By Jennifer Kilbourne

Brian Rea is coauthor of The Modern Bartender’s Guide, creator of thebarkeeper.com, and former curator of what he says is the world’s largest collection of books about cocktails. On Saturday, July 24, he’ll host the seminar, “Bartending in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s (The Dark Ages)” (10:30 a.m., Royal Sonesta Hotel, tickets $40 in advance; $45 at the door) at Tales of the Cocktail. The self-described “Curmudgeon Loungasauraus,” spoke to Gambit about his life in bars past and present.

Gambit: How did you begin bartending?

Rea: I was married to a lady whose father sold bars and grills. The father of my first wife, I should say.

Gambit: How many wives have you had?

Rea: Three. I would’ve had more but I was working nights.

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By Jennifer Kilbourne

After long days filled with seminars, tastings and events, Tales of the Cocktail attendees and the public can retire to late-night sessions at Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta, 300 Bourbon St., 553-2270). Called Tales after Dark, the series unites jazz styles with appropriate drinks each night. Liquor sponsors will set up special bars offering the evening’s featured drinks. The soirees last from midnight until 2 a.m.

Wednesday is “Havana Nights” featuring Nueva Tierra playing Cuban jazz and Bacardi rum cocktails.

Thursday is “Keeping it Rio,” with Chegadao playing Brazilian samba-funk with special guests David Pulphus, Paul Thibodeaux and Alexey Marti. Caipirinhas (cachaca sugarcane liquor mixed with sugar and lime) and batidas (frozen drinks of cachaca mixed with sugar and fruit juice) will be served.

Friday brings the “Sounds of Storyville” with Burlesque Ballroom starring Trixie Minx performing to the music of Jayna Morgan and the Sazerac Sunrise Band. Sidecars (cognac, orange liqueur and lemon juice) and French 75’s (cognac, champagne, lemon juice and sugar) are featured.

Saturday is “Shake Your Brass.” Irvin Mayfield leads the Hot 8 Brass Band as they celebrate contemporary local with Benchmark Bourbon and beer.

The queen of new burlesque, Dita Von Teese has always worked controversy in her favor, making a name for herself as a dancer, fetish model and spouse of Marilyn Manson. She’s attained enough celebrity cachet to perform ever more infrequently while focusing more on endorsements — for Wonderbra, lingerie lines and now a high profile promotion with Cointreau, which is sponsoring two shows (9 p.m. Mon.-Tue., July 19-20; House of Blues) at the opening of Tales of the Cocktail.

Gambit: You say you don’t draw a distinction between burlesque and stripping, but you’re the queen of burlesque. What’s essential for an act to be considered burlesque?

Dita: For me, and according to factual history, American burlesque queens always incorporated a striptease and a degree of nudity. It upsets me that with the commercialization of burlesque, the strip is being removed. Burlesque never was just about retro dancing girls, or just about the “tease” or seduction. It was about a reveal, and always, always, always incorporated striptease. The greatest star of all, Gypsy Rose Lee, who went on to make films, write books and become a part of mainstream Hollywood took her clothes off to music onstage, and it sickens me to see modern Hollywood trying to rewrite history and make striptease a bad word, all the while using the term burlesque.

It’s my personal mission to explain to people what burlesque was, and to remind people that striptease, when done properly, can be beautiful, creative and legitimately entertaining. Those of us that know and understand the true history of burlesque know that the art is in performing something as risque as a strip, yet somehow maintaining elegance and sophistication. Perhaps that is too much for some people to grasp, or too much trouble to go to in order to achieve this effect — so they just take away the strip, maybe add some feathers and sequins, and talk about how “classy” they are compared to strippers. A great burlesque act is more than merely striptease, but it’s also much more than merely corsets, feathers and red lipstick, and there is no need to explain to people how “classy” you are because you don’t strip. My intention is to be true to the history of burlesque in America, and to honor the legends of burlesque that came way before me by keeping the striptease in burlesque.

Continued after the jump…

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Dita Von Teese is the queen of new burlesque, a former fetish model, former spouse of Marilyn Manson and a representative for Cointreau, which is sponsoring two nights of performances (9 p.m. Monday-Tuesday, June 19-20 at the House of Blues) at Tales of the Cocktail. Dita is expected to do the Opium Den act previewed above (as well as the cocktail glass act after the jump, which is harder to see given all the Cointreau promotional shots.) Dita’s act has become so lavish with sets, costumes and effects that she doesn’t perform very often. The spectacle requires a Las Vegas style treatment and venue — and a sponsor with deep pockets. Dita has performed in New Orleans a couple of times since headlining the Tease-O-Rama burlesque festival nearly 10 years ago. She did a show with the now defunct Shim Sham Revue. Here she is working with Bustout Burlesque but is bringing several performers from Los Angeles (they appear in the video after the jump). She now splits time between Los Angeles and Paris and spends more time promoting lines of lingerie and and liquor than performing. She has a book of beauty tips slated to come out later this year.

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