Buddy Beaverhausen Says Farewell to Holly Woodlawn

Holly Woodlawn left The Factory last night. She was 69. (Ahem!)

Ironically, perhaps, I was at John Waters' live show at City Winery around the time of her passing and he paid tribute, calling one of our early transgender stars a hero. Caitlyn Jenner owes a huge debt to Holly but probably doesn't know it.

Holly came from Miami F.L.A.
Hitch-hiked her way across the   U.S.A.Plucked her eyebrows on the wayShaved her legs and then he was a sheShe said, hey babe, take a walk on the wild side,Said, hey honey, take a walk on the wild side.
So sang Lou Reed as a tribute to Woodlawn.

I first saw Holly in Women in Revolt with Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling when I was going to University of Colorado in Boulder. I was impressed by all three Warhol "superstars," each with very distinct personalities. Then I caught up with Warhol's Trash, in which she easily upstaged lifeless co-star Joe Dallesandro. Home from school, I went with friends in NJ to see the camp cult classic Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers. It was on a double bill with Mick Jagger in Performance. Ah, those were the days when cult cinema was truly alive with passion and innovation!

Holly had been ill for some time. Still, I am stunned and saddened by the Puerto Rican movie goddess' passing.

Read Holly's brilliant and funny A Low Life in High Heels, and celebrate her life! RIP, Holly Woodlawn.

On the Town with Buddy Beaverhausen: a John Waters Christmas

John Waters again proved what a witty and clever raconteur he is, bringing his hour-long stand-up comedy act to the stage at City Winery in NYC.

A tall, slim figure in a garish holiday suit. wearing his trademark pencil-thin mustache, he played to a very appreciative packed house, regaling us with his sharp, off- beat monologue. There were no videos or music; just Mr Waters on-stage with his comic patter.

I wanted an image of him onstage, so I took a photo, thinking no one would ever notice, even though we'd been notified that pictures and videos were strictly forbidden. I figured that, in the spotlight, the director would never see that little, old flash from my cell phone. Guess what? He did.

As we were right aside the stage in front seats, he looked at me and firmly reminded me of the club's policy. Mr Waters asks us to unleash our inner rebels and iconoclasts. But, obviously, not when he's performing. I was secretly pleased to have unleashed his inner diva, but let a word to the wise be sufficient. Upon reflection, though, I thought it might be fun to proudly say I got 86'd at a John Waters show. After all, what could possibly offend him? Well, now I've tested the Waters so that we all know.

However, he must have cast of spell. The photo never came out after all that trouble.

Kevin at City Winery 

The director was back with his updated obsessions of celebrity worship, sex, movies, music, politics and pop culture, making the season bright... and gay! The show, entitled "A John Waters Christmas: Holier and Dirtier" was also funnier.

The q&a with the audience at the end of the show displayed John's ability to think on his feet and still be brilliant. He payed homage to Andy Warhol, an obvious influence, when he talked about Holly Woodlawn, who died this night in one of the show's rare touching moments.

When asked if he thought any of today's politicians had ever seen Pink Flamingos, he quipped: "Bill Clinton definitely. Hillary probably not." Then he moved on to mention what a great First Lady Bill would make. "Like our new Mamie Eisenhower!" Advice to today's rioters: "I'm with you but don't burn down your own neighborhoods! Burn down a country club!"

You gotta love this guy!

The Rose of Spanish Harlem: Ronnie Spector at City Winery

My autographed photo ready for framing

I've seen Ronnie Spector on many occasions but never has she put on a show as fantastic as the one she did tonight at the City Winery NYC.  She now has the rights to sing the entire Ronettes songbook, which has not always been the case. Apparently, ex-husband Phil Spector struck a deal with her which, I assume, came with the stipulation that she stop bad-mouthing him on stage because, oddly, his name never came up once during this performance.

With an expert band of five and two back-up singers (who also played additional guitar and tambourine, man), Ronnie entered smiling and shaking her shelf; one that Bette Midler would envy. Ms S was otherwise trim, slim and still girlishly coquettish, working her peplum (over tight black slacks) like a skirt. Yesterday was her birthday. She is 72 and looks 25 years younger.

Her voice has lost none of its adolescent timbre as obvious on her first song, "Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love?" She began her patter by telling us that she, her sister Estelle and cousin Nedra began as models doing the hula in the window of midtown's Hawaii Kai.

Ronnie and Matt at stage door.

Her set included the Carole King/ Gerry Goffin "Is This What I Get for Loving You, Baby?", "Do I Love You?", a sensational version of "Paradise", the Phil Spector arrangement for "Chapel of Love", "Walking in the Rain" and the wonderful "The Best Part of Breaking Up".

Rare clips and photos of The Ronettes were shared on the big-screen monitors to each side of the stage. The videos of her on Dick Clark's American Bandstand and Shindig were priceless.



She first finished off with The Rosettes' # 1 hit, "Be My Baby" after her version of Johnny Thunder's "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory". She told us she had a residency in a NJ gay bar when Thunder saw her perform, introduced himself and later wrote wrote this song for her. By the way, I saw Ronnie turn straight men gay tonight as they broke out into fabulous hand gesturing any drag queen would envy, listening to their siren sing.

Ronnie mistily dedicated her closing number, "You Came, You Saw, You Conquered" to her late sister, Estelle. Ronnie tours the UK in November and returns to City Winery NYC to do her Christmas shows this year. Reserve your seats early. Guaranteed to sell out.

John Waters Speaks, on Gay Pride Eve

Tonight was the second of John Waters' two shows at NYC's City Winery. It seemed the perfect entertainment for Gay Pride Eve.

Director Waters (no relation to Crystal or Ethel) is a great monologist who can beguile a crowd, generating spontaneous laughter and applause, simply by talking for a full 90 minutes followed by a generous Q & A.

He appeared in a fire-engine red suit, red sneakers, a white shirt and black tie to discuss his favorite obsessions: bouffants, bears (the gay kind), kinky sex, Baltimore, gay marriage, movies that are in exquisitely questionable taste (his own and by others), Justin Bieber, Chaz Bono and Pia Zadora. He also praised actress Mink Stole, part of his repertoire, for her singing (favorably comparing her to Julie London) as well as John Travolta as Edna Turnblad in the movie musical "Hairspray," and said the scariest person he ever worked with was Susan Tyrell.

Waters' performance was well scripted and beautifully rendered to a full house of fans. There seemed to be no stage direction, however, as Mr Waters positioned himself too often where he could only be partially seen by various parts of the audience.

John Waters has been described as a "raconteur." But he is much more than that. He is a full-fledged comic with a famously offbeat sense of humor that hep audiences can really dig. His show is a true, modern happening. And what better groove to be into, in NYC, on the night before Pride?

My friends from Connecticut were wild about the act (as was I) and about the chic yet warm ambiance of City Winery. Afterwards, we moved on to a roadhouse-styled Prince St. bar, across the street from my first NYC apartment. (Tub in the kitchen.) At the bar, we grandly entertained ourselves. Gay Pride weekend kicked off in high style and a euphoria of good feelings.

Have a happy to all!

Below, Mink Stole sings "Female Trouble" live:

Janis Ian Unplugged in New York City

Janis Ian took to the stage at City Winery, in NYC, for a night of quiet drama and understated humor last night.  The show was the rain date (make that ungodly, torrential rain date) for the show originally scheduled the night Hurricane Sandy struck NYC.

Walking onstage to thunderous applause, the droll Ms Ian grinned and quipped, "Well, this is certainly different from the way things were on the night of Sandy!" Yes, indeed; this time there was a quiet storm onstage!

Janis opened with "Through the Years," which set the theme for a mature performer re-interpreting decades of her music while looking ahead to the future of her artistry.  She shone with a new song toward the end of her act ("I'm Still Standing Here") promising a new album.

Ms Ian was simply and yet, paradoxically, theatrically real. Unplugged, on stage alone with just a guitar that she used for bravado effect or strummed for tranquil beauty, she was the epitome of folk music's revenge upon the tackiness and cacophony of today's radio's pop tunes.

"I was a has-been at 16 and it's been uphill ever since," the singer said sardonically by way of introducing "Society's Child" early in the set. That song, which launched her to fame, was about a high school girl's interracial date, and was a controversial radio single back in 1965. Produced by George "Shadow" Morton of Shangri-Las fame, that song may have posited Janis as a one-hit wonder had she not rallied back in 1975 with her smash, Grammy Award-winning "At Seventeen."

During her Winery show, Janis sauntered through a litany of her tunes, alternately sensitive and glib, ever the name-dropping raconteur, doing her impersonations of Cleo Lane, Joan Baez, Bette Midler and others as she detailed her times in their company. Her soft yet strong vocals beautifully put "Some People's Lives" (recorded by the Divine Miss M) across to the night's full house, reclaiming the number she co-wrote, with trademark sensitivity.

One of Janis' diva moments during this very unpretentious outing was her wardrobe change during intermission. Janis Ian (nee Janis Fink from New Jersey) formally closed with her best-known "At Seventeen," bringing the crowd to its collective feet; then rebounded with "I'm Still Standing Here," her encore, and an affirmative number that had her largely more mature audience empathetic and captivated. It proved to be an anthem of sorts last night, rallying another standing O.

But the ultimate diva move was singing "Jesse" (Janis' song that Roberta Flack immortalized) as her second encore and closing number. Totally unplugged, sitting at the edge of the stage without a microphone, daring us to hear a pin drop, she was at her dramatic best.

Most divas would end by belting out an anthem to close the show. Janis rules by her plain, guileless clarity and integrity. Unplugged suits her.

Beyond the Beehive with Ronnie Spector

The stretch of Varick Street in Soho that leads to the entranceway to the Holland Tunnel is highly trafficked yet dreary. Yet it is here that City Winery is located, like an expansive suburban New Jersey supper club come to Manhattan. Any new venue for quality music in the city is welcome, however, and City Winery's staff was attentive and their pino grigio flavorful.

Baby boomers filled said space last Friday night, and denhim vests and crimped hair ruled once more. It was the fourth time that rock'n'roll icon Ronnie Spector took to the stage to present her new act, Beyond the Beehive and it was very warmly received by a houseful of fans. It will return to City Winery Saturday, August 18 and Saturday, September 15.

The year was 2003 and I was leaving the Beacon Theater after an Ellen Degeneres show. Spotting Ronnie seated beside husband, Jonathan Greenfield, I went over to say hello, tell her how much I enjoyed her performances and congratulate her on her having, just that week, won the protracted lawsuit against Phil Spector over royalties owed. I told her the news made me happy.

"You're happy?" Ronnie squealed in her best baby-doll, New Yawk voice. "I'm very happy!" I left the theater smiling, thinking Ronnie deserved all the happiness she could gather.

For the large part, Beyond the Beehive is the saga of two Spectors: both Ronnie and her ex, Phil, bound by love (or was it merely lust and mutual ambition?), then contempt. And by a bizarre sado-masochism spanning decades after their marriage, with Phil determined to squash any attempt Ronnie made to revive her career, and by his mad desire to delete her pop music legacy.

This is an oft told tale, largely told by Ronnie herself, as if hoping, understandably, to one day exorcise part of her past. Large parts of BtB echo moments from her 1989 autobio,  Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts and Madness. However, Phil Spector rose once again, not from a grave but from behind bars, to place an injunction against his ex-wife from being able to sing two of her most famous songs in the show: "Be My Baby" and "Baby, I Love You."

"Phil Spector is a bitter, spiteful man," Ronnie said as the following image showed up on the large screens to either side of the stage:



Many in the audience, including myself, came to this show in the name of diva worship, and the Bad Girl of Rock & Roll is nothing if not a diva. "It feels so good to let everything out in front of everybody, it's like therapy" she gushed at one point of the show. Of Mr Spector, she quipped "I should have shot him! I just didn't know where the guns were."

The 90-minute psychodrama told in monologues and songs features a live band, and two screens to either side of the stage that display projected stills and videos from the singer's private collection. These lovingly and vividly annotate her life story.

Ronnie's scripted schpiel is both hilarious and harrowing, though her line readings are awkward at times and lack polish at this point in the show's development. I don't expect she'll be asked to perform "The Vagina Monologues" any time soon. However, Ronnie is not simply acting a part when she cries, coos and laughs. She is reliving it all, the pain and the glory of her life, in a very heartfelt and moving manner. The Agony & the Ecstasy of Ronnie Spector! So, script be damned! Everybody loves a survivor story, and everybody loves Ms Spector.

Projected photos of Ronnie with her friends -- the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Cher, Joey Ramone -- are a time capsule of a rock & roll Camelot; a time that's gone forever.

At one point, Ronnie said that '60s producers wanted their girl groups to be "little Stepford singers."  But now she's Beyond the Beehive and she's here to prove it.

The rock & roll icon does a number of Spector songs ("The Best Part of Breaking Up," "Walking in the Rain"); covers her ealier Colpix years ("He Did It," written by Jackie DeShannon); does an electrifying cover of "Time Is on My Side;" a superb job singing "Try Some, Buy Some," written for her by George Harrison and released as a 45 on Apple records. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood," written for her by Billy Joel, was for an uncompleted album for Columbia. And her newest efforts have a sharp, modern edge to them; specifically, "She Talks to Rainbows" by Joey Ramone and " You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory" by Johnny Thunder, though both songs offer plenty of the siren's familiar "whoa-oh-ohs." Our Bad Girl is not a nostalgia act, she'll let you know.

On the heels of Phil Spector's sentencing for the murder of Lana Clarkson, The Ronettes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ironically, Phil petitioned the Hall of Fame for many years against the Ronettes being inducted. "The only artists petitioned by their own label and producer," Ronnie points out, bitterly.

Ronnie proudly mentions being invited to the White House by President Clinton to talk about the need to protect recording artists regarding royalties.

"Ronnie has the quintessential 'girl' voice," Cher says in one of the show's video moments. True and, although she may be a Stepford Girl no more, don't count on her having put that Aqua Net and those whoa-oh-ohs away... at least, not just yet. Hopefully, Ronnie can honestly say, "I'm very happy" today.