Part 2 of 'A random happening in Clapham'
Rather than reply to the comments of my previous blog at highlyharried.livejournal.com/16776.html, I decided to address it in a brand new one.
Yes, I went back to the Brewers, i.e. the gay bar.
(Thanks for the encouragement nitedula ! Less warm thanks to zooper - I am *not* skanky thanks very much, and certainly not for choosing to frequent a gay bar on occasion. So Neurgh! ;] )
It was fun! I arrived half-way through the drag competition (Drag Idol). To give you some background, the Brewers (and various other affiliated bars) have a drag act perform a brief 15-20 minute slot most Friday and Saturday nights. I’ve watched - there is usually some singing, and some chatter. The competition prize is paid performance slots in those bars. Entrants must be on stage for at least 10 minutes and prove their ability to entertain. It’s a pretty cool prize I think.
I walked in at the tail end of a drag queen that was quite aesthetically pretty, with a decent voice, but possibly lacking in variety and impact.
The next act was more musical comedy. It was funny for a bit, but I just found it went too long.
The final act was an actual woman (they’d broadened the scope of the competition this year). She was awesome - big, brassy, smoky voice. She walked on in a maternity dress with a padded belly, singing a song called ‘Woman’, looking very much the image of a knocked up 1950’s American house wife with a lot of sass. She later ripped of the outfit to reveal a sexy sparkly number, and sang an up tempo song with some high-energy dancing. I was pleased that she was going to go through to the next round, and less pleased that the comedy act was also getting put through.
I watched the show, danced with some randoms, then stood around for ages at the door talking to Moses (the security guard at the door) and the door boy taking the entrance fees, both who were lovely to talk to…and then I went home! All in all a nice random night out.
Conversation with
aunty_del :
Me: why exactly were all these people so eager to get a straight girl in a gay bar?
Adele: Did they know you were straight? Perhaps they assumed that, in what I gather is a gay area, you're lesbian/bi/other and they're trying to broaden their appeal.
I guess I have always assumed that I come across as pretty unambiguously straight. Feel free to correct me if you like! In any case, I think Moses gave me a free pass because he thought I was a cute charming asian girl. (Moses is African, although I’ve forgotten from where, and confesses to being a bit intimidated at the idea of approaching Asians, and not really knowing how to talk to them. I assume it’s an issue of lack of exposure, and the longer that he is in London, the less of an issue it will be, particularly given the volume of people he meets.) And the other guy (Neil?) who encouraged me to go in was probably straight, and drunk, and extra friendly. In any case, I think there were all sorts of sexual orientations represented in the club that night so I don’t think they have the problem of needing to broaden their appeal. Still, I could be making some false assumptions here...
nclean …never mind.
Yes, I went back to the Brewers, i.e. the gay bar.
(Thanks for the encouragement nitedula ! Less warm thanks to zooper - I am *not* skanky thanks very much, and certainly not for choosing to frequent a gay bar on occasion. So Neurgh! ;] )
It was fun! I arrived half-way through the drag competition (Drag Idol). To give you some background, the Brewers (and various other affiliated bars) have a drag act perform a brief 15-20 minute slot most Friday and Saturday nights. I’ve watched - there is usually some singing, and some chatter. The competition prize is paid performance slots in those bars. Entrants must be on stage for at least 10 minutes and prove their ability to entertain. It’s a pretty cool prize I think.
I walked in at the tail end of a drag queen that was quite aesthetically pretty, with a decent voice, but possibly lacking in variety and impact.
The next act was more musical comedy. It was funny for a bit, but I just found it went too long.
The final act was an actual woman (they’d broadened the scope of the competition this year). She was awesome - big, brassy, smoky voice. She walked on in a maternity dress with a padded belly, singing a song called ‘Woman’, looking very much the image of a knocked up 1950’s American house wife with a lot of sass. She later ripped of the outfit to reveal a sexy sparkly number, and sang an up tempo song with some high-energy dancing. I was pleased that she was going to go through to the next round, and less pleased that the comedy act was also getting put through.
I watched the show, danced with some randoms, then stood around for ages at the door talking to Moses (the security guard at the door) and the door boy taking the entrance fees, both who were lovely to talk to…and then I went home! All in all a nice random night out.
Conversation with
aunty_del :
Me: why exactly were all these people so eager to get a straight girl in a gay bar?
Adele: Did they know you were straight? Perhaps they assumed that, in what I gather is a gay area, you're lesbian/bi/other and they're trying to broaden their appeal.
I guess I have always assumed that I come across as pretty unambiguously straight. Feel free to correct me if you like! In any case, I think Moses gave me a free pass because he thought I was a cute charming asian girl. (Moses is African, although I’ve forgotten from where, and confesses to being a bit intimidated at the idea of approaching Asians, and not really knowing how to talk to them. I assume it’s an issue of lack of exposure, and the longer that he is in London, the less of an issue it will be, particularly given the volume of people he meets.) And the other guy (Neil?) who encouraged me to go in was probably straight, and drunk, and extra friendly. In any case, I think there were all sorts of sexual orientations represented in the club that night so I don’t think they have the problem of needing to broaden their appeal. Still, I could be making some false assumptions here...
nclean …never mind.