Kate Pazakis Brings Down The House at The Zipper Factory!!

What's up family!!!

I just got back from checking out Kate Pazakis set at The Zipper Factory. I took my road dawg Mia Amber with me...we hooked up in front of the Duane Reade on 34th and 8th avenue and walked the 2-3 blocks to the venue. I have literally been in hibernation mode the last few days because of the bitter cold but the weather on this night was lovely - a comfortable 54 degrees and I was excited just to be outside...lol. As we approached the building (which also houses The West Side Loft) there was a nice big crowd gathered outside and I immediately got excited for my girl.

We walked through the lobby to the box office, (where I detoured for a quick photo with some cutie pie Marines...Ooh Rah!) and picked up our tickets from the curvy girl behind the window. We walked through the doors to the bar area and immediately fell in love with the space!!

It (the space) has a real campy feel to it and it is loaded with art and artifacts from the past. The lounge area was really crowded so we decided to go inside and try to hunt for some good seats. The main room was even more crowded than the lounge area and I am glad we decided to come in when we did. We managed to find 2 seats together off to the right of the stage and once we got settled; I headed back outside for a brew-ski before the show.

I got back to my seat just in time to catch this chick and her friend rocking these wonderful hand knitted hats....lol...they looked like they had kitty ears on and I fell in love immediately! I had to ask where they got them from and the curvier one of the responded that she'd made them. (WOW)...well a quick exchange of information was made and I guarantee you i'mma be sporting one of those hats REAL SOON!!

A few moments later the lights dimmed and after a few basic announcements (we were taping the segment live...so they asked us to hold back the extra witty repartee that generally comes with live shows) and some hilarious comments by a guy that I'm guessing was the musical director. The announcements were followed by the arrival of her band and background singers.....

And then finally my girl takes the stage....looking absolutely smashing in a royal blue dress (that fit her figure to a tee!) and cha-cha pumps to boot! As she took us through a musical journey of her life to date - I was amazed at how well she sings. I mean I KNEW she could sing when we were doing musical theater together back in the day....but I never got to REALLY hear her sing and watch her command a stage like she did on this night.

Her background singers (and their choreography) was also wonderful as was her band. There was an occasional slide show to go along with some of the songs and Kate's patter with the audience left us all thoroughly entertained. She performed a mixture of tunes, from musical theater (the "legit" song was incredible....I could NEVER pull that off!), a little pop, a little country and even a little rock n' roll.

There was an after party in the lounge area as we exited the theater and we decided to hang out and wait to chat with Miz Pazakis herself. While we waited we chowed down on some dumplings, spring rolls (?) and apple pie....lol...I saw some meatballs at the other end of the room but I never made it over there.

Kate came out a little while later and I managed to get a few moments of her time to chat with her and let her know how proud I was of her. I also got to meet the Pazakis clan and they were more than happy to pose for a picture.

Continued success Kate....with that voice and that band....you are gonna do great things mama!

I'll be watching, Let's have that drink real soon!

"Great works are performed, not by strength but by perserverance."
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe