Lilith
10-01-2005, 07:49 AM
(gg)
By Matt Daily
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - In a sign that things may be
returning to normal in New Orleans, strip shows are
back in the city's famous French Quarter.
Erotic dancers and strippers are entertaining crowds
of police, firefighters and military personnel instead
of the usual audiences of drunken conventioneers and
tourists in Bourbon Street's Deja Vu club, which
reopened this week.
It's the first strip joint to resume business, three
weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck in the worst
natural disaster ever to hit the United States.
"It's nice to get back to work, and all these men need
some entertainment," Dawn Beasley, 27, a dancer at the
club, said on Tuesday night. "They haven't seen
anybody but their buddies for two weeks."
The crowd hooted and hollered as women peeled off
their tops and gyrated, as customers tucked tips into
their G-strings.
"This is our first time off the ship and it's great,"
said one young sailor as he left the club. He declined
to give his name or say where he was stationed.
"It's good to see the businesses getting back up and
bringing the city back," another sailor said.
New Orleans' strip clubs have long been a fixture of
Bourbon Street, where marquees promise everything from
"barely legal" dancers to transvestite divas. Photos
of the seedy shows inside the clubs line the windows,
next to scores of bars in the district that draws
tourists from around the globe.
The city's dusk-to-dawn curfew failed to prevent the
Deja Vu from staying open to the early hours, with
blaring music and neon lights spilling out into the
Quarter, most of which remained bathed in darkness in
the aftermath of the storm.
"We were open till two last night, just long enough to
get the testosterone flowing," Beasley said.
Only a handful of restaurants and bars in the Quarter
have reopened in recent days, serving food and drinks
-- usually without charge -- to rescue workers and
military who stream through the mostly empty streets.
The Deja Vu waived its cover charge, drinks were
selling for $3 and a private dance was available for
just $1.
For Deja Vu manager Brent Ardeneaux, reopening was a
public service.
"It's a disaster zone. You got a lot of people in from
out of town that need entertaining," he said as he
unloaded supplies from the back of a pick-up truck.
The club even drew several women looking for a respite
from their duties patrolling the city, but they
resisted entreaties to join the others on stage and
left after a few minutes.
One of them, a soldier, said: "We were just looking
for any place open. We've been working hard."
By Matt Daily
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - In a sign that things may be
returning to normal in New Orleans, strip shows are
back in the city's famous French Quarter.
Erotic dancers and strippers are entertaining crowds
of police, firefighters and military personnel instead
of the usual audiences of drunken conventioneers and
tourists in Bourbon Street's Deja Vu club, which
reopened this week.
It's the first strip joint to resume business, three
weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck in the worst
natural disaster ever to hit the United States.
"It's nice to get back to work, and all these men need
some entertainment," Dawn Beasley, 27, a dancer at the
club, said on Tuesday night. "They haven't seen
anybody but their buddies for two weeks."
The crowd hooted and hollered as women peeled off
their tops and gyrated, as customers tucked tips into
their G-strings.
"This is our first time off the ship and it's great,"
said one young sailor as he left the club. He declined
to give his name or say where he was stationed.
"It's good to see the businesses getting back up and
bringing the city back," another sailor said.
New Orleans' strip clubs have long been a fixture of
Bourbon Street, where marquees promise everything from
"barely legal" dancers to transvestite divas. Photos
of the seedy shows inside the clubs line the windows,
next to scores of bars in the district that draws
tourists from around the globe.
The city's dusk-to-dawn curfew failed to prevent the
Deja Vu from staying open to the early hours, with
blaring music and neon lights spilling out into the
Quarter, most of which remained bathed in darkness in
the aftermath of the storm.
"We were open till two last night, just long enough to
get the testosterone flowing," Beasley said.
Only a handful of restaurants and bars in the Quarter
have reopened in recent days, serving food and drinks
-- usually without charge -- to rescue workers and
military who stream through the mostly empty streets.
The Deja Vu waived its cover charge, drinks were
selling for $3 and a private dance was available for
just $1.
For Deja Vu manager Brent Ardeneaux, reopening was a
public service.
"It's a disaster zone. You got a lot of people in from
out of town that need entertaining," he said as he
unloaded supplies from the back of a pick-up truck.
The club even drew several women looking for a respite
from their duties patrolling the city, but they
resisted entreaties to join the others on stage and
left after a few minutes.
One of them, a soldier, said: "We were just looking
for any place open. We've been working hard."