Naughty Pig Show 2009

Naughty and nice. Madame Trixie (left) leads her
Dolls Burlesque, including Cherry Poppins, pictured right, Upstairs at
the Dinosaur for a holiday benefit. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO

Normally, the mention of holiday
fund-raising evokes thoughts of ringing bells, caroling and good clean
family fun. But leave it to the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que to take the idea of
philanthropic exploits and turn it into a naughty, full-throttle carnival-like spectacle geared for adults only.

Many people probably remember the vaudeville-like Naughty
Little Pig Show that used to be a monthly occurrence at the Dino from
2007 to 2008; it featured anything from S&M breakdancers to
scantily clad sword swallowers. For holiday eyes only, Dino server and
Pig Show founder, emcee and ringmaster “Lil’” Jess Miller is reviving
the event for a one-off charity show on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 9 p.m.
(doors open at 8 p.m.), upstairs at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, 246 W.
Willow St. The event costs $25 and all proceeds will benefit the
Children’s Consortium, a service located at 2122 Erie Blvd. E., that
provides programs and financial and educational services to help
families reach their full potential.

“The {Children’s Consortium} doesn’t
always have enough in their budget to feed people and keep them
hydrated for all the programs they run,” says Miller, “so when I was
asked to revive {the Pig Show} by the Dino for charitable purposes, it
seemed like the perfect time to bring it back.” Several Pig Show
regulars from back in the day were asked if they’d like to donate their
time to perform in the show once again, at no charge, and everyone “was
unanimously on board,” according to Miller. 

Scheduled to appear at this installment will be
keyboardist Adam Gold of Funk N’ Waffles’ funk band Sophistafunk, who
will be performing mostly instrumental holiday funk tunes as people mix
and mingle as the event starts. Also slated to appear: Syracuse Area
Live Theater (SALT) winner Moe Harrington; former Brand New Sin
frontman and now solo piano rocker Just Joe; Peg Newell of The Reissues
and Michael Ryan of Whiskey Mae; Hillbilly Theater featuring Jeff Jones
of the Legendary Jones Gang; Dan the Magic Man, the house magician from
Wise Guys Comedy Club; and Madame Trixie and her Dolls Burlesque.

Besides all proceeds going to the
Consortium, Miller notes that guests are encouraged to bring perishable
food donations—juice boxes, hot cocoa, canned goods, whatever you
got—as well as books, toys and other gifts that children in need might
enjoy. “Everything we collect on the 23rd will go to the Consortium on
the 24th,” she says. “And another thing is if people want to donate and
they’re not able to make it to the show, you can bring in something at
anytime from now until the day of the show and all managers will
happily ferry gifts to the Christmas tree upstairs. So if you’ve got
food you’d like to donate or a gift from last year your kid didn’t play
with, bring it down.”

For those wondering what happened to the
regular monthly installment of the Pig Show, Miller says, “I’ve been
going to {New York City} about once a month doing comedy shows and
open-mike nights, mainly just doing stand-up. Doing {the Pig Show} once
a month almost killed me last year, but I wouldn’t mind doing it
seasonally, especially for a good cause like this, which probably won’t
make me feel crazy at the end of the day.”

This is the first time the Pig Show will be performed
upstairs at the Dino, as that space wasn’t available the last time the
show went on Dec. 31, 2008, and the performers had to wait until diners
had finished on the stage downstairs before turning it over into their
performance space. There will be a little more time to prepare this
go-round. “What’s cool is there’s nothing going on {upstairs} three
days before the event,” says Miller. “So we’ll have plenty of time to
turn it into a white-trash winter wonderland and we have carte blanche
to deck the place out how we want to. We’ll also be able to do a
rehearsal the day before and set it up in an organized manner. Being
that we haven’t done it in a year, it’ll help us ease back into it.”

Aside from the performances, there will be plenty of
other sideshows keeping you merry and mischievous. Every person will
also get a raffle ticket with the price of admission and have the
chance to win prizes from the Dino, Middle Ages Brewery and a few other
downtown spots. A “freaky” Santa will also be in attendance for adults
to relive their youth and get their picture taken on his knee, as well
as many other not-to-be spoiled surprises, according to Miller.

Madame Trixie, who along with her Dolls
Burlesque was a mainstay of the original Pig Show, couldn’t pass up the
chance when Miller asked her to perform in the holiday show. “We love
doing events for holidays and couldn’t pass this one up especially
since it’s for a good cause,” says Trixie. “It’s one of the places we
really like to perform at and a place where many people remember seeing
us.”

She says seven out of the 12 performers
in the troupe will be performing all holiday-themed vintage-burlesque
style routines. Trixie also didn’t want to spoil the tricks her girls
have up their disrobed sleeves, but she said they’ll be performing a
routine along to Christina Aguilera’s “Candy Man” in outfits more
naughty than nice, and that you’ll have a hard time seeing a candy cane
in the same old kitschy light.