Drag king stories #6

First off, happy Trans Day of Visibility to you!

It’s been a long time since I’ve done any sort of performing.  I felt compelled to do something for a DJ’s birthday bash at a bar, because I thought it’d be low key and fun.  And because I had a good idea.  And because this is a group of acquaintances I’d like to get to know better.  And also I had been asked about a month ago by someone in this group, and I declined at the time, but it got me thinking.

So this was last night – it consisted of 2 DJs, one other performer and then me, and an MC kind of trying to get people to play ridiculous games for a little while, and then another DJ.

My plan was to get the birthday gal situated in a chair, have a birthday song play as I come out with so many layers on (including a motorcycle helmet with a party hat on top) that she has no idea who it is, pass out birthday hats and those tootle things, get people involved in a chaotic way, and then for this song, “Strip” to play, by Adam Ant, and just start taking off all the coats and other clothes I’m wearing.  Not to the point where I’m down to underwear or less, haha, please!  My “base layer” was a vest, bow tie, pirate pants, and socks.  Plus full on Adam Ant make-up, which was one of the best parts about it!

This is not me, haha – this is Adam Ant. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any documentation, cuz I was just focused on being there, in the moment.

My drag name is Adam Andro-matic.  It’s derived from Adam Ant, but, after all this time, I had never once portrayed him!  Not sure why!  One of the first CDs I bought with my own money, as a youth, from Media Play, was the best of Adam Ant.  I know almost all those hits and non-hits by heart.  As I planned out this performance, I really embraced it / him.  “Strip” is such a ridiculous song.  The video is even more so, I just learned!  But it’s also just purely joyous, which is something I’d never gotten from it, in the past.

Last night, also, was just purely joyous.  I didn’t have any pre-performance jitters or anxieties.  Generally, my anxieties around performing manifest themselves by being too much of a perfectionist and obsessively timing things out.  This time, not at all!  I just went in there, hung out, got ready, did my thing, and then stayed in costume for the rest of the night, talking to people I’d never talked to before, getting trapped into dancing with some drunk people who seemed to really want to dance with me, etc.  The birthday gal really really loved the striptease / lap-dance, and so did her boyfriend!  She hugged me a bunch of times and kissed my cheek.  This may have been the most fun I’ve ever had, during a night I was performing.  All the stress was out of the equation.  So was the extreme elation / relief when it was over, but I’ll take the straight up fun over all that intensity!

The MC introduced me as Adam Andromeda.  Haha.  I’ll have to think on that!

Oh, and also, later in the night, I was dancing to a favorite song – “Revenge” by Ministry, when a woman I’d never seen before came up to me.  She said, “Will you come with me for a minute?”  I followed her without hesitation, and she presented her boyfriend to me.  I knew this guy!  I’m not great with faces, but I narrowed it down to it being 2 possible people…  We shook hands.  He said, “Do you know me?”  I said, “You work at [the food co-op].”  He shook his head, no.  “You work at [school],” I said next, and he affirmed that.  I see him almost every day, at the YMCA after school program where I work.  His girlfriend asked me, “Is he good with the kids?  Do the kids love him?”  I just nodded slowly, because the answer is, “No,” from what I can observe, but she seemed to want to hear good things, haha.  He said he was buying me a drink.  I was pretty much done drinking by then, but I thought it’d be nicer to accept.  I said, sure, a PBR.  A couple of minutes later, he handed me TWO PBRs.  I shook my head and kept saying, “no, just one!”  But he kinda forced them, nicely, at me.  I took them both, drank half of one of them, and put them up on a piano, for safe-keeping.  Really the only reason I would waste beer – so that I can get home safely!

Also, I saw my neighbor on the dance floor.  This tiny, older woman who is ALWAYS out at clubs and bars, dancing and not drinking.  She just seems so mild mannered!

I stayed out till closing time.  Things had gotten really chaotic on the dance floor.  It was interesting to observe, dip my toes into…  When I got home I got ready to take a shower / get all the make-up off my face.  I noticed I had a kiss mark, from the birthday gal, on my cheek.  Haha.