ORIGINAL HIPSTER

Lucky 13 Saloon is always a sure bet for a great time. The jukebox and occasional DJ play the best of metal, both old and new. The walls and ceilings are plastered with band posters. The beer is $2. And the dancers never disappoint.

Last night was no exception — and even exceeded my expectations. The reason: Japanese pole dancer and horror film star Cay Izumi. Go-go-ers Kayce GoGo and Remy Viscious (of Coney Island fame) were terrific, too (I was particularly envious of Kayce’s absolutely perfect derriere). But Izumi, who says she’s been dancing for ten years, took the cake.

Cay’s work on the pole is so intense that she can only sustain it for one or two songs at a time. We’re talking Olympic-strength athleticism, here. For the first third or so of her performances, she seduces the crowd with some provocative moves close to the ground — er, bar. Then she shimmies up the pole and stays there for the rest of the song. Executing trick after impossible trick, upside-down, sideways, and everything in between, she whips around so fast that people back away from the range of her heels. She actually gets very few tips while dancing because she’s at the ceiling and out of reach most of the time, and people seem either afraid to risk getting impaled by a stiletto or reluctant to interrupt her electrifying routine.

Erstwhile, on the TV screens in the corners of the bar, Japanese slasher flicks featured Izumi and other actresses covered in blood, dying ridiculously unfortunate deaths. (See Izumi’s film history here.) The plots are absurd, but the photography has some gorgeous moments even amongst the gore. And the borderline soft-core, girl-on-girl scenes have a sort of cheesy appeal, if you’re into that sort of thing. Most of the guys in the crowd seemed to be.

The funny thing about Izumi is that when she climbs down off the bar after her fierce routines, she’s cute as can be and a total sweetheart. Completely the opposite of the lethal sexpot who moments ago looked about as dangerous as the female killers in the films playing in the background. With the people who are only now able to get close enough to shower her with cash, she chats, sometimes with the help of a translator, and explains that she’s new to New York. She’s on a sort of tour with the gothic lolita performance troupe Tokyo Dolores, and she’s got some solo gigs coming up, too. Here’s the schedule. I highly recommend checking out the shows.