San Francisco Chronicle, photo pull-out from Tease-O-Rama
September 18, 2005
San Francisco Bay Times, Pollo Del Mar, Glamazon About Town
June 2008, from "Around Town"
"Like the Diamond Daggers - ladies are stealing the shows lately."
"Friday I landed at The Cinch for Charlie Horse, a show not to be missed . . . The night’s theme - “Peaches Christ Slaughters Broadway” - was the incomparable cohostess’ brainchild and gave rise to inspired performances. . . The night really belonged to four ladies, though. Faux-queen Holy McGrail . . . and The Diamond Daggers, a burlesque troupe Anna Conda met while hostessing the LGBT Community Center’s Anniversary celebration."
Curve Magazine, Lauren Marie Fleming
January/February 2007
Featured in "Queer Femme Follies"
"With routines that invoked Buster Keaton, Sir Loin Strip entertained the audience while the Diamond Daggers made costume changes. When the gals returned to the stage, their sheer enthusiasm alone put a smile on my lips. With creative routines and perfect comic timing, their fabulous femme follies made sure the audience's last moments of the year were filled with hysterical laughter."
"On the West Coast, the members of the Diamond Daggers are some of the most organized and professional people I've ever met. Their hard work shows in expertly choreographed numbers and extravagant costumes, all designed by members of the troupe."
"As one member [of Diamond Daggers] said they are 'proud to have the luxury of being queer and feminine, and [we] respect those who have come before us, but we need to keep changing and moving forward.' Viva la feminist revolution!"
SF Weekly, Hiya Swanhouser
December 2006
"Is it better to give the audience what it wants and expects, or to express your own thing, even if it doesn't get you money and praise? Artists of all stripes contend with this question, and there is rarely a right answer. In the world of neo-burlesque, both options have been exploited, with some performers taking the Playboy magazine-friendly, airbrushed ´n' starved approach, and others deciding that self-respect and feminism look great with pasties. Frolic: San Francisco's First CircusDragBurlesque Festival [Co-Produced by Diamond Daggers Productions], features the best of both worlds. Local fans have come to expect size-diverse, multiethnic, gender-bending women taking off most of their slinky clothing, so everyone wins with the likes of Harlem Shake Burlesque, the Diamond Daggers, and Fauxnique."
San Francisco Bay Times
January 2006
"Fairy Butch acted as emcee and opened the event by introducing SF’s own lesbian burlesque troupe, the Diamond Daggers. Dressed in sexy fringed lingerie, the Daggers danced and lip-synced to “Cell Block Tango” from the musical Chicago. These women have it all over the Pussycat Dolls, in this reporter’s opinion."
Frameline Press Room
June 2006
Frameline 30. "At the swanky post-film party, the festival awards were announced by Frameline30 programmers Michael Lumpkin and Jennifer Morris, and gala attendees were treated to performances by the illustrious brood of queer, vigilante vaudevillian teasers, the Diamond Daggers (pictured above)."
June 2005
"Frameline29, the 29th San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, the world's largest and oldest queer film festival, came to a close on Pride Sunday, June 27, 2005, after an 11-day run at the historic Castro Theatre, Roxie Cinema, and Victoria Theatre in San Francisco, and at the Parkway Theater in Oakland . . . local personalities who attended Festival29 included Assemblyman Mark Leno, former Ambassador to Luxembourg Jim Hormell, Marga Gomez, Peaches Christ, Trannyshack co-founder Heklina, . . . and Diamond Daggers."
Spectator Magazine, Matthew Helt
July 2005
"Easily my favorite main stage [San Francisco Pride Parade 2005] entertainment was the burlesque heavy performance by Anita Cocktail and the Diamond Daggers . . . The Diamond Daggers commanded my attention and sealed the deal, this was the highlight."
What's New? Jamie Zawinski
July 11, 2005
"Someone told me that the can-can troupe [Diamond Daggers] weren't actually booked by anybody: they just showed up, in costume, and said can we go on next? I will believe that this is true, because it should be. I choose to live in a world populated by roving bands of vigilante can-can girls."
Circus News, David Roe
March 16, 2005
"Diamond Daggers showed sophisticated theatricality. In a classy sketch featuring four girls in red enters a tuxedo-clad, mustachioed girl in a top hat. Twirling umbrellas surround him and flutter open to reveal beautiful red flower pasties. They traveled around the whole room during a spy number with flashlights & overcoats. And appeared at closing as bright yellow chickies singing I Love you a Bushel & a Peck, again with elegant pasties."
SF Bay Times
August 26, 2004
"Dressed in different rainbow colors, the [girls] took us back to the decadent days of Moulin Rouge with a rowdy, sexy cancan, kicking high and showing thigh (not to mention lace panties). Later they returned to do a Roaring 20's dance in red and white seaside attire with matching parasols, while their drag king in top hat and tails strutted about lip-synching I Found A Million Dollar Baby in a Five and Ten Cent Store, and eventually everyone went topless with rose petal pasties." Sister Dana Van Iquity, Another Winning Viva Variety!
JD, Self Newsletter
March 2004, Atlanta
"Oh, and if you ever get the chance to check out SF's Diamond Daggers do it! You won?t be disappointed. You might even need to be resuscitated."
Sister Dana Van Iquity, Viva Variety Turns Five, SF Bay Times
March 11, 2004
"The show opened in the dark with eight women sleuths in trench coats holding flashlights, lurking about to a James Bond spy tune. These were the Diamond Daggers burlesque troupe. return[ing] to do a scintillating interpretation of the Chicago theme song and All that Jazz, complete with the Bob Fosse choreography and shimmy-shakin', truckin' on down the line, doin' high kicks, and simply pulling the audience to their feet in a big standing, stomping ovation."
Sacramento News & Review, Becca Costello
December 25, 2003
"At regular intervals, the seductive Diamond Daggers offered the feminine complement to lip-synched masculinity. For each routine, the quartet wore coordinated outfits (red, sparkling evening gowns or plush, leopard-print coats). Accompanied by sultry lounge music, the daggers slowly stripped down to panties and pasties in traditional burlesque fashion. Judging from the roar of the audience after their last number, one would have thought they'd exposed much more."
September 18, 2005
San Francisco Bay Times, Pollo Del Mar, Glamazon About Town
June 2008, from "Around Town"
"Like the Diamond Daggers - ladies are stealing the shows lately."
"Friday I landed at The Cinch for Charlie Horse, a show not to be missed . . . The night’s theme - “Peaches Christ Slaughters Broadway” - was the incomparable cohostess’ brainchild and gave rise to inspired performances. . . The night really belonged to four ladies, though. Faux-queen Holy McGrail . . . and The Diamond Daggers, a burlesque troupe Anna Conda met while hostessing the LGBT Community Center’s Anniversary celebration."
Curve Magazine, Lauren Marie Fleming
January/February 2007
Featured in "Queer Femme Follies"
"With routines that invoked Buster Keaton, Sir Loin Strip entertained the audience while the Diamond Daggers made costume changes. When the gals returned to the stage, their sheer enthusiasm alone put a smile on my lips. With creative routines and perfect comic timing, their fabulous femme follies made sure the audience's last moments of the year were filled with hysterical laughter."
"On the West Coast, the members of the Diamond Daggers are some of the most organized and professional people I've ever met. Their hard work shows in expertly choreographed numbers and extravagant costumes, all designed by members of the troupe."
"As one member [of Diamond Daggers] said they are 'proud to have the luxury of being queer and feminine, and [we] respect those who have come before us, but we need to keep changing and moving forward.' Viva la feminist revolution!"
SF Weekly, Hiya Swanhouser
December 2006
"Is it better to give the audience what it wants and expects, or to express your own thing, even if it doesn't get you money and praise? Artists of all stripes contend with this question, and there is rarely a right answer. In the world of neo-burlesque, both options have been exploited, with some performers taking the Playboy magazine-friendly, airbrushed ´n' starved approach, and others deciding that self-respect and feminism look great with pasties. Frolic: San Francisco's First CircusDragBurlesque Festival [Co-Produced by Diamond Daggers Productions], features the best of both worlds. Local fans have come to expect size-diverse, multiethnic, gender-bending women taking off most of their slinky clothing, so everyone wins with the likes of Harlem Shake Burlesque, the Diamond Daggers, and Fauxnique."
San Francisco Bay Times
January 2006
"Fairy Butch acted as emcee and opened the event by introducing SF’s own lesbian burlesque troupe, the Diamond Daggers. Dressed in sexy fringed lingerie, the Daggers danced and lip-synced to “Cell Block Tango” from the musical Chicago. These women have it all over the Pussycat Dolls, in this reporter’s opinion."
Frameline Press Room
June 2006
Frameline 30. "At the swanky post-film party, the festival awards were announced by Frameline30 programmers Michael Lumpkin and Jennifer Morris, and gala attendees were treated to performances by the illustrious brood of queer, vigilante vaudevillian teasers, the Diamond Daggers (pictured above)."
June 2005
"Frameline29, the 29th San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, the world's largest and oldest queer film festival, came to a close on Pride Sunday, June 27, 2005, after an 11-day run at the historic Castro Theatre, Roxie Cinema, and Victoria Theatre in San Francisco, and at the Parkway Theater in Oakland . . . local personalities who attended Festival29 included Assemblyman Mark Leno, former Ambassador to Luxembourg Jim Hormell, Marga Gomez, Peaches Christ, Trannyshack co-founder Heklina, . . . and Diamond Daggers."
Spectator Magazine, Matthew Helt
July 2005
"Easily my favorite main stage [San Francisco Pride Parade 2005] entertainment was the burlesque heavy performance by Anita Cocktail and the Diamond Daggers . . . The Diamond Daggers commanded my attention and sealed the deal, this was the highlight."
What's New? Jamie Zawinski
July 11, 2005
"Someone told me that the can-can troupe [Diamond Daggers] weren't actually booked by anybody: they just showed up, in costume, and said can we go on next? I will believe that this is true, because it should be. I choose to live in a world populated by roving bands of vigilante can-can girls."
Circus News, David Roe
March 16, 2005
"Diamond Daggers showed sophisticated theatricality. In a classy sketch featuring four girls in red enters a tuxedo-clad, mustachioed girl in a top hat. Twirling umbrellas surround him and flutter open to reveal beautiful red flower pasties. They traveled around the whole room during a spy number with flashlights & overcoats. And appeared at closing as bright yellow chickies singing I Love you a Bushel & a Peck, again with elegant pasties."
SF Bay Times
August 26, 2004
"Dressed in different rainbow colors, the [girls] took us back to the decadent days of Moulin Rouge with a rowdy, sexy cancan, kicking high and showing thigh (not to mention lace panties). Later they returned to do a Roaring 20's dance in red and white seaside attire with matching parasols, while their drag king in top hat and tails strutted about lip-synching I Found A Million Dollar Baby in a Five and Ten Cent Store, and eventually everyone went topless with rose petal pasties." Sister Dana Van Iquity, Another Winning Viva Variety!
JD, Self Newsletter
March 2004, Atlanta
"Oh, and if you ever get the chance to check out SF's Diamond Daggers do it! You won?t be disappointed. You might even need to be resuscitated."
Sister Dana Van Iquity, Viva Variety Turns Five, SF Bay Times
March 11, 2004
"The show opened in the dark with eight women sleuths in trench coats holding flashlights, lurking about to a James Bond spy tune. These were the Diamond Daggers burlesque troupe. return[ing] to do a scintillating interpretation of the Chicago theme song and All that Jazz, complete with the Bob Fosse choreography and shimmy-shakin', truckin' on down the line, doin' high kicks, and simply pulling the audience to their feet in a big standing, stomping ovation."
Sacramento News & Review, Becca Costello
December 25, 2003
"At regular intervals, the seductive Diamond Daggers offered the feminine complement to lip-synched masculinity. For each routine, the quartet wore coordinated outfits (red, sparkling evening gowns or plush, leopard-print coats). Accompanied by sultry lounge music, the daggers slowly stripped down to panties and pasties in traditional burlesque fashion. Judging from the roar of the audience after their last number, one would have thought they'd exposed much more."
