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Friday, August 27, 2004
House of Drag About an hour into the drag show on campus last night there was not one mention of RuPaul. Anita Mann, our local drag performer and self-proclaimed benefit queen (for her willingness to host just about any fundraiser you could come up with), introduced a line-up of queens who were going to perform on a huge stage in Barton Hall. But they didn't include RuPaul. And so as much as I was enjoying the show... I kept thinking... 'OK, wait. Was this whole RuPaul thing just a big hoax?' Not that I don't love Bianca (who I've known for years) and Mabalene (who I don't know as well but used to work with his mom). They are both amazing performers and will be missed when they leave Central New York for sunny Florida. This show felt different than all of the shows that I've seen in little bars and clubs. It was less intimate (there were tons of people there, all standing), the stage was huge, and the lighting was intense. But the music was loud which increased the energy level a notch and really allowed the performers to feel the music and let loose. I kept thinking, "This must be what a USO show is like." (You know, where Bob Hope or whatever pin-up model was popular at the time would perform for the troops in exotic locations on big barren makeshift stages. The genesis of this thought was prompted by one of the queens performing 'Bugle Boy From Company B' as her first number. Although I guess Barton Hall is also the ROTC headquarters on campus, so it was a fitting tribute.) What would have been a half-assed attempt at a drag show at the Common Ground was a pretty decent drag show in Barton Hall. And then, Anita Mann walked out on stage and announces that Ms. RuPaul would be arriving in 15 minutes... the place erupted in screams and applause. I couldn't believe I was actually going to see her live. Even more than seeing her perform such classics as 'Supermodel' and 'House Of Love', what I got the biggest kick out of was hearing RuPaul laugh in person. If you're familiar at all with RuPaul's recordings, she often laughs during tracks... it's like a trademark of hers. And to hear it in person just sent tingles up my spine. RuPaul declared herself the Dean of Cornell's Fierceness Department, delivered a little banter about the importance of voting, sang a bunch of songs from her new album (coming out next month), a few classics, and a weird cover of random rap songs including a Vanilla Ice hit. It was a less impressive (and shorter) show than I would have liked... but it was late... and a Thursday night... and I had only paid $3. So who am I to complain? I got to see RuPaul live!  | private feedback | |
Hey! I'm Shane... a proud gay progressive Democrat who has recently relocated to New York City from Ithaca, NY. As I am no longer in Ithaca, I haven't quite decided the fate of this blog. Drop me a line!
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