Nightlife: Jezebel’s Juke Joint & Brothel comes alive

Nightlife: Jezebel’s Juke Joint & Brothel comes alive
by Kathleen St. John on February 18, 2010

Denver burlesque queen Vivienne Vavoom helped kick off the grand opening party at Jezebel’s Juke Joint & Brothel on Tuesday.

It’s somewhere around 11 p.m., and Jezebel’s Juke Joint and Brothel (3862 High St.) is jumping. It’s Mardi Gras. Purple, green and gold streamers festoon the brick walls, and a giant Mardi mask overlooks the festivities from a perch above the crowd. Most of the crowd is wearing feathery masks, too, and draped with beads.

Jezebel’s is getting packed as Fat Tuesday fades into Ash Wednesday, and the revelers are rowdy. Loud blues music pounds through the old building — it’s been around more than 100 years — and the dance floor is filling up. The bar is slammed with happy customers celebrating both Mardi Gras and Jezebel’s grand opening.

Some buildings are just meant to be what they are. After decades of saloons filling its space, and maybe a real upstairs brothel back in the day, Jezebel’s is one of those buildings.

By the time the burlesque show starts, it’s positively spooky. And not just because of the rumored ghosts on the second floor. Watching a sultry fan dance by Denver burlesque star Vivienne VaVoom, it suddenly feels like the bar is in a time warp. Except for the iPod providing the music cues, this could almost be Mardi Gras 1927.

Meanwhile, in the women’s bathroom, the light is out.

On a previous, quieter visit, Jezebel’s owner Kate O’Toole said the light in the women’s room goes dark every now and again, for no real reason. She thinks it might be one of the building’s previous residents expressing a little annoyance with the new tenants.

There are all sorts of stories. Bar manager Kevin Candelaria says he once served a guy at the bar and didn’t think much of it until the guy went into the bathroom and never came out. O’Toole says a tuned-in friend of hers got some weird vibes when she stopped in to visit. The mazelike second floor is coated in decades of dust, with boarded-up windows and creepy-looking stains splattered on the peeling wallpaper.

Whatever’s going on at Jezebel’s, it took a night off on Tuesday.

O’Toole kicked off her shoes and sang a torch song. Bluesman Sammy Dee Morton wailed on his guitar. Members of in-house cabaret troupe The Belles of Jezebel’s warmed up backstage for their big debut. If ghosts were in the house, they were ignored.

Except for that bathroom light.

– Oddball –

See “living, breathing works of art” at the Tuaca Body Art Ball on Sunday at the Gothic Theatre (3263 S. Broadway, Englewood).

Sponsored by the popular liqueur, the ball features painted performers doing their thing onstage in a variety of adornments. Graffiti- ed break dancers, quirky rocker-girls, ethereal wood nymphs — you name it.

Tasty Tuaca will be flowing, of course.

The event is free, but guests must register for free tickets at tuacabodyartball.com. It’s an age-21-and-older show.

– Haiti Benefit –

Local electronic-music mavens are banding together Saturday to do their part for Haiti in the Global Dance For Life concert. The Denver Coliseum (4600 Humboldt St.) will be shaking all night long with five stages of music. Mainstage DJs include local favorites like Hycloud, Dragon and Kostas. The other stages — Peace, Love, Unity, Respect and Relief — will all be running simultaneously.

Guests are asked to wear tops in the colors of Haiti’s flag, blue for guys and red for girls. Proceeds from the very affordable $10 ticket price will go to the American Red Cross Haiti relief fund. Buy tickets at globaldanceforlife.com. Gates open at 6 p.m.; the show is all-ages.

– Tee time –

It’s another “Noise”-y night at Beta (1909 Blake St.). The club’s weekly new-music night welcomes New York DJ/producer/promoter Larry Tee this evening. L.A. remixers Villains will be on the decks, too. Advance tickets are $10 at fla.vor.us/ groovetickets. Doors open at 9 p.m.

– Kathleen St. John