For those who were lucky enough to experience Big Day Out Festival in its prime between 1992 to 2014, Big Day Out Burlesque feels like coming home. The Woodshed in Royal Park could not be a more fitting cathedral of nostalgia, with its walls plastered in old gig posters and its rock-bar grit setting up a night that feels equal parts tribute, tease and time capsule. Hosted by Adelaide comedy pocket rocket Lori Bell, who attended the festival many a time both as a punter and as her comedy alter ego Granny Flaps, the show promises a journey from Main Stage to Boiler Room. The night unfolds as a love letter to the festival’s glory days, each act inspired by artists who shaped its sprawling line ups. This is producer Curvella’s fourth sold out iteration of the production, proving that even if the festival may have been cancelled back in 2014, people’s love for Big Day Out refuses to die.
Before the amps metaphorically blow, cabaret singer and performer Ethereal Jade steps up with her signature velvet vocals, accompanied by Luke on acoustic guitar, whom the crowd affectionately renames “Luscious Luke”. Their stripped back set of festival favourites, including Yellow by Coldplay and Otherside by Red Hot Chilli Peppers just to name a few, softens the room into a warm hum. The slowed down arrangements feel dreamy and intimate, Ethereal Jade’s voice floating with celestial calm while Luke layers guitar and harmony with effortless cool.
The night truly kicks off with crowd favourite Keith “Skip” Mitton, who performs a live skilltoy routine to blink-182’s What’s My Age Again. With more than twenty years of experience behind him, What follows is less a yo-yo routine and more a full blown nostalgia-fuelled spectacle, delivered with the confidence of someone who has spent over two decades mastering a skill most of us abandoned at age twelve. His Salisbury North charm, combined with the energy of a world-class competitor, turns a simple toy into a weapon of pure showmanship. Forget the good ol’ “walk the dog” yo-yo trick. He walks the entire room, tangling us all in his rhythm until we are as hooked as the string on his fingers.
Starr Da Riot! enters from the back of the room like a peach-tulle comet, stomping through the aisle to the instantly recognisable beat of Wolfmother’s Woman. The elegant full length gown soon unzips to reveal a sharp red PVC two piece, quickly followed by a long black pleather trench that gives them the look of a grunge-punk superhero. Their performance is a swaggering collision of punk attitude and cosmic chaos, full of splits, backbends and snarly bump and grind. Starr embodies the bratty energy of a rock’n’roll frontwoman, wreaking havoc on stage in the most delightful way. As an up and coming emerging performer, Starr is fresh meat indeed – and deliciously so.
Evie Eerie glides onstage to The Offspring’s Want You Bad in a dusty rose crushed velvet robe and strawberry blonde wig. Evie is the epitome of gothic glamour as she sheds each layer with ritualistic flair, sending her wig flying as she whips her signature red hair back. Her long black satin slip shimmers with rhinestone and lace detailing until it too slips away, revealing a black PVC three piece and stockings. She brandishes a leatherette flogger with wicked glee, cracking it on the stage, through the air and across her own thighs. Each strike is a tease and a taunt. Blending spooky seduction with tongue-in-cheek theatrics, this act is camp, kinky and irresistibly Evie.
Sebastian Wolf stalks through the aisle illuminated by neon green glowsticks stitched into his costume, looking like a demon who has escaped from a rave. Dancing to The Presets’ My People, he peels off the glowing sticks one by one and tosses them into the crowd, creating a constellation of neon at the audience’s feet. His black and green houndstooth ensemble, paired with a sparkling face mask, adds to the anarchic energy. Sebastian mixes theatre, punk grit and pure adrenaline, holding the audience captive with every twist, flip and smirk. It is electrifying in every sense.
Kalikah erupts onto the stage crowned by a flaming headdress, her fiery silhouette glowing against the pulsating soundtrack of Korn’s Freak On a Leash. Her studded black bellydancing costume glistens under the stage lights as she shimmies and snake-arms her way along to the pulsating, moody beat of the song. When the breakdown hits, she headbangs with total abandon, unleashing her inner metal goddess and pulling cheers from every corner of the venue. Kalikah’s distinctive combination of Middle Eastern dance technique and heavy metal attitude turns the room molten. She is a scorching force of nature who leaves the audience smouldering in her wake.
Blue Monday by New Order pulses as interstate headliner Lotta Voltage stands with her back to the crowd before turning to reveal a glossy blue latex fantasy come to life. With pigtails perched high and a latex pencil skirt shining in the stage lights, she looks like a cybernetic doll freshly rewired for sin. Her movements are inhuman, robotic and hypnotic. With each peel of latex she unravels the character, shifting into a sultry monster of sleek floorwork. As the synth-pop banger transitions into a moody remix, Lotta moves as if plugged directly into the sound system. Eerie, electric and exquisitely controlled, Lotta Voltage certainly lives us to her name: boy, is she electric!
No Big Day Out Burlesque show is complete without a performance from the producer of the show herself, Miss Curvella. Rage Against the Machine’s Killing in the Name detonates and Curvella strides out with a bible concealing her face. When she lowers it, she reveals a skintight black latex nun’s uniform, complete with white latex guimpe collar and coif headdress. Pages from the bible flutter to the floor as she tears them out and tosses the book aside. The room loses its collective mind as she strips away the nun attire and straps metal shields to her body. Then comes her signature angle-grinder act, sending sparks shooting into the crowd. It is unholy in all the right ways and utterly iconic.
Vivienne Von Coffin strides down the aisle to TOOL’s Stinkfist wearing a sheer deep red robe adorned with gold detailing, looking like a royal empress. Her matching three piece set under the robe shimmers as she saunters and shakes her hips with delicious sensuality. Once she’s up on stage, she kicks off her heels without hesitation, claiming the floor with the confidence of someone who knows she owns every inch of it. She moves with a sinuous swagger, shaking her curves like a goddess summoned for mischief, then drops into the splits before melting into luxurious floor work. A slow stocking peel sends the crowd into a frenzy, each movement deliberate and dripping with wicked charm. Vivienne is decadence and danger wrapped in satin and sin, proving exactly why she is the reigning “Queen of Sin”.
Did someone say “Fred Durst-lesque”? Genderbent Saskia storms the stage as Fred Durst reincarnated, complete with baggy jorts, plaid boxers poking out fornt underneath, puffer jacket and backwards red cap. Limp Bizkit’s Boiler rolls into Break Stuff and things get progressively more unhinged in the best way imaginable. She pants her jorts, seductively peels off a pair of black bedazzled Vans, then pours a pile of smashed glass across the stage. What follows is a jaw-dropping routine of barefoot stomping, knee sliding and complete and utter chaos. It is dangerous, hilarious and will have you questioning your sexuality.
Lyra la Belle appears shrouded beneath a black glittering hood as The Prodigy’s Breathe pulsates through the venue. When she lifts the hood away, she flicks her hair with the swagger of someone who knows exactly how much power she holds. It is no surprise she moves with such authority. Years ago she was one of the professional dancers accompanying The Prodigy on the actual Big Day Out stage, and tonight she channels that same electrifying energy back into the room. She struts straight into the crowd, revelling in the audience interaction she is famous for, teasing cheers from every corner as she unzips her glittering top to reveal a strappy black and silver two piece beneath. Her glove peels are slow and playful, the work of a true showwoman who is clearly having the time of her life. When she brings out a fibre optic dance whip glowing in neon colours, the whole venue transforms into a 90s rave revival fever dream. It is bold, joyful and unmistakably Lyra, reminding everyone why she remains one of the country’s most adored burlesque performers.
The electrifying Lotta Voltage returns for a second and final number to the pounding industrial force of Rammstein’s Du hast. This time she wears a floor length black latex trench, space buns and chains around her neck. When she unwraps the sash of the coat, she reveals a goth-girl dream of a plaid mini skirt and corset. A tricky zip threatens to sabotage the moment but she handles it like a pro before diving into intense floor work that shows off her flexibility and razor sharp control. Flexibility, power, grit and sensuality merge into one final thunderclap of a finale.
Big Day Out Burlesque rises like a glorious phoenix of festival nostalgia, resurrected through Curvella’s razor sharp curation of a powerhouse line up of both emerging and established artists, from Adelaide and beyond. Each performer pays homage to a band that once shook the festival grounds, celebrating the festival’s legacy through the art of burlesque. The Woodshed provides the perfect altar for this sonic and sensual revival with its grunge, grime and rock’n’roll soul. Another sold out triumph proves what Adelaide already knows. Big Day Out Festival may be long gone, but its spirit is alive and kicking as it lives on through the art of the tease in Big Day Out Burlesque.
Big Day Out Burlesque
Date: Friday 21 November 2025
Location: Woodshed, 13/2 Brandwood Street, Royal Park SA 5014
Rating: ★★★★★
The Adelaide Insider 