Comfort has three rooms, and will feature an exhibit from the Speakeasy Arts Collective, a round of the Jager Music Buzz Band Search, a screening of the independent Swedish film "The Wedding Cow," DJ Music from DJs Eddie Love and Vin Varg, and a sexy, burlesque-style lounge theater act by the Pleasure Units Cocktail and Bartending Troupe.
"The front room is the lounge, a very nice, sexy, high-end-looking lounge with high ceilings and a balcony where the DJ sets up," said Original Sessions promoter John Vargas. "The middle room is the buffer zone with a California kitchen. The other side of the buffer room is where the bands play."
Art
Pulled together by Paul Jack, the Speakeasy Arts Crew features independent professional artists whom he felt had an original perspective on their craft.
"I want it to be professional high-end art with enough of an edge to fit in without being generic art," said Jack. "Artists who are professional and unique and put a twist on it somehow. They do it in a non-traditional way, going against the grain. The professionalism is still there, but they're not afraid to break the rules."
Jack has been participating in group shows in New Jersey for three years, including the Jersey City Artist Studio Tour, displaying at Victory Hall. He started organizing his own show this year at venues in New Jersey and the East Village, using artists he met while participating in shows and working a frame shop in West Orange. The artists being displayed starting Wednesday are Jack, Nicholas Rosal, Marshall Okin, Jesse Wright, Rene Mayorga, and Jonathan Olmstead.
Jack says doing group shows is a way to bring in a larger crowd of people who may not have seen the work otherwise, and the multi-media show multiplies the audience across artforms.
"Each person can bring more people. It's sharing each other's audience," said Jack. "There are so many parties involved, it's going to be a full night. It's also the night before Thanksgiving."
Music The Original Sessions and Jagermusic New York/New Jersey Buzz Band Search will hold a round of their competition where bands hope to become a Jager representative band. Criteria is originality, showmanship, appearance, and overall musicianship. Bands first get invited based on submission. After the first show, they get invited to come back and play a bigger venue for the second show. At the third and final show, four bands get chosen to be on a compellation CD that gets sponsored nationally.
New Jersey-based rock trio Bon Bomb was one of last year's winners, and they will be the featured act on Wednesday.
"It's a three-piece rock and roll band," said Bon Bomb bassist and singer Raul Mederos. "We've been compared to Jane's Addiction and the Cure."
Wilson Jaramillo plays guitar and also sings, and MH Yaghooti plays drums.
There will also be DJ music. DJ Eddie Love will spin '80s, new wave, electronica, disco, punk, and soulful house. DJ Vin Varg (Vargas) will play rare grooves, Afro-beat, rock in Espanol, pop, and soulful house.
"Most artists are pretty diverse when it comes to musical taste," Vargas said.
Film
One of the highlights of the evening will be a screening of The Wedding Cow, directed by Swedish filmmaker Tomi Strief. The 87-minute film tells the story of a young woman who gets conned out of her train fare traveling to her new job as a librarian.
"The movie 'The Wedding Cow' has been hitting the film circuit for some time and has received a few awards," said Vargas.
Dancing
At midnight, the DJ will stop the music, and the Pleasure Units Cocktail and Bartending Troupe, consisting of two bartenders and two cocktail waitresses, will perform. Two of the performers include Stephanie Angilili of City Kitties, and Hoboken resident Michelle Brokin. Throughout the night, the ladies will serve drinks in sexy outfits as a prelude to the show to come.
"One of the barmaids will go up to where the DJ is, and he'll stop the music," said Vargas. "She'll come down the stairs singing some burlesque standard like 'Fever.' " When she's done, one of the other girls will take the stage."
Comfort is located at 499 Washington St. across from the Newport Pavonia PATH station. The show begins at 8 p.m. and there is a $7 cover. BUZZ BAND SEARCH - The Bon Bombs, who won last year's Original Sessions and Jagermusic Buzz Band Search, are special guests at this year's competition.
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