“So, do you think you have a good spot?” My friend Ali said to me as I looked around the Liberty Theater. My knees were literally touching the center of the stage. I was so close, I could feel envious glares singeing into the back of my head. I replied with an extremely sarcastic “Eh, it could be better.” I had the best spot in the house, and I knew I was in for a wild ride.
Doors were at eight, the show was set to start at nine, but any good fan of drag runs on DQT (Drag Queen Standard Time), meaning that you betta be prepared to wait at least an extra half hour for everything to start. Surely enough, Alyssa Edwards made her grand entrance around nine-thirty, appearing from one of the private balconies. The crowd roared, giving her all the life she would need to get up in the gig as the main host of the evening.
This show featured some of the best performers to come from RuPaul’s Drag Race. Kicking it off was Sharon Needles, who paid tribute to the Vanity Fair cover girl (backdrop and all), Caitlyn Jenner, by singing a special rendition of Lou Reed’s ‘Candy Says’. Changing the main lyric to ‘Caitlyn Says’, Needles’ voice soared and filled every corner of the packed venue. After giving a quick crash course about the song’s meaning and herstory, Pandora Boxx took the stage dressed in a beautiful Tardis fantasy that gagged every Dr. Who fan present. Boxx performed her single, ‘Different’, often times adding extra hilarious commentary. At one point she sang “We might be different, but now we can get married,” noting the recent momentous event of the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Raja came out next in simplistic glamour, letting her charm be the center of attention. Alyssa stepped on stage after Raja was done and requested her to give the audience an impromptu course on stomping the motherfuckin’ runway. I took notes for future reference. Detox, never one to disappoint, followed the season 3 winner by entering in full executive realness to later strip down to a gag-worthy bondage look. She was lewd, she was crude, she even climbed onto one man’s shoulders in the front row and had him walk her through the crowd like it was a gay rodeo. Courtney Act took it up a notch when she came on after, grabbing my hand and catapulting herself into the crowd while singing ‘When Love Takes Over’, without missing a note, mind you. One would imagine performing after an act like that might be intimidating, but special guest; the runner up of America’s Got Talent, Emily West, definitely held her ground with her powerhouse vocals. While singing Sia’s ‘Chandelier’, you could see Alyssa trying to resist leaping out of her chair to dance the famous choreography alongside her. During West’s second number, Alyssa could no longer fight the urge and started freestyle dancing.
After a fifteen minute “five minute” break, Sharon appeared to take over as host for the remainder of the show. She reintroduced Alyssa to perform her own routine, which consisted of so many twirls, high kicks, and death drops, I was left dizzy. Mimi Imfurst made her way down from her spot as DJ to serve her own lip-sync routine soon afterwards. Mimi might not have come first, or second, or third on RPDR, but her talent will most certainly leave a lasting impression. After she was finished, only the top three of season seven were left, or should I say… top two. Unfortunately, Pearl was unable to perform due to previously falling ill during Pride Fest. Ginger Minj and Violet Chachki definitely made up for her absence, both giving mindboggling lip-syncs that made all of us cheer so hard, my ears were still ringing more than twenty-four hours after it all ended.
To put it shortly, this was one of the best drag shows I have been to so far. Say what you want about what has happened on the show, but when you get a bunch of Ru Girls together, along with the amazing crowd these events attract, you are bound to have a good time. I am so glad I got to spend my first Pride with amazing friends and some of the queens who gave me the confidence to be who I am today. Night of 1000 Queens by Voss Events definitely gets a ‘Toot’ from me.
Article by Lauren Ennis
Ever since she discovered drag, Lauren’s life has been a whirlwind of glitter, glue sticks, and many, many questions from her family. she’ll be spilling the tea on anything that sparks her interest, never afraid of speaking her mind and turning a look while doing it.
