The show incorporated You Tube sensation Liam Kyle Sullivan's "Shoes," which should have been a lot less funny when performed by a guy in drag with a mic on an empty stage, but the joke read as an inside sort of one, and the crowd was delighted.

Another stand-out performance was Dirty Martini's number to Dolly Parton's "Proud to be an American." Featuring the voluptuous Martini bedecked in a sequined take on an American flag (in true Ginger-style), the strip began with the performer teetering about under the weight of a justice scale. The buckets she was using to represent the scale dropped to the ground, and we found out they were filled with money, which she hungrily gathered. As the clothing come off, Martini was throwing money into the air and shoving it into her mouth, pulling it out of her glove, her panties, wherever. By the time Martinis donned some tassels and a thong, the patriotic strains grew louder, and the audience wondered where the hell she's going to pull money out of next. So of course, the performer dug into her ass and produced a streamer of bills, which she danced around with before flipping off the audience.

Cho's first number was equally ballsy. Arriving on stage in a full Maoist get-up, waving red-flags to the tune of the Hives' "Hate to Say I Told You So," Cho held her own as a burlesque performer. By time the music peaks, her clothes came off, and we got to witness the gorgeous tattoos on her back - not to mention her tassel-twirling technique, which is really quite astounding for a newbie to do so well.

Although Cho's week-long residency at the Lakeshore Theatre anchored the festivities, she was in good company with the rest of the Estrojam lineup.

"Seminal" filmmakers from all corners of the world came together in the Debonair Social Club for Cinejam, a cinema cocktail party that included music videos, animations, and narrative shorts. The vibe of Debonair generally resembles a yuppified, more pretentious version of Foreign Cinema, but Cinejam's lineup more than made up for it. After the flicks, crowds headed across the street to the Double Door, where noise-rock guitar heroine Marnie Stern was shredding through parts of her debut, Advance of the Broken Arm (Kill Rock Stars).

Keeping with E-Jam's grand traditions of blurring genre lines, the Abbey Pub hosted an all-hip-hop night headlined by the legendary ladies of ESG. The Bronx group, which formed in 1978 and has been sampled by everyone from Wu-Tang to TLC, announced before the festival that this would be their final show. Supporting the OGs were Chicago's Psalm One, Philly's Bahamadia, the oh-so-out-of-the-closet rap trio Yo Majesty, and Graff Girlz, an art collective that spent the night making live graffiti onstage.

Workshops offered throughout the week highlighted women at the top of their respective games, and gave attendees a chance to rake in some valuable information.

"Like a Tupperware party, but better." This is how Thursday's GirlGang workshop was billed. Fashioned into a sex-ed class for grown-ups, the meeting took a Q&A form and resulted in candid discussions about anatomical, reproductive and sexual issues that young woman today should be more savvy about. No red cheeks in this
room - just a whole lot of proof that an open discourse on "untouchable" issues can be fun and informative.

Friday's workshops centered around the music business: a Video DJ-ing clinic by DJ Girl 6 showed enthusiastic students how to rig a traditional turntable set into an AV extravaganza fit for any club. "Music Biz 101" brought together some of the most successful women in the industry (including ESG's Renee Scroggins, Nicole Cowley from Drag City Records, and some of the team from Girls Rock! Chicago) to dish out advice to young woman aspiring to enter the biz.

Of course the high point was saved for the holy day - Sunday's workshop, aptly titled "Tickling Your Fancy" carried an 18 and older warning and took place at Early to Bed, Chicago's answer to Good Vibrations.

Edgy and inspired, Estrojam 2007 offered a whiff of what creative women world-round have been up to. Festival organizers are going to have a difficult time topping this year's festivities.