On Saturday night, I went to Joe's Pub to see the amazing Lady Rizo in her first solo show. It was fantastic! She has been described as everything from a modern Mae West to a male Justin Bond to a naughty Barbra Streisand. But the bottom line is that this Lady is one of the most dynamic and original and hysterically funny performers I have seen on the downtown circuit in quite a few years. And she easily held the stage on her own, like she's been doing it for years. As it turns out, she has...sorta.She has performed at Joe's, the Highline Ballroom and other venues around town along with the Burlesque honeys "The Assettes". She's also an accomplished recording artist, having worked with Moby and Yo-Yo Ma. But seeing her live is the thing. Her 90 minute show had a little bit of everything, from her unique covers of pop songs (Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" as a polka? YES) to her heartbreaking singing on ballads like "Lilac Wine". There was even a rousing Edith Piaf number which practically turned into an audience sing-a-long.
She also had a sassy, spontaneous rapport with the audience between numbers that was often hiliarious. She even asked a couple people in the crowd to come onstage and help her with her costume changes, of which there were a few. This is a woman who wears gowns like nobody's business yet, by the end of the show, had showered her torso in glitter while wearing a sheer wrap. Now that's range!
At one point, Lady Rizo lamented that not enough people were writing about her. So I'm going to start a trend here with my second Hi-Fi post about her, after previously mentioning her standout appearance in Your Hit Parade at Joe's Pub back in April. If you want to check out this uniquely talented chanteuse, she's at Joe's Pub solo again this Friday July 31st. And back again with her Assettes on August 22nd and 23rd. You will be entertained....I guarantee it.
