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Over a thousand Stevies were on hand through the night at Don Hill's last
Friday for NOTS 12. The ENCHANTED GYPSIES began pouring into the club at
the stroke of 9 and there was a line the entire night of twirling, happy
fans waiting to get in ( which means the event will have to move from its
new home Don Hill's to a bigger venue next year.)
The show opened with local Legend of Stevie Realness Nicole Nicks (photo
left) who brought down the house with "Enchanted" and closed with final solo performer
Cashetta (photo above left) and the Battle of 1,000 Stevies, about 3:30 A.M. All-Stevie DJ Craig Spencer's incredible
"Nicks re-mixes" (created specially
for The Night) rocked the high-energy, mixed and well-dressed audience till dawn.
There were so many great performances, but some highlights included founder
Chi Chi Valenti (below left) in a full-on "Rhiannon" number featuring Dean Johnson
as Stevie sideman Waddy Wachtel (almost unrecognizable in waist-length red
hair) and a female Tom Petty (rocker Karen Curious) duetting with the sultry Jessica
Rabbit Domination on "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."
Unicorns, baby's breath, doves and five dozen customized tambourines were
the Enchanted room decor, supervised by The Jackie Factory's stylist and
costume designer Kitty Boots.
The stage set, created by Johnny Dynell, was lit to
perfection by NOTS Lighting God Mr. Tim. Show co-producer Hattie Hathaway (above right)
and a crackerjack crew both inside and out of the club
helped make order in the beautiful chaos: Stage Manager Abby Ehmann, door goddesses
Mistress Sharon and Minerva Steel, and so many more.
At midnight, the auction of Stevie's autographed stage boot and tambourine
for East End Disabilities and NY Arts Recovery Fund (the boot brought $1525 and
the beribboned tambourine
$625.) Auctioneers included West Coast Stevie impersonator Belladonna and
Edge of 17 writer/Gypsy 83 director Todd Stephens.
One final auction item, a signed print of Stevie's Rhiannon artwork circa
1982, will be auctioned on eBay May 18-24, also to benefit NY Arts Recovery
Fund, a 9/11 fund for downtown artists. Details and link to eBay page at
NOTS Stevie Auction page.
It was so crowded that we don't know much of who was there
but we did manage to spot Miss Guy and Sean
of the Toilet Boys, Bear of Brandi's Dream, Mario Diaz in from LA, Stevie's massage therapist Paul
Haje, Flawless Sabrina of "The Queen", Misstress Formika and underground
cartoon legend Leslie Sternberg. The night really belonged to the enchanted fans
though, who travelled from near and far - Paris, Morocco, Holland and South Africa.
Producers Chi Chi Valenti, Hattie Hathaway, Johnny Dynell and Kitty Boots are absolutely delighted, and have
already picked next year's theme: NOTS 13 - "A Welsh Witch." We'll be posting lots more reports,
pictures, and eventually video to these pages, and look for announcements about NOTS 13 date and venue
shortly after New Year's.
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