Sadly the Glitterball would be the last drag show I photographed before leaving the east coast. Got to see my friend and amazing queen Baby co-host a show with Venus. It was a fantastic show in a small Italian venue. The five queens gathered in a tight bathroom for a dressing room, proving something we have always known and that is, the glamorous side of show biz is often created in the least glamorous places. Or that glamour is a state of being, not so much a lifestyle to be obtained.
From small bathrooms to large stages, and if there are no stages we will make our own. The thing I learned about Baltimore is a show can happen anywhere, I also should have learned this in my fashion show days. A restaurant, a bar, a night club are all fine stages so long as the crowd came to have a good time and be entertained.
And entertained they were.
These bitches swang from chandeliers, dropped splits on the concrete floor, and gave strip teases to resurrect, give you life and then slay. you. again.
The real reason I fell in love with Baltimore Drag and Burlesque and really all things Baltimore Variety is really at the heart of what I consider Baltimore. Its gritty, and dirty, fabulous and flirty, raw sexuality and political commentary. There is always something new to be seen, new song to be heard, a new way to perform a routine, another envelope to be pushed.
Thumbing through 2017s photos of performances, I know one thing: I will be back.
And as if Baltimore needs any help being gritty, I will bring along a disposable camera to provide pop flash and 90s nostalgia.
You can probably hear my heart-break and mourning in my words. San Diego is truly beautiful, but I haven't been here long enough to meet "my people" yet and there is something about Baltimore that made me feel like "these are my people" with almost everyone I got the chance to meet. The blood through that town is dark and riddled with history that hurts and the life is creative and bent on creating a new history that heals.
So blessed to have rang in the new year, watching these creative do their thing.
