from the archives :: random monday retold

ok - so - mondays in new york - not much going on. i think this is true in most cities. however - new york being what it is - you can always find a little something to keep you entertained.

got a call from my good friend brent and told me to meet him at our friend tommy's and we would then make our way out to the east village for a bit of live music. now who could pass up live music in the evill? so i grabbed tommy's bread (that he left at my house on sunday) - and headed downtown. omg - is mother nature on pms or what - it was a beautiful day and then - bam - cold and windy in the evening - i was so over it - but alas - neither rain, snow, sleet - blah blah - i was going to go out and have a fabu time!

we made our way to starlight. starlight was voted one of the best gay bars in nyc this year in the aol cityguide city's best campaign. starlight is a small bar in alphabet city. it holds about 150 on a good day - but most of the time it feels like 300 people are trying to hang out in there. most days I have to admit - we avoid the starlight because it's so packed. because this was a monday - i figured - can't be that crowded. i was right.

so - why were we there? brent's friend tex was singing in a couple of numbers in the show being presented. the show showcased the live guitar and vocal stylings of paul deboy (pictured at top). now i'll give anyone credit for being on a stage doing their thing. especially when it's a live talent. but talent would be the key to being on stage - if you don't have any - stay away from the stage. listening to this boy's 'poetry' about masturbation, lsd camping trips, and bad covers of songs no one cares about anymore made me wish i were deaf, blind, and comatose. the best part of the show was when he sat and let tex and another singer - jay - take over for a couple of songs. i was thinking to myself - now i'd listen to a bit more of jay thanks - paul - go back to baltimore.

ok - so maybe that was harsh - but i woke up from a good nap for this! thank god it was over in about an hour's time.

now - i don't think that this one experience should keep me from going back on a monday. i did get to meet the producer of the evening's festivities. a very nice gentleman by the name of julian fleisher. he's the man who'll be bringing the new kiki and herb album to a store near you - as he was a producer of their recent carnegie hall extravaganza. also in the 'crowd' of about 20 people was none other than 'hedwig' creator - john cameron mitchell (pictured on right). i have to admit - mister mitchell looked about as bored as the rest of us but cheered on his friend jay as he took the stage.

so after that experience i needed to pep up my night a bit. tommy and brent parted ways headed for dinner and to the cock for their 3rd anniversary of old skool - i went further downtown and slightly east to a bar called sutra. my very good friend rainblo throws a party there every monday night. it's only it's 3rd week but momentum is picking up and it's been quite festive thus far. open bar with fabulous banana martinis and chocolate shots until 11:00.

now - this scene is growing - sporting some of nyc's most fabulous microlebrity glitterati. seen at the party: the absolute legendary kenny kenny, cazwell, queen mother flawless sabrina, tovall, jaisen, xavier j., newbee duch, british sensation davenia, miranda moondust, gogo russell, and artist and promoter deryck todd. i'm sure there were many others but i was too busy just snapping photos and looking at the rather endowed dancers on the bar and stage. dj jamie lee was providing the tunes. typical mix of 80's and today's hits. rainblo (pictured on left) looked stunning as ever!

i spent most of my evening chumming it up with deryck commenting about the party. we were (im)patiently waiting for the show to start. cazwell (the gay eminem) did a little song then there was a contest for $50 where 3 people got up to 'show their stuff' to the crowd. i have to say - less than impressed with all of the above. having the entertainment is fun for a break in the night - but i think the children had better times just dancing it out on the dance floor.

in all - great time at sutra! all that and i was still home in bed at a 'decent' hour! haha - till next time - muah!

from the archives :: 'jackie - beat me down!'

jackie - beat me down!

last night - another whirlwind. started with a night at the opera with my friend russell. we went to lincoln center to see 'candide.' front row center - fantastic seats. beautiful to watch - good music by leonard bernstein - but being that it's 'candide' - the story is a little lacking.

went home afterwards - changed out of my tuxedo and into jeans and headed to xes to meet up with todd, stephen, ryan, shawn, and jason. fun times - quick beer - then off to 'high life -low life' at the slide in the east village.

$10 cover charge gets you into one of the oldest gay establishments in the city (meaning the building is so old and has been pretty much a gay tavern since it was built in the 1800's). now - however - on saturday's it's - 'high life-low life.'

let's start with low life. low life is at the slide - dark and dank - seedy gogo boys dance on a bar while a crowd walks around in the near darkness coping feels by passers by!

high life - just the opposite. light - dancing - glitter - and yes - drag queens. rose royale is the cheerful and quippy cocktail waitress. on stage for the 'preshow' are the delightful silent venyettes from the british gal herself - lavetra coop. dj nita aviance pumps out the sounds which in true east village style - is everything from 80's hair rock to disco and dance hits of today. showtime is somewhere between one and two in the morning. show hostess as always is the fantastic sweetie (pictured on the right). sweetie's show is simple - her and one or two guests. last night was a treat indeed. her guest was the one and only - comedic diva from los angeles - jackie beat!

jackie (pictured at top) bounded the stage looking much like linda richmond (of saturday night live's 'coffee talk') complete with gold sweater set - big teased hair and huge sunglasses. only 3 songs were done - 'bitch slap' (to the tune of 'witchcraft'), a song dedicated to all booger drag queens out there - 'from a distance' (made me pee my pants was so funny) - and a metallica remake in honor of michael jackson about being tossed out of neverland ranch (his home.)

sweetie closed the show lipsyncing to the natalie cole classic and remake from the beatles - 'lucy in the sky with diamonds.'

seen on the scene paying respects to jackie were miss guy and lady bunny. guy looking stunning as ever was dwarfed by bunny's larger than life - um - bag.

come to find out that jackie came all the way from los angeles to pay respects to fez closing later this month. fez is a popular venue for many drag entertainers and unfortunately is closing forever. boo-hoo - what can i say - it happens. an end of an era.

so anyway - enough babbling - if you ever see jackie coming to your town - go check her out - she'll have you in stitches.

until next time -

j

oh and jason k - thanks for the smooch! and dan s - good to see you again after all these years since tracks in dc.

from the archives :: formika rocks

formika rocks!

omg omg - last night's entertainment was nothing less than rockin'!

first off - my good friend russell and i went to see a great show - 'altarboyz' - at the dodger stages on 50th street here in nyc. go see this show - it was the most hysterical thing i've seen in ages. the show runs about an hour and a half. the all male cast portrays a christian n*sync-style boy band - complete with backing band, concert lighting, and shadoe stevens (american top 40 countdown) as the voice of g.o.d.

at about midnight i met up with todd, stephen and ryan (from san francisco), shawn, jason, matt, and anthony and headed down to the east village. stephen and ryan - being from out of town - had never been to opaline so that was our destination. there we met up with brent, russell, tommy, joe and david. the party on fridays is called 'area 10009.' format of the party is classic east village. two dance floors featuring classic hits from the 80's and 90's with mixes in of current classics. the showstopper is on the main stage.

the sexy masseur - matt - will get you naked and give you a full body massage on stage while the entire room dances and pulsates around you. some people have said this is a quite hot experience.

at around 1 or 2 in the morning - i forget what time exactly. the band hits the stage. the show is hosted by the lovely and legendary sherry vine (sherry - pictured on the right - just returned back on the ny scene on new years eve after an extended stay and successful show in germany - welcome back). kids - this is drag at it's finest. these lovely ladies sing live with a live band and truly rock the house. last night included sherry (of course), the beautifully androgynous miss guy, and the once mistress (now michael) formkia (for those of you playing along at home - formika has retired but michael still entertains quite often for the general public - pictured at top).

now - maybe this can only happen in new york - how many times have you ever gone out to a club - filled to the rim with everthing from artsy twinks and gogo boys to gym bunnies and 'aberzombies' and divas for days - where everyone in the room suddenly dances along to a live rock concert? let me tell you - formika took the house down with his rendition of green day's classic 'basket case.' i have not seen a crowd rock so hard for a 'queen' in a long time. it was truly breath-taking!

and to think - the lady bunny was just reported saying in skrufff.com's newsletter how club in nyc is getting 'boring' - honey - get your ass to opaline on a friday - their show will truly change your tune!

from the archives :: 'jimmy james - legend or has-been?'

jimmy james - legend or has-been?

so last night i was out with my old friend, singer/songwriter, eric himan and new friend, photographer, john arsenault. after a wonderful dinner at don giovanni's here in the city - we headed to xes on 24th street. xes is going to be the venue to house the monday party I'll be hosting starting on april 4th. there we met up with friend and author of 'metrosexual guide to style', michael flocker and his friend from san francisco - corey.

we laughed as contestants were eliminated from american idol - sorry kids - you won't be missed - and sipped on our amstel lights and various other beverages. in walks in james beltzer and deryck todd (promoters for galore) and introductions happened. michael and corey shortly thereafter excused themselves and made way to the door.

just at about that time - music starts and a shrill nelly voice comes booming over the microphone, 'the show will begin in about 5 minutes - grab a seat and a drink.' - so we did. we (eric, john and i) propped ourselves by the bar and waited patiently for what would come next.

turns out - each wednesday at about 10:00PM - the (once) legendary jimmy james (pictured at top) tests out his material in a workshop format at xes. i was excited - i've never met nor have i ever seen jimmy james perform. i know him only from his photos taken by the fabulous (may he rest in peace) kevyn aucoin.

for those who know - jimmy james is/was one of the most successful illusionists of the late 80s and 90s. he frequently appeared on talk shows as the one and only marilyn monroe. (i personally thought he looked a bit like anna nichole smith - but beautiful nonetheless). what makes jimmy unique is that he's fully mastered not only the legendary looks of the women he portrays - but he also has mastered their mannerisms and most impressively - their voices. you see - jimmy james performs live music as the entertainers he impersonates.

last night we were treated with a little eartha kitt, patsy cline, nancy sinatra, a sonny and cher duet (where jimmy sang both parts - try that one for talent kids), tina turner, some judy and an interesting marilyn tribute where jimmy played a dvd on the screens in the bar with all images and video on the dvd were him as marilyn (sorry honey but this really showed your age - geraldo, marsha warfield, and sally jesse's talk shows were cancelled years ago).

i was sad to learn that jimmy no longer 'dresses' in these illusions (which made sense as he has gained a few pounds since his heyday - guess that month on the zone diet didn't work too well) but still - i was absolutely captivated by what this man could do with his voice. jimmy was decked out in 'face' and a black blouse and pants - short 'crew' cut and a red tie (think gothic biker lesbian).

the biggest let down of the evening had to be the crowd. lots of drunk straight women talking over the singing and the even drunker chelsea boys heckling the entertainer who was just trying to do his show. (note to the fags - keep your drunk friends at home if they can't handle themselves in public - no one likes a messy fish - or gym bunny for that matter!) the heckling got out of control - which led jimmy to resort to what anyone with a microphone would do - heckle back. we decided that we had had enough by this point and politely said good-bye to friends and headed out into the 20 degree evening.

i was proud to see the bit of the show i saw. very interesting concept. i hope to see more of it in the future. for entertainment value - i was entertained. will i go back - doubt it - but you never know when I may suddenly appear and catch your show - now do ya? um hummm - gals at roscoe's in chicago - you know what i'm talking about!

haha - until next time kids!