Pink Steel rightly bills itself as ‘gay heavy metal.’
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By Rachel Kramer Bussel
Friday, March 05, 2004
There’s not much in New York that’s free and also fun, but occasionally
the broke among us can find something not only free but fabulous.
On Jan. 24, after a reading for “Best Lesbian Erotica 2004” at
Bluestockings, my girl and I had an impromptu date for Starlight’s weekly
queer comedy show. Hosted by Kenneth Price, all four comics made me laugh so
hard I almost fell out of my chair.
Michael Brill said what we’ve all been thinking — it’s cold
out, but you don’t need to mention it every time you talk to someone — while
Poppi Kramer riffed on everything from the chicken-sounding ladies of “The
View” to Missy Elliott at Lilith Fair.
The Knitting Factory recently hosted several nights of grrl-powered action,
starting with two nights of the “Suicide Girls Burlesque” tour,
where tattooed, punk rock hotties performed to songs like “Hey Big Spender” and
Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation.”
While largely tame and not that imaginative, the act wowed the mostly male
indie rock crowd, but had enough Sapphic action, including spanking simulation
and bondage, to keep me entertained. It culminated in all the girls taking
the stage to smear each other with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. A delicious
looking mess.
The next night, the “Sex Workers Art Show” descended upon Knitting
Factory, and the largely queer group of women, along with a few men, told heartfelt,
sometimes funny, rousing stories of their experiences as hookers, rent boys
and dominatrices, dealing with everything from having a female friend as a
client to decriminalizing prostitution (most notably from the outspoken Scarlet
Harlot, “the unrepentant whore,” who gave the most over-the-top
performance of the night).
Chris Hampton, whose Uffish Thoughts blog (uffish.com) chronicles her queer
NYC life, organized the intriguingly and appropriately timed reading “Worst.
Sex. Ever.” at P.S. 122, in conjunction with Culturebot (culturebot.org),
the theater’s city arts blog. Lest you think this was a bitter sobfest,
let me assure you: This was one of the funniest readings I’ve ever been
to. Just when the next reader can’t top the one before, it’s done — brilliantly.
Featuring a roundup of New York’s best bloggers, every single reader
had the packed, sitting-room only crowd (many were turned away at the door)
roaring as they related everything from sex in a mental home to sex (by proxy)
with a midget, to a virgin attempt at strap-on use.
The latter got plenty of laughs from the gay girls in the crowd as she exclaimed, “Like
any good dyke, I asked her ‘are you okay’?” And the adorable
Choire Sicha, editor of Gawker.com, who is now officially my new gay boy crush
(I’m entitled to at least one, aren’t I?), baked chocolate chip
cookies for the crowd and then read a story about his first (and only?) time
as a john. Stay tuned to Culturebot for future readings; make sure to get there
early.
I rushed from there over to Joe’s Pub to catch Pink Steel, with newly
installed drummer Helmut Bang, doing a special Valentine’s show, complete
with pink heart cookies, glow sticks, and free CDs featuring their hits “Sausage
Party,” “We Fight for Cock,” and “Open Wide for Pride.” With
plenty of spectacular lights, a roaring crowd and pink everything (including
a boa), they truly lived up to their motto as “gay heavy metal at its
finest.”
As always, there’s much to look forward to in the coming weeks, including
the debut of Trannyfags, a hot new one-of-a-kind FTM porn film by Toys in Babeland
staffer Morty Diamond, which premieres at the SoHo TIB store on March 18 — also
the date for the new and improved Girlsalon at Starlight.
Adriana Arcia tells me that Juggerknot Theatre (juggerknot-theatre.org) will
soon be presenting its first play, “Bump,” about six young New
Yorkers (including several gay characters) and incorporates film and a live
DJ. It’ll run for four weeks at the Henry Street Settlement. Juggerknot’s
also presenting the series “Freestyle” to showcase original work
by local playwrights.
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