Archive for March, 2009
Lavender Menace
March 9, 2009
This is the kind of show I would try to curate. Having been a huge fan of all three queer bands, imagine my excitement and jealousy when I got an email about a concert on March 23rd with The Ballet, Scott Matthew, and Mkng Frnds! (UPDATE: Mkng Frndz cancelled, sorry) A one-night stand at The Bell House, this show will be a night of indie queers united by some of the best music that city has to offer. The Ballet is chamber pop, like Midlake but more consistent and healthy dash of synth. You know Scott Matthew from his on-screen performances in the movie Shortbus. Mkng Frndz has been the project of Tami Hart, a former folk-punker and Mr. Lady Records veteran. This band is lo-fi electro, and it is the coolest shit possible. (BTW, I TOTALLY made out with her new band mate on my birthday in 2004, the year of the slut). Anyhow, I wish I could go, enjoy yourselves NYC.
The Bell House
Monday, March 23rd
Doors at 7:30
$8
* The Ballet
*Scott Matthew
*Mkng Frndz
Sissy Dude = John Webster
March 9, 2009
*Audrey (Facelift) by John Webster
* Amy Winehouse by John Webster
At some point in 2008, one of my fave naughty blogs, Johnny Wacker, switched servers to a general Gay Toronto web host, and I didn’t like it. Obviously, Mr. Wacker himself wasn’t too into it because he went back to Blogger and is now known as Sissy Dude. This new platform is basically the same as Johnny Wacker was: lots of vintage love ranging the spectrum of porn, songs, artists, youtubes, advertisements, classic film clips, etc. Not heavy on the chatter, Sissy Dude is more of a wham bam blog, where the author feels the content of his posts speak for themselves. What is a little different about this incarnation is some personal transparency. John Webster, (aka Mr. Wacker, and Mr. Sissy himself) has his photo up on his profile, and we can follow him over to his artistic page, The John Webster Book. Here, his graphic illustrations follow naturally from the blog’s aesthetic. He does a lot of collage, and mixes his love for vintage cheeriness in female and male icons and throws in some contemporary touches. With vibrant colors, edgy sexuality, and skewed humor, his illustrations might seem like an exercise in pleasantries, but you don’t have to dig too far to see some dark twists. You can see his full portfolio over at i2i Art Inc. While I was over there, I was perusing the portfolio of Ronald J Cala II, whose 1st image set shows a contempt for war politics and a mastery of negative space.
*Image by Ronald J Cala II for the LA Times
*Capital of War, By Ronald J Cala II
* AIDS is Spreading by Ronald Cala II
Antibody Dance
March 8, 2009
*Adam Rose, Photo by Alaa Jahshan
Poonie’s Cabaret was, as I had expected, thoroughly excellent. What I did not expect was to be blown away by a performer I had not heard of. Adam Rose, from Antibody Dance, performed a piece called “Mother’s Revenge,” and it was arresting. Taking the floor at Links Hall, he came out in extreme white and red Joker-face, black Gone With The Wind curly locks, a baptist church dress in teal, froofy petticoat and awkward white patent granny heels. Using wooden salad tongs and a red gas jug, he proceeded to GIVE IT to the audience with limbs thin as winter branches and a spine that arched like a bouncing letter “U.” Alternating between shy and threatening, scurry and still, limpy and violent, Rose’s Butoh-influenced burlesque was a horrifying display. Facial movement and exacting body language took the audience by the hand and showed a startling portrait of darkness. A twisted pre-feminist female symbolized the waste involved in just being: in today’s world, your lunch-time salad polluted the earth in the step by step process it took to arrive at your plate. Rose’s vision as an artist explores this underbelly and it’s really fucking bleak. Luckily he knows what he is doing —a weaker effort could have resulted in an adolescent, gothic mess. His bio reveals extensive education and depth in philosophy, but how he’ll cope with his inner torture is beyond me. In the meantime we are bystanders getting less and less innocent with each performance. I took a few moments of 26 year old Adam Rose’s time and got some answers about his point of view. Brief interview after the jump, I’ll be sure to keep you all posted about upcoming shows.
Amelie Gillette Live Blogging Final L Word
March 6, 2009
Oh man, BOUND to be way better than the actual show, The Hater columnist Amelie Gillette will be live blogging the final episode of the L Word.
“How many times will Pam Grier say, “Girl!” because she clearly can’t remember her lines? Will Lucy Lawless have handsex with anyone? Elizabeth Berkley: alien or half-alien? Which characters will completely change personalities one last time just for the hell of it? Will the writers just push the pregnant trans-man down the stairs and be done with it because they clearly hate that character so much, or will he actually have a baby? Did all the characters just take turns drowning Jenny, or was this whole season really some crazy screenplay Jenny was writing and she’s not actually dead (the first theory makes more sense for The L Word, which is to say that it makes no sense in the real world)”
These are the questions Gillette hopes to answer, be sure to get over to the A.V. Club to find out what happens.
Comps Pay For Gay
March 6, 2009
Lots of fuss in early ’09 about a couple of different compilations–with hot collaborations, enlightening cover tracks and good causes, these discs are worth your time and cash. Dark Was The Night, put out by the beloved 4AD records, and is “thirty-two exclusive tracks have been recorded for the compilation, which will be available as a double cd, triple vinyl and download album, with profits benefiting the Red Hot Organization – an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS. Heroes, put out by Astralworks, benefits War Child which “helps kids stranded in war zones across the world. Heroes has a pretty simple and great concept: Music legends pick the songs of theirs they want to hear covered and the younger artists they want to have cover their songs.” Sample some of the tracks below and get yourself to an indie shop and buy some shit!
(From Heroes)
Scissor Sisters – Do The Strand (Roxy Music Cover)
(From Dark Was The Night)
Grizzly Bear – Deep Blue Sea
Antony with Brice Dressner – I Was Young When I Left Home
Full list of participating artists after the jump: Read the rest of this entry ?
Hercules Remixed Aeroplane
March 6, 2009
…a while ago. But as spring creeps out of the worst winter Chicago has seen in years, this electro-disco smoothness is just what I needed. Check out Aeroplane’s myspace and enjoy the track + remix below.
Aeroplane-Whispers (Original)
Aeroplane -Whispers (Hercules and Love Affair Remix)
Bitches Get Pie In The Face
March 6, 2009Slow morning. These have been making the rounds, and when Anita Bryant starts praying/crying with PIE ON HER FACE, it reaches a deliciousness that could only be topped if either one of those shoes had hit Bush.
While Coulter didn’t get hers in the face, the panic in her voice is rarely heard, and the cheers are priceless.
Then I started watching slow-motion bitch-slap videos and realized I should leave the house.
Riceboy Sleeps
March 4, 2009
I don’t do much Sigúr Ros reporting around here. I must admit that I lost interest after the first record because frankly, a lot of it sounds like Yanni for the cool kids. But there is a time and place for these kinds of sonic sound-scapes, I’ve seen some cool modern dance pieces soundtracked by Sigúr Ros, and they are a good thing to pop in when your parents come over. I was very happy to get a heads up from the effervescent Larry Bob, of Holy Tit Clamps, that the singer for Sigúr Ros and his BF are collaborating on a project called Riceboy Sleeps. They put out a gorgeous book (now out of print) of drawing and poems and have a few songs up on ye olde myspace. Familiar stuff, always with the dreaminess, but maybe the romantic nature of the partnership adds a little tension, some sex-cloud that I appreciate.
Windy City Times: A Closer Look At Prop 8 Donors
March 2, 2009
“In the coming weeks, there will be more articles on those who contributed for and against Prop 8.” That is how this week’s piece by Yasmin Nair, writing for the Windy City Times, finishes her article called “Prop 8 Donors: A Closer Look.” Since the passage of Prop 8 and the advent of eightmaps.com, the flurry of gay fury that has swept our community has not ended, nor should it. Nair’s article, naming names on both sides of the contribution lists, is really digging, and it looks like we are going to get personal here in Chicago. My last post about this got TPR called “fascist” in the comments and I hope that as the people who donated $$ for Prop 8 get shamed and exposed in their communities, people will think twice before contributing to hate. On the flip, I hope that people who donated against Prop 8 get the honor and credit that they deserve.
