End of Spring Break Blow-out

Our resident tbt* spring break guru, Luis Santana hit the beaches this weekend in search of fun and lovely ladies in teeny bikinis. Luckily, he came back with success on both counts and brought back lots of picture of the lovely and the weird from Shephards and Wildsplash.

I'm all for the lifting up of girls on to shoulders but I have to feel bad for all the guys out there. Imagine all the hurt necks that need icing down the next after a concert.

I love the trend these girls are starting. Bikinis that can be ripped up later and used as party decorations. No need to bring confetti, they're wearing it!

I really wish I could say more about this photo but I think it speaks for itself. Who hasn't seen a older man in a thong, cape and mask holding an air horn? The only question I have is the blue. Was he going to dress up as a smurf and got lazy halfway through? Did he do a belly flop in a bucket of blueberrys? The world may never know the answer to this great mystery.

Make sure to check out the rest of Luis' awesome investigative photography into the secret lives of spring breakers at Shephards and Wildsplash!

A ritzy club without the pompousness

I normally hate celebrity themed parties. There ends up being far too much focus on whoever is going to show up instead of focusing on making the event fun and cool. Plus, once the celebrity gets there, they usually will seclude themselves away in some small room so they aren't really partying with the general public.

Club Aja's Miss March party was different. It was a great time. Not because of the celebrities who showed up (they still kind of secluded themselves away, but behind throngs of people who wouldn't let me take a photo) but because the party had a good vibe and energy to it. Club Aja is definitely making it up my list of high-class places that I'd like to hang out at on my off-time.
Anyone that knows me, knows that I have a hatred for the ritzier clubs. The people and the concepts of discerning bouncers irk me
To me, Club Aja is the high-class Channelside equivalent of Czar. The friendly staff is there to help everyone out and the clientèle are look and act nice. It's always a great thing to be able to got to a nightclub and feel instantly relaxed. Aja has got that and, the way I see it, they're on there way to be coming one of the bigger, hotter nightspots in Tampa Bay and they're doing it with the right attitude.
If you haven't checked out Aja yet, you can live vicariously through our galleries! It's like you were there except that the photos don't move or speak.

I'm going to live forever

Everybody loves a celebrity. You may not like all of them, but everyone has one celebrity that they secretly want to be or be with. That's what made the Fame! party at the Tampa Artist Emporium so much fun. In all likelihood, people like you and I will never mingle with the celebs. The next best thing is to mingle with our friends dressed as the stars. It may not sound uber-cool but with a little imagination, it can be one heck of a time.

If you're going to do a Fame party, you have to have Bowie. Wendy Noto pulled off the Ziggy Stardust look with some great make-up that screamed glam. Bully for her.

Normally, I'm all against Legally Blonde. It's a mediocre film that made it's way into being a musical, which is the musical equivalent of putting a jackhammer in your ear. The fact is that Tatum Llewellyn looks so cute as Reese Witherspoon that I can't bash on it. She even got an adorable stuffed chihuahua! I would've rather seen her as Tracy Flick but this will do.

Melisa Taylor loves cupcakes. If you feel dirty looking at this picture, it's okay. I'm right there with you.  It does remind me of the Food Porn website though. If you haven't been, check it out. It's safe for work, I promise!

Clearly, Theresa Crout and Jina Martina are avid poker players. As they both came as Elvis, they had the highest hand at Fame. Nothing beat a pair of kings in real life. Especially, when those two kings are actually women. You've got to love a women who appreciates Presley.

Make sure to check out the rest of the stars in the Fame! gallery!

Teeny Bopper extravaganza

I'm getting old. Not really but compared to the people waiting in line to see Cute is What We Aim For, I was downright ancient. Never the less, I can still find a bit of entertainment hanging out with the younger generation. Especially when when it gives me an insight on what's cool fashion-wise these days with the youth.

What's in for girls? If we look at the group of Sara Nettle, Marta Cikowska, Nicole Zakrezewski and Eryka Cikowska we can see that big sunglasses are in as well head bands and big belts worn too high. Unfortunately, what's not visible is Sara's shirt which is an I heart and a picture of a dinosaur design. Honestly, that's one of the coolest shirts I've seen in ages. I still don't get the headband though.

Finally a band I know. You've got to love that Jessica Niece is wearing an Iron Maiden shirt. The best part is that she knows who they are too. This gives me hope that the future generation will continue on the love of amazing 80's metal songs like the Trooper. I honestly think I have Rock Band to thank for this one. Music games are getting a lot of kids into classic rock, which is greatly appreciated. Now I just need to see some die-hard Kansas fans out and about.

Where are Jeremy Molina and Christian Hawberg's eyes and how can they see where they're going? I get that shaggy hair is cool but it's got to be annoying to have your vision 95 percent blocked all the time. Honestly, style wise, I feel like I already wrote about this a little while back. While not nearly as glamtastic as the Bowie boys I found, these guys aren't too far off.  Going to a concert shouldn't necessitate raiding your little sisters closet for clothes.

Check out the rest of the "youthful" photos in the galleries. 

An action-packed concert with a surprise ending

I can't deny that I love Giddy-Up, Helicopter!. They're one of those few bands that exemplify the idea of what local music should be to me. It's fun and never feel like I need to judge them on a different scale from other nationally known bands. They come out full of energy (usually with some jumping around and dancing before the show starts) and get right into it. Naturally, when I heard they were having a CD release party at Czar, I had to be there. Combined with the awesomeness of the show, I got a little extra surprise at the end that made my heart thump with joy.

Starting out the night was Inertia!. If you haven't heard of them, they're two sisters who play a melodic rock that has an ethereal sound. They remind me of a bluesy Tegan and Sara with less lesbian overtones. These girls have some massive skill and are definitely worth the check out if you see them around town.

I appreciate what King of Spain does. I don't like it though. Personally, the music kind of grated on me a bit during the show. King of Spain is the type of music that I don't mind listening to at home but it just didn't seem to fit with the mood of the club. It involves a lot of electronic looping in the music, which kind of loses it's effect in a live show. Think if the Beatles had tried to tour with the White Album. The music on it was genius but not meant to be played in front of a live audience.

I don't think I can put into words how much fun Giddy-Up, Helicopter! is. The whole crowd was jumping and dancing throughout the entire set. Unfortunately, this was their second-to-last concert. It's sad that one of my favorite local bands is going away but there's still one more concert they'll be doing on March 9 at Czar. If you haven't seen them before, do yourself a favor and go to it. You won't regret it.

In addition to the musical wonderment of the night, the roller disco was going on! It's been a while since Czar has done the roller disco and I've never seen it on a Saturday night before so that was a treat. It pulled in quite a few people with some zany costumes to match. Plus, the derby girls were out representing for the night. This is definitely something I'd like to see to get back on. Maybe a monthly roller-disco Saturday night at Czar (hint, hint).

Make sure to listen to the bands while you check out the photos in the galleries. It'll be like being there vicariously!

Paint me thrilled!

Every month, I think I won't go to the Art Pool events. I won't deny that I've been to quite a few of them and it's starting to feel like a monthly ritual. Every month though, Marina Williams comes up with some wild event to hold that is completely creative and offers a new focal point for the idea of art. The Muse Show is no different and it ranks up as one of my favorite events that she has had. If you haven't been to Art Pool yet, quit denying yourself and check it out. I 100 percent guarantee that you'll find at least one entertaining thing there that you'll like.

Bobby Hart's makeup made him have a striking resemblance to Krishna. Except the whole smoking part. The concept of deities with lung cancer is a little too deep for me.

Have you seen Pan's Labyrinth? If not, watch it and you'll see why Kori Skaltsas' paint kind of freaks me out. It may have an oriental feel, but put eyes in her hands and she'd be set to be in Guillermo Del Toro's next film.

What better symbolism for Valentine's day than Evan Dawson dressed as the Prisoner of Love? Sure it's not cheerful and full hearts and pink, but us jaded lovers need something for the holiday as well. Besides, it's kind of sweet. In a morbid, bondage sort of way.

Coming soon for women of all ages, floral camouflage! Perfect for hiding out at your aunt's house party. Maggie Day shows how she blends in perfectly without notice against this floral backdrop. I'd really love to see that on the market and I'd love to see our soldiers in it! The green camo is so 1950!

Check out more painted bodies from the Muse Show!

Clean your clothes and rock out!

When I think laundromats in St. Pete, I'm normally thinking about getting together five pounds of quarters together for a dryer that will still leave my clothes as damp as mid-summer sun-shower. What I don't think of is a music video being filmed with a wacky dream sequence premise. I'll keep you updated to when the video will be up. Until then, check out some of the wacky characters who showed up for Mannequin Made's bizarre concept video.

No music video would be complete without a biker performing a marriage. Keith Dieter definitely has the bike part down but it's hard to imagine him as priest. Unless they make leather vestments, that is.

The other part of the wedding involves the lovely Randy Morgan who thankfully won't be giving her hand in marriage to the dog. It'd be a little too weird for me if that was the case.

The lucky man in the faux-wedding is none other than Chip Santiago of the midget Chippendale's fame. I've got to give it up for his girl Jasmine Medina though. First, dancing for dollars, Now he's off getting married to an extremely tall woman for a music video. You have to respect a supportive girlfriend.

Pictures of permanent modification.

While not the biggest crowd Tampa Bay has ever seen, the Cigar City Tattoo Convention at the Cuban Club in Ybor City provided a great getaway for people into body modification as well as a wonderful opportunity to get some new ink.

If you're wondering why Gary Gregor isn't smiling that largely, it's because he just had a needle stuck through his nipple by Brandy Moore. While it may look cool, all I can think of when I see this is "ow!"

While Jessica Johnson looks like she's in pain, she's really not. In fact she was kidding around the whole time with Jason Gone as if she was in dire need of medical attention. I guess that she's kind of used to it having an affiliation with a derby group. I don't think any needle can compare to the sheer brutality of women on roller skates.

 

Jackie Bates earns the nerd-chic award for the night for her tattoo. While not instantaneously familiar, it's a symbol from the video game Legend of Zelda. If that wasn't enough, she also has an arm mural of the game Ico on her right arm. Thus disproving the theory that pretty girls don't play video games.

Check out the rest of the pictures from the event including Jim Rose with a frying pan and some sexy burlesque ladies!

The Pegasus goes Excelsior!

As I look forward to 2009, I can't help but wonder what craziness and absurdity awaits. 2008 was definitely a year to be remembered with lots of wild parties and things that will be forever burned into my brain but if the Cartoon and Comic party at the Pegasus (12/27) is any sort of indicator, the wildness of 2008 will be completely overshadowed by 2009. Surprisingly, Batman missed this one. Perhaps he had people to save and alcohol to drink in the mean streets of Ybor that night.

Ricky Peterika dressed up as Neon Man. His powers? To be instantly visible from across a crowded room and make Trekkies look cool in comparison. He could definitely be Tampa's own superhero.

In case you didn't know, I'm a geek. When I saw Kristie Alneida as Tank Girl, My jaw instantly dropped to the floor. Unfortunately, she's dating the next guy on the list but it did bring back nice memories of my teen angst and had me yearning to listen to Bikini Kill.

Imagine this. Tank Girl and Wonder Woman. It's not quite as cool when Wonder Woman is Marc Golas and features an overage of body hair. I'll never think of Lynda Carter in the same way.

If Neon Man is Tampa's superhero, the Tim Fredericks as Beer Man is St. Petersburg's. Able to chug a pitcher of PBR in mere seconds, Beer Man could have his secret identity as generic St. pete punk kid with his sleeveless Clash shirt and massive mutton chops.

Alright, this one is obscure. In order to get this, you would have to seen Toxic Avenger Part 4 (I'd link you to the trailer but it's very NSFW, but you can find it on youtube if you look). If you haven't, I'm sure you can still get a kick out Max Santiago in a diaper while carrying a machine gun and a cigar. Something about adult babies indulging in vices and violence is hilarious.

Check out the rest of the comic antics that were at the Pegasus in the galleries!

No blinking Rudolphs but bad sweaters none the less

Everyone has gotten at least one ugly sweater for the holidays. The one that is so indescribably tacky that you put it on once to show your grandma that you really like it but took it off and buried it and salted the earth five minutes later. What better way to capitalize upon these instruments of bad fashion then to hold parties featuring them? That's what the Bishop and Push thought to do. While there weren't as many sweaters as we would have liked at either event, there were a few that deserved mention and photographic documentation.

DJ Fresh, DJ T-Quest and Brian Kelly all struck up a pose as they showed off their fuzziness. In case you're wondering, Fresh is wearing a 12 days of Christmas sweater that is all sorts of horrid.

I can haz bad sweater? Sorry, the puppies and kittens on the sweaters that Christina Rizleris and Vanessa Martinez are wearing make me instantly think of Lolcats. I just need to get a Ceiling Cat sweater and I'll be all set.

In my opinion, Michelle McCaw wins for the ugliest sweater, ladies division. It's not just the fact that the sweater vest is absolutely atrocious, it's that it all matches. All the way down to her Chucks! That takes dedication!

Michelle may be the winner for the females but she has nothing on Joshua Reed. Together with Trevor Bennett and John Brown he set a new standard for creepy sweaters. The fact that he's physically fit only adds to the hilarity of seeing him in a midriff-baring sweater top. The earrings are just icing on the cake!

Of course, that's not all of them. Make sure to check out the rest of the laughably bad sweaters!