved very wrong when on Saturday, July 26th; the House of Blues was filled to capacity with screaming fans from all walks of “geek-life” and beyond!
QUICK REWIND…
For those who don’t know, the SuicideGirls organization was started by Sean Suhl and Selena Mooney (aka “Missy Suicide“) way back in 2001 as a small website for pin-up models with more of a hard-rock meets girl-next-door edge to them. It has since turned in million-dollar branding machine that has been featured in everything from TMZ and Rolling Stone, to even the LA Times with a roster of over 2700 models!
Blackheart is a show that was started about 10 years ago and has had many line-up changes and routines since it begun till now. Today the group is led by the veteran stage performer, Sunny, who has only been a SuicideGirl as of January of this year, and she is backed up by other veteran dancers: Brixie, Paper Mache (you read that right), Jennings, Lyric, along with several new girls to round out the cast.
NOW BACK TO THE SHOW
Having a love of geek-culture and cosplay, many of the models have had a presence at various conventions over the years to promote their latest photo-book or comic. But this year, many fans at San Diego Comic-con were offered something “extra” in the form of a newly revitalized midnight burlesque show!
Having gotten to the House of Blues a little early I was bit skeptical about the turn-out considering the show started so late and after a full day of walking around Comic-con, it might have seemed like a rough time for most fans to make it. And it didn’t help that when I arrived there wasn’t many people inside. Then as I stepped out back to get my press badge I see a line that stretched 2 blocks of anxious fans ready to have their worlds rocked for the night!
Once we were allowed in, the girls wasted no time and started the show with an amazing, high energy dance number that got the crowd cheering and screaming. After-which, our host/dancer “Sunny” greeted us, encouraging us to participate in the festivities with pictures and twitter post, and then treated us to a little “impromptu” tease! From there it was full steam ahead. It being a special Comic-con show, there was tons of cosplay from Star Wars to Donnie Darko, and then of course there was the blazing hot “superhero” routine, and all I have to say about that is… I think “Wonder Woman” gained a whole new fan base that night!
All of routines were very sexy and well choreographed! One lucky guy from the audience was even able to be a part of their chair routine (although, something tells me he wasn’t chosen “randomly”). Everyone I spoke with after the show had no problem recalling their favorite number, including myself (go Gryffindor)!
The SuicideGirls are known most for their diversity. Not just looks and onstage personas, but even their lifestyle, and the crowd that was gathered there was a reflection of that. All walks of life were represented there from singles, couples, gay, straight, and everything in between! And there was one thing we could all agree on: this was the sexiest show happening in San Diego!
I had a chance to talk with Sunny the next day at the SuicideGirls booth at the convention center and she had this to say about the future of the Blackheart show:
“When we put this show together we had just hired a few new girls and we only had nine days to learn all of our routines! I’m really happy to say that none of the girls disappointed, and we even found a few stand-outs among them!”
Of course she wouldn’t tell me who those “stand-outs” were but that didn’t stop from trying to pry it out of her! She went on to say:
“This show was test to see how we all worked together, so guys were the first to see it. We’ll be starting our U.S. tour around October of this year. We will be doing a few shows with Godsmack which is pretty exciting and I’m looking very forward to that!
The show was just around 90 minutes long, but it’s the most gratifying 90 minutes you will ever spend! Of all the parties I went to at Comic-con, including the “invite only”, celebrity filled Entertainment Weekly party, by far, the Blackheart was literally the hottest ticket in town!
The tour dates are up on http://blackheartburlesque.com/ and I recommend buying them as early as you possibly can because they will sell out in short amount of time! You can also checkout the SuicideGirls website at https://suicidegirls.com/ if you want to know more about the gorgeous gals in the show! Who knows, you might even be inclined to subscribe to it for access to exclusive photos and videos.