What To Read
Read This Now
Human Pyramids and X-rated Ghostbusters at the Legendary Crescent
My first Crescent experience coincided with my first grown-up Pride weekend. I was 18, so I can’t recall how exactly I managed to get in. This should not reflect negatively on the bar’s very thorough security—I was the fucking Batman of getting into bars underage. I’d...
Critical Condition: Mourning Becomes Kevin Kent, Janis Joplin Raises the Dead
Despite the seemingly dour and depressing title, Eulogy, Kevin Kent’s most recent non-Teatro Zinzanni related performance (also written by La Kent, with a double dose of it changes every show improve thrown in) is a master class in comedy with a delicious dollop of...
How Could You Possibly Be Disinterested In Tacocat?
Whenever we talk about aesthetic judgment, we’re gonna have to talk about Immanuel Kant. Even here, in an article about a Seattle punk band, there’s no ignoring the big, 18th century, German elephant in the room. In his Third Critique, Critique of Judgment, Kant...
Ry’s Ru-minations: Night of 100 Kimonos
Kittens, it finally happened. Season 8 of Drag Race brought us the much-anticipated celebrity impersonation circus that is one of RuPaul’s biggest claims to fame: the Snatch Game! Things that were snatched this week, in chronological order: Naomi’s body. This week’s...
Tip O’ The Hat: Greg Brisendine
David-Edward Hughes: Tell me ALL about you! Ok maybe not ALL but fill our readership in. Greg Brisendine: I’m 50 years old and my background in the arts is relatively new. About 15 years ago, a friend invited me to a Poetry Slam. I had never heard of performance...
Watch This: Women Try Cruising the Arboretum
Photo by Mary Anne Carter. Ever since a teenage summer spent devouring John Rechy novels (City of Night, Numbers, etc) I have completely romanticized the world of gay cruising. At an age when I sort of actually expected to run into the Ramones circa 1977 just...
Full Disclosure: Lost In The Age Of Hook Up Apps
With hook up apps becoming more commonplace in gay male culture, so has a problematic pretense of sex. I will admit that I have been on both the receiving and giving end of this. Just as in the face-to-face world of sex, there is no guarantee for an encounter unless consent is obtained from all parties involved.
The Question of SOPHIE
Late on Sunday night, stumped on how to begin this concert review, I did what any truly great music critic would do in a time of need–I got on the internet. I found myself on YouTube, watching (for what I believe is the 3000th time) Madonna’s 1990 MTV performance of...
Ry’s Ru-minations: Riding A New Wave
Drag Race queens becoming 80’s New Wave bands while Debbie Harry herself judges them? Excuse me while I wipe the sweat from my everywhere. The Supreme Court judicial robes are hung up, the roller skates are tucked backstage, and Cynthia Lee Fontaine has sashayed away....
The Man Behind the Music: Randy Johnson and A Night With Janis Joplin
This past week, I had the chance to chat with the warm and vivacious Randy Johnson, the creator/director of A Night With Janis Joplin, which is in previews at the 5th Avenue, and opens Thursday night. Randy specializes in these kind of shows, which bring our musical...
Watch This: Ghost Communion at the Smith Tower
Illustration by Mary Anne Carter. When I was a kid my mom used to point at the glowing ball at the peak of The Smith Tower and say, “That’s where my friend Maura and I go to drink the blood of the gods!” I later discovered their monthly nights out were spent at the...
Totally Unofficial Queer Guide to Emerald City Comicon 2016
So you’re an LGBT person attending Emerald City Comicon 2016 this year, a celebration of comics and pop culture here in Seattle from April 7-10. There’s quite the schedule to pore through (and it's not the easiest site layout to do it), so we’ve pulled out the most...
Full Disclosure: Facebook, Identity, and Human Connectivity
Painted Cakes Do Not Satisfy Hunger -Be Here Now, by Ram Dass In researching the phenomena of Facebook, I came across this article on how it is negatively altering our minds. In it, the author describes the social network as an addiction, ensnaring us in a dopamine...
Kacey Musgraves Made Me Love Country
It’s often hard to like country. In the pantheon of American music it’s right up there with metal in the most-likely-to-get-sneered-at category. Truthfully, it’s not hard to understand why. There is a lot of terrible country music. A large chunk of mainstream country...
Bawdyhaus: All Bodies Belong on the Dance Floor
If you’re part of the Vancouver nightclub scene, you’ve likely heard the name DJ GingerBear Todd (aka Todd Brisbin). He’s been putting on parties for years, from charity shows to live drag shows to corporate events. Among others, he’s particularly proud of his...