Jazz Or Burlesque? Burlesque Or Jazz? A Couple Ideas For Your Weekend Nights!

There are a couple larger pieces coming, as well as a few more recommendations for things this weekend, but I wanted to let you all know about a couple of really cool things happening this weekend.

1. Have you ever been to a Burlesque show? We, somehow have never been! That is about to change, though, because Memphis has a thriving Burlesque scene, and the lovely women of Sock It To Me Burlesque have a special show planned this Saturday night at Newby's. Here's their description:

Cupid is at it again, and love is in the air. Lady Doo Moi, Kissame Suga, Madonna Putana and Chloe du Bois return to the stage to bring you an evening of dance, romance and missing pants! Enjoy the songs, shakes and shimmies of the ladies of Sock It To Me Burlesque, as well as special guests, stunning newcomer Kitty Wompas, and the operatic stylings of Mr. Tony Lamoreaux of TN Vaudeville Review. Prepare for an evening of fun filled acts, classic burlesque and music to delight. SITM Burlesque presents......Cupid's Revenge! We will also start the evening off right with the music of the incomparable Memphis local, Michaela Caitlin!

Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased here ahead of time. Purchasing tickets ahead of time is a good thing, by the way. 9:00 PM.

2. If jazz and great music in general are more your thing, you should be at the Mollie Fontaine Lounge on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. While the great Ms. Di Anne Price is taking some time off, a few local musicians are doing their best to keep the fires burning until she gets back, and it starts on Thursdays with the amazing chanteuse Jen Hall, a new arrival on the Memphis music scene. Accompanied by Adam Levin on the piano, she'll sing the standards you love and maybe some you don't know yet! 9:00 PM.

Then on Friday and Saturday nights it's time for Lee Taylor, who has become a staple on the Memphis music scene in a short time, with her unique brand of jazz, blues, R&B and whatever else strikes her fancy that night. She likes to sing "Nature Boy," and if you come on Saturday night, you'll get to hear her trademark version, a combination effort between Ms. Taylor and one of her musical collaborators and pianists, who also happens to be your very own Effin' Memphis editor. In fact, on Saturday night, we'll be focusing the show on our own work. You see, Lee is a singer/songwriter, and Evan the Piano Person is also a singer/songwriter. (We are shamelessly self-promoting right now, shamelessly, shamelessly, shamelessly.) So, if you've been wanting to hear a few of the songs on Evan's forthcoming record... Lee: 8:30 on Friday. Lee & Evan: 8:30 on Saturday.

Okay, we are done self-promoting now. Any and all of those three events will be sure to get you in the proper mood for Valentine's Day, the proper mood being that it's an insipid holiday regardless of whether or not you're coupled, but you should at least have some fun with it if it insists on existing. The ladies of Sock It To Me, Jen Hall, Lee Taylor and I look forward to seeing all of you!