I guess I thought that you were going to "Review" Tush, so this article took my a bit by surprise. It's hard to tell if you liked the show or not? Ambiguously written. I hope that you enjoyed yourself. I wish you had used a photo of one of us, or at very least, credited this photo with the name of the performer. I know I would not be happy if someone used my picture without crediting me.

PS. The ENTIRE TUSH! Roster also includes, well, me, Prudence Payne, Black Bonni and Bad Astrid. Thanks!

Hey Frida,

Absolutely no disrespect meant with the photo. We didn't have a photographer at the show, sadly, so I Googled "TUSH! Olympia Burlesque" and was linked to the MySpace page - and through Myspace the picture I used- which is technically here: media.photobucket.com/image/TUSH!%20Olympia%20Burlesque/blissbunny11/tush700.jpg

It was taken by Bliss Bunny, and since it appears on MySpace I figured it was an OK one to use. If, as it appears, this is not a photo of Oly's TUSH! - that's super Bush League and I really apologize. I was just trying to find the best possible picture to accompany the piece, and if something appears on MySpace it's generally OK to use (copyright laws, yada, yada, yada).

You're correct that "Bliss Bunny" should have been credited - and I could tell you all about how that was a stupid oversight brought on by overwork and I should have caught it (someone else posted the story for me) - but that's neither here nor there. Excuses are excuses, and if I've offended I really do apologize. It certainly wasn't my intention.

Lastly, I think Christian enjoyed himself. In fact, I'm nearly certain of it.

Sorry for any confusion.

This photo was NOT taken by Blissbunny...just posted to photobucket by this person who's username is Blissbunny. I know this because coincidentally, she is a friend of mine. I am pretty sure she just found that picture on the internet somewhere, not sure why it came up as Oly Tush, maybe she posted that image on our myspace page? When you do a google search of images it does weird things. Thank you for your clarifications.

We (TUSH! Burlesque) would have GLADLY emailed you an array of pictures for your article, as we have hundreds of wonderful pictures all taken by local photographers from our various performances!! Next time.

Again, then, I apologize. Totally my bad.

If you'd like to email me a better photo at mattd@weeklyvolcano.com - I'd love to post it instead. I just wanted to get the story up in a timely fashion, so I resorted to Googling. This was apparently my first mistake.

Dear Volcano,

This is not a review or a "story" about Tush Burlesque. This is a piece of drivel written by a over-educated buffoon who came to our show, clapped and smiled through-out, yet fails to mention one interesting snippet of the performance. If I had not been there myself I would wonder why this thing got put in your paper.

I, as a reader, would like to know what Tush is, and if I should bother to see any future performances. Pulchritudinous, ecdysiastic? Are you kidding me? After looking through several on-line dictionary's I could not find one that recognized the word "ecdysiastic".

What is the point of sending a reviewer to a show and then having him return with "...only a true cad would write negative criticism of ladies sufficiently brave and generous enough to doff their duds for art's sake, and I am not that cad."

As if a review has to be all negative. We are as valid as any theater or music production, we work hard and put many hours of creativity into each show we produce and will always appreciate any comments, good or bad to help us improve.

Next time would you do your readers the service of sending someone who knows how to write up a review?

With all sincerity,
Ginger Smack

Phew!! We call her Ginger for a reason, she's a fiesty one. I wanted to make sure that in the flurry of messages, we took the time to say thanks for coming down to Oly to see the show. The article is on the artsy side, but I don't think that's anything to complain about. A little vocabulary expansion never hurt anyone.

Wow. You guys got lucky enough to get a paper to come out and write an article on your show and in thanks you rip the guy a new asshole in public for not using the right picture or gushing enough about your numbers? Tacky. Even with the wrong picture, even without a detailed description of how awesome you are at taking off your clothes, an article in a paper gets your stage and troupe name out in the public sphere, which will get you more patrons. Next time say thank you. No press is bad press, except the press you give yourself by acting like an immature, rude diva in public forums. Also, ecdysiast: ec·dys·i·ast ( k-d z - st , - st). n. A striptease artist. Kind of an important word for you to know in this industry.

Holy moly...all I have to say that we appreciate any and all press that has our name in it. Thank you for correcting the photo mishap, ( the current photo is of us...yay)! and thank you for giving us some press! Enough said.

You are right, I was too harsh. It is only a minor deal and I apologize if I hurt anyones feelings.
Thank you Volcano, :)

Speaking as an over-educated buffoon, I like your group and decided to give it as much publicity as I could. It certainly wasn't the single best burlesque show I've seen in my life, but why focus on the negative? I really do think burlesque performers, including you, are brave people who deserve the support of as wide an audience as possible. Sorry the article didn't meet your expectations. At least we didn't insist on giving your real names like some papers in town.

i do wish this article had focused more on the actual show instead of having two of its four paragraphs dedicated to a history lesson and the few men who have been involved in the industry, who the reviewer seems to have more respect for than the women who have made burlesque an art form. i gotta tell you, the last thing i think about when i think of burlesque is milton berle.

and i don't know anybody and dont want to get in the middle of anything but the tush girls are awesome, at least as far as i can tell. if i had the great opportunity of having someone review my show and then they didn't actually review my show or really talk about my group in a way that didn't seem totally trite and patronizing i would probably be pissed too.

and the reviewer might think about trying to avoid sounding like a creepy uncle especially with stuff like this, "only a true cad would write negative criticism of ladies sufficiently brave and generous enough to doff their duds for art's sake, and I am not that cad." but what about the show? he went to a burlesque show and said oh, i won't actually review it because they took their tops off. dude. that's part of what burlesque is. his response was so patronizing and sexist it made me itch.

aside from that, these kind of non-reviews also devalue the importance of critical commentary in this area. okay enough of my media studies textbook. it was a great show.

This article was not, nor was it intended to be, a review of this particular performance of TUSH! Burlesque, which closed before the article could possibly run. It was only meant to help publicize the group and its art form. I have enormous respect for these and other burlesque performers, and to assume otherwise is just putting words in my mouth.

Hi. My name is Ben Matthews, I live in Olympia, saw the early show, enjoyed it for the most part and feel compelled to comment.

If you are going to attack this article with such vitriol, please sign your real name. Christian has done so.

As for why he did not point out any negative points, my assumption from my conversations with him is that he recognizes that this is a new group, this is a new thing for the girls, and he fully supports this movement. THAT is what the history lesson seems to also be about.

It was a bit of a fluff piece to keep TUSH! in good publicity. I recommend being grateful for that and understand that you are still not having "real" fans come to your performances. They are all friends and relatives for the most part. This is a piece that can help widen your appeal.

If you want constructive criticism, I recommend asking directly for it and not on a public forum.
(The photo usage snafu is an entirely different matter.)

Hi Ben! Here's my question: do you think it's sensible to assume that eight women have enough friends/family members to have standing-room-only performances on a regular basis?

I don't mean disrespect, but your assessment that TUSH has no "real" fans, or even attendees that aren't friends or family, is simply incorrect. Also, can you please define "real" fan? I always think of a real fan as someone who goes to performances because they choose too. We get those people. Or, a real fan is one who will seek out and attend multiple performances. We've also got those.

I will not take public issue with the rest of your comments, but on this one you are simply, undeniably wrong, and in a way that is absolutely disrespectful to the performers, the organization, and the audience.

Huh. Tackysville comments.
I saw the show and thought to myself, "taking clothes off is not inherently entertaining." There were some really good acts with good stories, and some that just looked like stripping. (Really slow, unchoreographed stripping). And jeez, lighten up, everyone...burlesque is supposed to be cheeky and fun -- this is what's wrong with Olympia and the NW in general. Everything has to turn into riveting social commentary.

I commented on this to Hattie already; I should have clarified what a "real" fan was and I understand the umbrage that that has seemed to stur up. It is not a comment on your skills, the enjoyment of your friends and family (which I count myself a part of) but the simple fact that when someone hears of Tush, the general populous does not have a clue what we are talking about. It is an issue that all beginning groups have to work through. I don't take any disrespect for what you are saying, but I am looking at this from a different and absolutely non-personal point of view.

Another correction to my comment I would like to make is that I meant Puff piece.
(NOUN): 1) An article or report in the media that is meant to promote a person, entity or event.
Sorry for the confusion.

I am looking forward to your next performance.

I just wanted to say that I am a "real" fan of Tush. I do not know anyone involved personally. I have attended all three of their shows, and I have enjoyed every second of every one. Some acts, I enjoy more than others, but not one of them was "boring" or "un-choreographed".

These amazing WOMEN obviously love what they do and work hard at it. They have put on 3 shows in 6 months, which is a lot of work and energy. I have noticed an gradual improvement in each show, and love that they are starting to come up with themes. I know they will only get better, and gain more fans as they go.

My only criticism is that the show always ends before I feel I've had my full. AND, I think that thye should charge more than a $10 cover. Its worth it. Everyone wants a piece of TUSH!!!! Keep up the good work, and lots of credit should go out to these women for bringing this revival to Olympia. I am happy not to have to drive to Seattle to see a great Burlesque show anymore!!!

Um, wow. This is really embarrassing all around. Having never seen TUSH perform, I thought this was a great article, peaked my interested in the group, and encapsulated my own thoughts and conflict around burlesque. Most performances in Olympia are never given a review or any kind of publicity so this is great. I won't be patronizing and say that TUSH should be "grateful" for this but it is a lot more than other performances get. Also, it's not really reasonable to respect one night only shows (which I understand TUSH does essentially exculsively) to have specific shows reviewed. That would be unfair to the reader who would be reading a review for a show they will never get to see.

But what is more disturbing about this train of comments is the lack of respect being displayed between members of the Olympia art community. This is what I really dislike about artists and performers is that instead of being supportive we are frequently disrespectful. A simple request for a correction on the photo would have been appropriate. Everything that followed was not. The article made me want to see TUSH, the rest of these comments does not.

I think there are some apologies owed all around. Except for Christian and Nani. Christian, kudos for maintaining a cool head in the face of some pretty intense criticism of what was a nice, well-intentioned article. And Nani, thanks for trying to take this back to a respectful place.

Nice job! Great review!

Christian, I really enjoyed your article. Not everybody knows the history of burlesque and I appreciated getting that background. Your article was informative and gave me a sense that you really enjoyed yourself. I was interested in traveling for the show...until I read the comments.
As a performer in the Seattle theater scene, I can tell you we would be THRILLED to get a positive review like that. Attacking you was amateur. Most of us performers have had reviews both good and bad, but most of us have the common sense not to go publicly ripping the reviewer a new one- reason being they might just show up to your next show.