To paraphrase The Who's Pete Townshend, the holidays needn't turn you into an idiot. True, the days just before Christmas are packed with mind-numbing routine, quite enough to make anyone into a zombie: sitting in holiday traffic, waiting for a mall Santa to take your kids' toy order, hearing "Jingle Bell Rock" over and over and over ... and over. Your credit card fuses to your hand, your head fills with the sound of shrieking elves and everything doth taste like eggnog.
Well, relief is on the horizon. I'm not saying that the upcoming holiday show by Los Straitjackets and The Pontani Sisters (Dec. 10 at the Tractor Tavern [0]) will silence that malevolent elven chorus, but it will drown it out a bit. On the off chance you haven't seen these two powerhouse teams on "Late Night with Conan O' Brien," I'll tell you that Los Straitjackets — quite simply, America's best band in Mexican wrestling masks — plays highly danceable instrumental rock jams that make any occasion into a sun-and-surf bacchanalia. They're the perfect backing band for The Pontani Sisters [1], the best darn burlesque troupe in the country. These plucky gals will do a special series of eye-popping dances precisely choreographed to Los Straitjackets' killer tunes.
And what kind of tunes are those, you ask? Why, they're Christmas tunes, silly, transformed by the band into sexy surf-rock vamps that could get even the grinchiest of holiday haters to twist and shout. Give a listen to the band's take on "Sleigh Ride" [2] and just imagine it interpreted by three cute-as-a-button gals in go-go boots and Mrs. Claus outfits. If that sounds like your kind of party, get your tickets now [3] — this show will sell out.
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