CONTENTS
AUGUST 23 , 2 018
14
Volume 25 Issue 17
WIFELY DEVOTION Glenn Close and Chrisian Slaer on The Wife, as well as he conroversy surrounding Hollywood and he ransgender communiy.
By Randy Shulman
24
DAVE PERRUZZA’S HOME RUN In a ciy desperae for more LGBTQ spaces, he former manager of JR.’s sepped up o he plae. Wih Pichers and A League of Her Own, he’s knocked i ou of he park.
Inte�view by John Riley Photog�aphy by Todd F�anson
35
DIVINE DIVA subhed, subhed subhed subhed subhed subhed subhed subhed subhed subhed subhed
By C�aig Seymour
SPOTLIGHT:: ROMEO & JULIET SPOTLIGHT
OUT ON THE TOWN
p.9
p.13
WIFELY DEVOTION : GLENN CLOSE AND CHRISTIAN SLATER ALMOND JOY: JOY: CONSTELLATION’S NICK MARTIN COVER STORY: STORY : DAVE PERRUZZA’S HOME RUN FILM:: HARD PAINT FILM
p.33
MUSIC:: DIVINE DIVA MUSIC
LISTINGS
p.38
p.35
SCENE:: ORCHID SCENE
p.24
p.16
COMMUNITY
p.21
FEATURE:: A NEW LEAGUE FEATURE
NIGHTLIFE
p.44
p.14
p.37 SCENE SCENE::
LAST WORD
p.30
PEACH PIT
p.37
p.46
Real LGBTQ News and Entertainment since 1994 Editorial Editor-in-Chief Randy Shulman Art Direc tor Todd Franson Online Editor at metroweekly.com Rhuaridh Marr Senior Editor John Riley Editorial Editor-in-Chief Contributing Editors Andr é He refor d, D oug Rule Senior Photographers Ward Morrison, Julian Vankim Contributing Illustrator Scott G. Brooks Contributing Writers Sean Maunier, Troy Petenbrink, Bailey Vogt, Kate Wingfield Webmaster David Uy Production Assistant Julian Vankim Sales & Marketing Publisher Randy Shulman National Advertising Representative Rivendell Media Co. 212-242-6863 Distribution Manager Dennis Havrilla Hubert “Tex” Hendricks Cover Photography Todd Patron Saint Saint Hubert Photography Todd Franson Metro Weekly 1775 I St. NW, Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 202 202 -63 8-6 830 All material appearing in Metro Weekly is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publishers. Metro Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials submitted for publication. All such submissions are subject to editing and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Metro Weekly is supported by many fine advertisers, but we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers, nor can we accept responsibility for materials provided by advertisers or their agents. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles or advertising in Metro Weekly is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such person or organization.
© 2018 Jansi LLC.
Spoligh
L L E W O P Y N O T
Sam Lilja as Romeo and Danaya Esperanza as Juliet
Romeo & Juliet
O
NE OF THE MOST INTERESTING THINGS FOR me is doing a play about teenage suicide in a moment where suicide is a huge part of the national conversation,” says Alan Paul. “It’s been so important to me in the production to not glamorize suicide in any way.” Paul, the 33-year-old Associate Artistic Director of The Shakespeare Theatre Company, is discussing the tragic elements of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, Romeo & Juliet, Juliet, a production he originally directed in 2016 and is remounting for the company’s annual “Free For All.” “They feel that [suicide] is the only way out,” he continues, addressing the well-known fate of the two young lovers. “The play wouldn’t have the kind of power it has if these two young people didn’t take their lives. It goes back to the conversation we’re all having this summer when you look at Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain and people who took their lives. From an outside perspective, they seem okay, but in their own minds they felt quite different. It’s even more magnified for a teenager.”
Paul, who recently directed the musical smash Camelot for the theater, feels summer is the perfect season to stage Romeo & Juliet. Juliet. “The play takes place in the summer,” he says. “If it took place in the winter, none of the action would have happened because Romeo wouldn’t have been hanging out with all his friends outside and all these fights wouldn’t have broken out.” The Free For All is critical to the theater’s mission, says Paul. “I think we all feel that we have something we want to give back to the community,” he says. “What happens in the Free for All is that a lot of people who might not be able to come to the theater because of the ticket price are able to see a production as good as the one that people paid full price for a few years ago.... It’s just a great way to get people into the theater who really want to be there. The audience has waited in line, worked really hard to get those seats, and they are excited to be there. You can feel the energy. The audience feels it, the cast feels it. It’s a very special thing for me.” — Randy Shulman
Romeo & Juliet runs to Sept. 2 at Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F Street NW. Tickets are free, distributed through a daily online lottery as well as in-person on a first-come, first-serve basis two hours before each day’s curtain. Call 202-547-1122 or visit shakespearetheatre.org/ffa shakespearetheatre.org/ffa..
Spoligh SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD Filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer relates the true story of the man whose gas station on Hollywood Boulevard doubled as a rendezvous spot for his friends and actors and actresses on the down-low. Based on Scotty Bowers’ 2012 tell-all bestseller Full bestseller Full Service, Service, the documentary is said to be “full of jaw-dropping reveals,” with eye-opening tales about icons ranging from Cary Grant to Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn to Ava Gardner. Now playing. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-4527672 or visit landmarktheatres.com. landmarktheatres.com.
T N E M N I A T R E T N E H C I W N E E R G F O Y S E T R U O C
JOURNEY TO YUKI’S WORLD As a child, Yuki Hiyama suffered a brain injury that left her speechless. Yet the development also inspired her to express herself through drawing drawing and and painting painting full of color and texture. Touchstone Gallery presents the first D.C. exhibition of the 40-year-old Japanese artist and examples of her artworks, full of color and texture, in a variety of media, from oil to colored pencil, watercolor to pen, even sand. A percentage of proceeds of artwork sales will go to the Yukien School for children with disabilities in Hiroshima, Japan. Now to Aug. 31. Touchstone Gallery, 901 New York Ave. NW Call 202-347-2787 or visit touchstonegallery.com. touchstonegallery.com.
CYRUS CHESTNUT
T E N . T U N T S E H C S U R
“The best jazz pianist of his generation,” Time Time music critic Josh Tyrangiel has said about about Baltimore’s versatile virtuoso Chestnut, who two decades ago portrayed a Count Basie-inspired pianist pianist in Robert Altman’s film Kansas film Kansas City. City. He returns to D.C.’s leading jazz venue for a long-weekend run of shows to help close out the summer. Thursday, Aug. 23, through Sunday, Aug. 26, at 8 and 10 p.m. Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Tickets are $30 to $35, plus $12 minimum purchase. Call 202-337-4141 or visit bluesalley.com.
Ou On The Town
N O S L I W K C I N
NEW ORDER Five years ago, this seminal synth-pop/dance-rock band from Manchester performed under the stars at Merriweather a captivating captivating concert that was in many ways a showcase for bassist Tom Chapman, two years after replacing quintessential quintessential original Peter Hook. If anything, the band’s return should be even more of an all-out, four-on-the-floor dance party, which kicks off with DJ Whitney Fierce reprising her role from the last Merriweather Merriweather date. Next week’s debut at the Anthem is also New Order’s first chance to truly showcase its post-Hook style and sound for local fans, chiefly by performing select dancefloor-primed dancefloor-primed tracks from the group’s remarkable 2015 set Music set Music Complete. Complete. More than a return to form, this tour-deforce studio album saw the band venturing beyond the dance-rock path it pioneered, taking playful and satisfying excursions to campy disco (“Tutti Frutti”) as well as deep house (“Plastic,” “Unlearn This Hatred”). Tuesday, Aug. 28. Doors at 6:30 p.m. The Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW. Tickets are $55 to $95. Call 202-888-0020 or visit theanthemdc.com.
Compiled by Doug Rule
FILM 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Two prominent local arts organizations are screening Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 visionary saga in a nod to its 50th anniversary. A brilliant meditation on man, machine, and the mysterious universe, 2001 features a script by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, as well as Oscar-winning special effects by Close pioneer Douglas Trumbull ( Close Encounters of the Third Kind ). You’ll be able to appreciate every detail, up close and immersive, on the sixstories-tall screens of the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater at the National Air and Space Museum, with screenings billed as the “first time ever that moviegoers will have
the opportunity to see the seminal film on the largest possible screen.” The Smithsonian offers two screenings per evening starting Thursday, Aug. 23, at 7 and 9:55 p.m. To Aug. 29. Independence Ave at 6th St. SW. Tickets are $13.50 to $15. Call 202-633-2214 or visit si.edu/imax. Meanwhile, the AFI Silver Theatre offers its week-long run of the sci-fi odyssey as part of a two-monthlong series honoring the late, great filmmaker. Screenings start Friday, Aug. 24, at 7:30 p.m. To Aug. 30. 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $15 general admission. Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/ Silver.
EAST OF EDEN Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Paul Newman all lost out to James Dean to play the central drifter in this cinematic retelling of
the biblical story of Cain and Abel, loosely based on the John Steinbeck novel of the same name. As such, legendary filmmaker Elia Kazan gave Dean his first starring vehicle — and the 1955 drama also ended up the only one the actor actually got to see, released mere months before his death. (Both Rebel Without A Cause and Giant were released posthumously.) East of Eden, also starring Julie Harris, Raymond Massey, Richard Davalos, and Burl Ives, returns to the big screen as part of Landmark’s West End Cinema Capital Classics series. Wednesday, Aug. 30, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m., 2301 M St. NW. Happy hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 to $12.50. Call 202-534-1907 or visit landmarktheatres.com.
METRIC: DREAMS SO REAL This meticulously conceived and constructed feature-length concert documentary focuses on the Toronto-based synth-pop/rock quartet Metric, led by singer-songwriter Emily Haines, stadium-filling rock stars in Canada. Filmmakers T. Edward Martin and Jeff Rogers exhaustively captured a 2016 concert at Vancouver’s Thunderbird Arena through the use of a whopping 26 4K cameras. Intended as a stunning recreation of the concert, Dreams So Real screens once next week at the AFI per its “Canada Now” series of films, presented in a partnership with the Embassy of Canada. Friday, Aug. 24, at 7:20 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $13. Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/ Silver.
PAPILLON Charlie Hunnam stands in for Steve McQueen in this remake of the 1973 original, itself based on the 1969 autobiography by French convict Henri Charrière, which details his imprisonment and escape from a penal colony in French Guiana. Unfortunately, Michael Noer’s film doesn’t seem to bring anything new to the table, rendering it all a bit pointless. Opens Friday, Aug. 24. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit landmarktheatres.com. (Rhuaridh Marr)
S C I S S A L C S E R U T C I P Y N O S
WIFELY DEVOTION Glenn Close and Chrisian Slaer on The Wife, Wife, as well as he conroversy surrounding Hollywood and he ransgender communiy.
W
HEN SPEAKING WITH GLENN CLOSE, WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T MAKE THE mistake of calling Albert Nobbs a lesbian. “Albert wasn’t a lesbian,” she says, understandably annoyed. “Grethe “Grethe Cammermeyer was Cammermeyer was a lesbian. Albert didn’t know what she was.” Close, nominated for an Oscar for her astonishing turn in 2012’s Albert 2012’s Albert Nobbs Nobbs and and an Emmywinner for her portrayal of Cammermeyer in the 1995 television movie Serving in Silence, Silence, was in Washington with Christian Slater for a special screening of The Wife. Wife. Critics are already hailing Close’s portrayal of the steely, long-suffering Joan Castleman, who dutifully stands in the shadow of her legendary novelist husband, Joe, as a sure bet come Oscar nomination time. The film, directed with a deliberate dramatic simmer by Björn Runge, unfurls at the Nobel Prize ceremony, where unsavory proddings by a journalist, played with slippery unctuousness by Slater, bring the story to overboiling point. “I think women give up a lot for men,” says Close of the relationship between Joan and Joe. “The thing is, there has to be a balance, right? There has to be some sort of a balance. This is about a relationship that’s become terribly unbalanced and yet, somebody has been fulfilled. “One of my favorite scenes was when we arrive in Stockholm and I’m just holding the coat in the background,” she continues. “I’ve been around men who make women feel invisible, and it’s not a nice place to be in.” In conversation with Close and Slater, the topic moves away from The Wife and Wife and onto one of Hollywood’s more pressing issues of the day — outcry from memebers of the LGBTQ community that Hollywood should only cast transgender actors in transgender roles. Slater, who recently played gay in King Cobra, as the porn director who gave Brent Corrigan his start, weighs in first. “Of course, you want to give everybody an opportunity,” says Slater. “But the whole point of [being an actor] is to be able to immerse yourself in somebody else’s life and then wear the clothes of that person. It’s to challenge yourself and get out of your comfort zone. But I understand the conflict and the need for the real people to be playing these roles — I get it. It is something that we need to figure out. I don’t think we’re at the answer yet.” “I think it’s really limiting to say, ‘You can only play who you are,’” echoes Close. “That goes against what it means to be a creative artist. But one way that would help is to have directors and producers make a real effort to find people, to have [more transgender actors audition], because you have to find the best person. And if the best person doesn’t happen to be transgender, that’s the nature of the business.” — Randy — Randy Shulman The Wife opens Friday, August 24, at Landmark’s E Street and Bethesda Row cinemas, and the AMC Shirlington 7, Angelika Angelika Mosaic, and Cinema Arts in Fairfax. Fairfax.
SCREEN QUEEN: THE LIVING END Joshua Vogelsong, aka drag performer/punk rocker Donna Slash, has launched a weekly queer film series at the 35-seat, living-room cozy Suns Cinema in Mount Pleasant. Screening Monday, Aug. 27, starting at 8 p.m., is The Living End , often described as a “gay Thelma and Louise” written and directed by Gregg Araki, whom Vogelsong calls “one of my favorite directors.” The 1992 dramedy, he continues, “was a really shocking movie when it came out, part of the New Queer Cinema movement. It had a very unapologetic view of HIV and the way that they handled that subject.” Patrons can enjoy snacks, including fresh offerings from Suns’ vintage popcorn machine, as well as drinks from the full-service bar, which will remain open afterwards to encourage post-show discussion. 3107 Mount Pleasant St. NW. Tickets are $5. Visit sunscinema.com. sunscinema.com. THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS Twenty years after Family Guy crossed Sesa me Stre et with Homicide: Life on the Street (portraying Bert as a hard-drinking detective and Ernie as his lover), The Happytime Murders is here to flesh that idea out to feature length. Set in a world where puppets live alongside humans as second-class citizens, Muppets puppeteer Bill Barretta plays private eye Phil Phillips, a disgraced former cop trying to track down a serial killer who is murdering the cast of ’80s TV show The Happytime Gang . Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Banks, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale, and Leslie David Baker all star, and it’s being directed by Brian Henson — son of puppet genius Jim Henson. Opens Friday, Aug. 24. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com (RM) VENUS A trans woman’s life is thrown for another, wholly unexpected loop when a 14-year-old boy, seeking to connect with his biological father, shows up on her doorstep proclaiming to be her son. Eisha Marjara’s gender-shifting, heartwarming comedy focuses on the immediate aftermath of this bombshell development and the multi-faceted fam-
ily dynamics and drama at play, including the involvement of the parents and cisgender lover of lead character Sid (Debargo Sanyal). Part of the “Canada Now” series. Monday, Aug. 27, at 7:05 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $13. Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/ Silver.
STAGE
Y E R O C J D
ALMOND JOY Nick Marin cracks open he nuty farce Melancholy Play for Consellaion Theare.
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ARAH RUHL’S MELANCHOLY RUHL’S MELANCHOLY PLAY: A CONTEMPORARY FARCE is nutty by design. “I’m sure the show sounds really odd,” says Nick Martin. “But the theme of it is everyone coming together to save Francis, a character who turns into an almond.” Martin, who directed the current production at Constellation Theatre, calls Ruhl’s 2002 work “a perfect over-the-top exploration of what melancholy is. At the end of the day, it’s just a lovely little play about people coming together to take care of the ones that they love.... Hopefully you walk out with a renewed sense of optimism and hope about the human connection.” Last fall, Martin recommended the play for the company’s upcoming season, without any expectation he would actually get the chance to direct it. “I was asked specifically for any smaller-cast comedies that I thought might be a good fit for Constellation,” Constellation,” he says. says. I’ve loved Melancholy loved Melancholy Play for a very long time, so I brought that to the table.” Ultimately, the stars aligned for the 27-year-old Virginia native to step up and take the show’s helm. He’s in charge of just five actors, plus cellist Kate Rears Burgman. Billie Krishawn leads the cast as Tilly, a beautifully sad character whom everyone falls for — some, such as lesbian Francis, to the point of becoming an almond, or “so small that you could curl up into the palm of your lover’s hand.” As it happens, Martin directed Krishawn in the starring role of a commissioned production at this year’s Capital Fringe. Inspired by Greek mythology, Stephen Spotswood’s Andromeda Breaks Breaks was “vaguely Southern Gothic and very full of tension and very little language and just big, bold, magical storytelling.” Krishawn, he notes, went from that production “to this roller coaster of broad emotional exploration and really specific physical comedy. I’m convinced she can do anything.” —Doug Rule Melancholy Play runs to Sept. 2 at the Source Theatre, 1835 14th St. NW. Tickets are $19 to $45. Call 202-204-7741 or visit constellationtheatre.org. constellationtheatre.org.
IN THE CLOSET Rainbow Theatre Project opens its sixth season with its first full production of a new play — a joint world premiere with Cleveland’s Convergence-Continuum. A metaphysical comedy from Siegmund Fuchs, a native of Cleveland who lives and works in D.C. as a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice, In The Closet follows an 18-year-old boy guided by three older gay men acting as his “fairy godmothers” to help find a way out of the closet. The company’s H. Lee Gable directs a cast featuring Tim Caggiano, Zachary Dittami, Christopher Janson, and Patrick Joy. To Sept. 15. District of Columbia Arts Center (DCAC), 2438 18th St. NW. Tickets are $35. Call 202-462-7833 or visit rainbowtheatreproject.org. KENNEDY CENTER’S PAGE-TOSTAGE NEW PLAY FESTIVAL More than 60 D.C.-area theater companies offer free readings, workshops, open rehearsals, and previews of developing plays and musicals as part of this 17th annual event over Labor Day weekend. LGBTQ highlights among the full day of offerings on Saturday, Sept. 1 include I’ve Been A Woman , Jordan Ealey’s time-traveling play following two souls reincarnated in black women’s bodies in three distinct time periods; Glimmer/Jellyfish Summer, a reading of two plays by Darcy Parker Bruce and Natalie Ann Valentine focused focused on what prepresenting organization Bridge Club calls “young, queer, heart-wanderers” looking for “whatever magic there is beneath the water”; The Springfield Boys, Anthony E. Gallo’s two-act dramedy about the close relationships between Abraham Lincoln, his closest friend Joshua Fry Speed, and law partner Billy Herndon; Life Lines, a collection of theatrical works written, performed, and directed by black LGBTQ artists; Montgome ry, a blues/rock musical by Britt Bonney set in Alabama during the birth of the civil rights movement; A Butterfly’s Eyes, a series of short scenes and monologues by participants in GALA’s Paso Nuevo Youth Performance Group touching on their experiences with love, racism, coming out, bullying, self-esteem, and immigration; Unprotected Sex, an edgy collection of short plays about contemporary black LGBTQ
life written and directed by Alan Sharpe. Meanwhile, highlights from Monday, Sept. 3, include Small House, No Secrets, a coming out musical by Jody Nusholtz and Sonia Rutstein (of disappear fear); Saints , Debra Buonaccorsi and Steve McWilliams’ unconventional look at faith and religion, told with music, comedy, and burlesque and directed by Rick Hammerly; Abomination, a drama about queer yeshiv a graduat es written by Nicole Cox and directed by Jose Carrasquillo; and Tunnel Vision, a gritty, emotional play about sex trafficking by Dan Goldman. For a complete schedule, visit kennedy-center.org.
MARIE AND ROSETTA Mosaic Theater Company launches its fourth season with George Brant’s empowering play with songs highlighting the talents of Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight, two under-appreciated black music legends. Sandra L. Holloway directs a production starring Helen Hayes Award-winning actress Roz White (Studio Theatre’s Bessie’s Blues ) as Tharpe, the queer black woman who all but invented rock ‘n’ roll, while Ayana Reed takes on the role of Tharpe’s young protege Knight. Music direction comes from e’Marcus Harper-Short. In previews. Opens Monday, Aug. 27. To Sept. 30. The Lang Theatre in the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $50 to $68. Call 202-399-7993 or visit mosaictheater.org. PASSION Natascia Diaz ignites the fiery love triangle at the heart of this Tonywinning musical opening the season at Signature Theatre. Director Matthew Gardiner has cast the ever-dazzling Diaz (Signature’s West Side Story ) in the role of Fosca, whose infatuation with Giorgio, played by Claybourne Elder ( Sunday in the Park with George ), threatens to upend the captain’s world. Steffanie Leigh, Will Gartshore, Rayanne Gonzales, and Bobby Smith are among the large cast in Signature’s newest production of the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine musical, whose rich score will be grandly brought to life with a full orchestra led by Jon Kalbfleisch. Now to Sept. 23. Max Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Call Call 703-820-9771 or visit sigtheatre.org. THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY Kurt Boehm directs and choreographs the Keegan Theatre production of this recent Broadway musical adaptation by Jason Robert Brown with a book by Marsha Norman. Susan Derry and Dan Felton star. Now to Sept. 2. The Andrew Keegan Theatre, 1742
Church St. NW. Tickets are $45 to $55. Call 202-265-3768 or visit keegantheatre.com.
THE COLOR PURPLE HHHHH HHH HH
Time hasn’t dimmed the brilliance or urgency of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Color Purple. In the era of #MeToo and “Nevertheless, she persisted,” Miss Celie’s voice, and the voices of those women beside her, should be heard among the chorus — after all, they helped give birth to that chorus. That legacy resonates throughout the musical, which streamlines Celie’s early 20th-century saga of triumph over misogyny and abuse into a set of rousing songs with music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray. To Aug. 26. Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $69 to $149. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org. kennedy-center.org. (AH)
MUSIC BEACH HOUSE Like much of their music, the Baltimore-based dream-pop duo’s success has been a slow build. And 7 , Beach House’s newest album, is the culmination of years of precisely refining technique, doubling down again and again on a now unmistakable sound and aesthetic and striving to perfect it. The synths, soft guitars, and Victoria Legrand’s haunting voice make it impossible to mistake this for anything other than her band with Alex Scally. Beach House’s soundscapes have always been dreamy, escapist fantasies, but with 7 , the duo has also put forth a hopeful message of rebirth, a simple perfection rising out of darkness and chaos. Beach House supports the stellar five-star album on tour with fellow Sub Pop labelmate Papercuts, the “soft indie pop” fourpiece founded and fronted by Jason Robert Quever. Saturday, Aug. 25. Doors at 6:30 p.m. The Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW. Tickets are $38 to $55. Call 202-888-0020 or visit theanthemdc.com. theanthemdc.com. (Sean Maunier)
CHRIS ISAAK The “Wicked Game” singer-songwriting hunk returns to the Birchmere for two concerts offering a delightful romp through his repertoire, including a selection of the timeless, classic-sounding mournful rockers from his most recent studio affair, 2015’s strong, strings-supported First Comes The Night. Isaak will no doubt also highlight some of his captivating covers of Sun Records classics as heard on 2011’s Beyond The Sun — from “Ring of Fire” to “Great Balls of Fire” to “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Sunday, Aug. 26, and Monday, Aug. 27, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $95. Call 703-549-7500 or visit birchmere.com or chrisisaak.com. CREATIVE CAULDRON CABARET The Virginia-based theater company Creative Cauldron continues its 9th annual months-long summer cabaret series at ArtSpace Falls Church with: “Electric Lady” by Ines Nassara, the Helen Hayesnominated actress who this spring played Dorothy in The Wiz at Ford’s, performing on Friday, Aug. 24, at 8 p.m., and “A Mixtape for Heroines,” a celebration in song of some of literature’s most treasured women by Catherine Purcell, on Saturday, Aug. 25, at 8 p.m. 410 South Maple Ave. Tickets are $18 to $22 per show, or $55 for a table for two with wine and $110 for four with wine. Call 703-436-9948 or visit creativecauldron.org. creativecauldron.org.
CHAISE LOUNGE
GAVIN DEGRAW, PHILLIP PHILLIPS Two sunny contemporary pop artists will share the stage at Wolf Trap to perform their solo hits — including “I Don’t Want to Be,” which was the theme song to the CW’s One Tree Hill , and “Not Over You,” in the case of the 41-year-old DeGraw; and “Home,” the best-selling coronation song from American Idol, which the 27-year-old Phillips won in 2012. Friday, Aug. 31, at 8 p.m. The Filene Center, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $30 to $60. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.
Something of a local version of the hip retro-lounge act Pink Martini, Chaise Lounge is five of D.C.’s leading jazz musicians who together perform sparkling arrangements of standards plus new, original swinging tunes that sound as if recorded a half-century ago. Featuring the soft, luminous vocals of Marilyn Older, the party jazz group, touted on NPR and a frequent draw at the Kennedy Center, makes its debut at D.C.’s newest concert venue, where fine music meets fine wine. Wednesday, Aug. 29, at 8 p.m. City Winery DC, 1350 Okie St. NE. Tickets are $18 to $28. Call 202-250-2531 or visit citywinery.com.
JAZZ IN THE GARDEN: SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE The National Gallery of Art offers free outdoor concerts immediately after work on Fridays over the summer. Bands offering a range of jazz styles, from swing to Latin to ska, perform amidst the museum’s collection of large-scale sculptural works while patrons enjoy food and drink, including beer, wine, and sangria, from Pavilion Cafe and outdoor grill. The 2018 series concludes with the funk and boogaloo band Speakers of the House, on Aug. 24, performing from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Sculpture Garden, between 7th
and 9th Streets NW. Call 202-2893360 or visit nga.gov.
LANDAU EUGENE MURPHY JR. Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. won America’s Got Talent seven years ago by singing his heart out a la Susan Boyle. Touted as the “Soul of Sinatra,” the West Virginia-native paid tribute to Ol’ Blue Eyes by reinterpreting standards popularized by Frank Sinatra on his debut album That’s Life, released in 2011. He’ll do the same this weekend at an outdoor concert in Reston, the season finale of the Pavilion’s “Taste of the Town” series,” that will also salute “the Magic of Motown.” Guests are welcome to bring lawn chairs or picnic blankets, but the venue advises: “alcohol “alcohol is permitted at restaurants only.” Saturday, Aug. 25, at 7:30 p.m. The Pavilion at the Reston Town Center, 11900 Market St. Call 703-579-6720 or visit restontowncenter.com. LEELA JAMES Several years ago this gritty, big voiced R&B singer released Loving You More...In The Spirit of Etta James. Certainly if any contemporary singer most conjures thoughts of the late Etta, it’s the same-surnamed — though unrelated — Leela. The 35-year-old Los Angeles native deserves to be more popular, but as it is she’s one of R&B’s best-kept secrets. James tours in support of last year’s Did It For Love. Saturday, Aug. 25, at 7 and 10 p.m. Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, 7719 Wisconsin Ave. Tickets are $65.50 to $75, plus $20 minimum purchase per person. Call 240-330-4500 or visit bethesdabluesjazz.com. bethesdabluesjazz.com.
LOCKN’ FESTIVAL Dead & Company is the chief draw as main headline act on both nights — Saturday, Aug. 25, and Sunday, Aug. 26 — at this jam band a nd folk/rock festival outside Charlottesville, Va., that also features Tedeschi Trucks Band in the lineup both nights and welcomes Sheryl Crow and Blues Traveler on the final day. Lockn’ is a four-day affair, kicking off Thursday, Aug. 23, with Umphrey’s McGee and Lettuce on the Main Stage, plus Joe Russo’s Almost Dead at the secondary Relix Stage. Meanwhile, Widespread Panic, George Clinton & P-Funk, Toots and the Maytals, Moon Taxi, and Turkuaz are among the acts set for Friday, Aug. 24. Among other acts on tap over the weekend, there’s Foundation of Funk, Matisyahu, Keller & The Keels, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Big Something, The Suffers, and Spafford. Infinity Downs & Oak Ridge Farm, Arrington, Va. Singleday tickets are $69 to $139, while a 3-Day Weekend Pass costs $279 and a 4-Day Festival Pass is $319. Visit locknfestival.com for a full schedule.
NIKKA COSTA Despite her deep industry connections as the daughter of a revered music producer — not to mention the goddaughter of Frank Sinatra — Costa is another soul-pop artist woefully underappreciated in the mainstream. Costa’s supple alto voice and savvy, fun and funky blues-informed rock sound is undeniably appealing, if given a proper hearing. Costa tours in support of Nikka & Strings, Underneath and in Between, including her covers of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” and Lena Horne’s “Stormy Weather.” Tuesday, Aug. 28, at 8 p.m. City Winery DC, 1350 Okie St. NE. Tickets are $22 to $32; for $60 more, “The Nikka Costa Experience” offers a Meet & Greet, photo, autographed set list, and special merch item. Call 202-250-2531 or visit citywinery.com.
SHEILA E. Sheila Escovedo came to fame more than three decades ago as Prince’s drummer, songwriter, musical director, and paramour. In recent years, Sheila E. has toured through the area with her electrifying solo show featuring her Latin-flavored soul/pop hits (“The Glamorous Life,” “Love Bizarre”) as well as thehits-that-should-have-been — with a focus on songs from 2013’s Icon. Her first studio album in 13 years, Icon fully displays the artist’s skill at songcraft and prowess in percussion, even the vocal kind known as beatboxing, per the impressive, all-vocal track “Don’t Make Me (Bring My Timbales Out).” Her timbales will definitely be out and used to full effect in her return to the Howard Theatre next weekend. Saturday, Aug. 25, at 8 p.m. 620 T St. NW. Tickets are $49.50 to $79.50, plus $10 minimum per person for all tables. Call 202-588-5595 or visit thehowardtheatre.com. THE SWEETBACK SISTERS Vocalists Emily Miller and Zara Bode are the centerpiece of this Brooklyn-based band that blends Americana with lovely hints of jazz and ragtime. The Sweetback Sisters, supported by powerhouse musicians, perform a free special outdoor concert to conclude the free Live from the Lawn weekly summer series outside the Mansion at Strathmore. Wednesday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m. Gudelsky Gazebo, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda. Tickets are free. Call 301-581-5100 or visit strathmore.org. strathmore.org.
READINGS NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL This year’s annual Library of Congress event features more than 100 best-selling authors and illustrators participating in this year’s festival, including Madeleine Albright, Isabel Allende, Kai Bird,
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THE INN AT LITTLE WASHINGTON: INNSTOCK The region’s most celebrated high-end dining destination, located roughly 90 minutes south of D.C., turned 40 years old earlier this year, but has been keeping the celebration going with a few key events throughout the year. The penultimate celebratory event happens Labor Day Sunday, Sept. 2, with a daylong culinary food and music festival that is open to the public. Patrick O’Connell, the complex’s co-founder and patron chef, has invited more than 20 former employees and chefs to come back to make a signature dish as part of a “culinary family reunion,” complemented by the participation of premiere Virginia winemakers winemakers and brewmasters, brewmasters, live bands, bonfires, hot air balloon rides, “roaming impersonators,” and a grand finale fireworks display. Tickets are $250, or $1,500 for a VIP Package for 2 including access and additional complimentary complimentary food and beverages in the Inn’s Tavern Ballroom as well as VIP seating and parking. Call 540-675-3800 or visit theinnat40.com/innstock.
Steve Coll, Jennifer Egan, Dave Eggers, Jeffrey Eugenides, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Robert Hass, Tayari Jones, Joe Meacham, Celeste Ng, Annie Proulx, Amy Tan, and Luis Alberto Urrea. Saturday, Sept. 1, from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Pl. Call 202249-3000 or visit loc.gov/bookfest. loc.gov/bookfest.
MUSEUMS & GALLERIES 20/20: DOUBLE VISION In partnership with the Corcoran School of Design, Dupont Underground presents an eye-opening collection of video artwork that challenges what and how we see. A play on the both the literal and metaphorical notion of visual acuity and clarity, 20/20 features work from Corcoran alumni and area artists with ties to the school, including Larry Cook, Maps Glover, Alexis Gomez, Pamela Hadley, and Jason Zimmerman. To Aug. 28. Dupont Underground, 1500 19th St. NW.
Tickets are $15. Visit dupontunderground.org.
ALCHEMY: DANNY GREEN GREEN & KATHERINE PLOURDE Green, a local mosaic artist, and Plourde, a New York-based painter, team up this weekend for a special art show celebrating the magical and mystical power of nature. The artists will display new works as well as share details about their creative processes as part of a reception at the Potter’s House, the recently renovated, nearly 60-year-old nonprofit venue in Adams Morgan that serves as a cafe, bookstore, and community space. Sunday, Aug. 26, from 3 to 5 p.m. 1658 Columbia Road NW. Call 202-232-5483 or visit pottershousedc.org. pottershousedc.org. FUN HOUSE This year’s offering in the National Building Museum’s imaginative Summer Block Party series of temporary structures inside its historic Great Hall is a freestanding structure that recalls and re-imagines the idea of the traditional home. Designed by Snarkitecture, the
playful New York studio whose work straddles the divide between art and architecture, Fun House includes a sequence of interactive rooms featuring new as well as several environments and objects the organization has become known for. Presented inside the museum as well as outside on the grounds, the series also sees the return of Hill Country Backyard Barbecue, serving food and drink and presenting additional activities and live performances from the West Lawn on Wednesdays through Sundays. To Sept. 3. 401 F St. NW. Tickets are $16, or free for museum members. Call 202-272-2448 or visit nbm.org.
ILLUMINATE The Target Gallery in Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory Art Center presents a special glow-in-the-dark exhibition, for which it will turn off its lights to put the focus on exhibited artwork, artificially illuminated in various ways — some by video, some by light installation and sculpture, some by black light. Emily Smith of Richmond’s 1708 Gallery served as juror for
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MARYLAND RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL Guided by an overarching historical storyline that changes annually, the Maryland Renaissance Festival, now in its 42nd year, offers a little something for everyone, whether your primary motive is to take in the performances — over 200 professionals engaged in everything from jousting to comedic sword-fighting sword-fighting to parodies of Shakespeare — or shop for early holiday gifts from a collection of amazing artisans. Or maybe you just want to gnaw on a turkey leg, steak on a stake, or cheesecake on a stick. Opens Saturday, Saturday, Aug. 25. Themed events in 2018 include a Celtic Celebration the weekend of Sept. 16, performances by U.K. vocal ensemble Mediaeval Baebes throughout the weekend of Sept. 23, Pirate Weekend Sept. 29 and Sept. 30, and Shakespeare Weekend Oct. 7 and Oct. 8. RennFest runs weekends to Oct. 21. Located at 1821 Crownsville Road, in Annapolis, Md. Tickets are $19 to $26 for a single-day adult ticket, with multi-day passes also available, or a Season Pass for $150. Call 800-296-7304 800-296-7304 or visit rennfest.com.
the exhibition, selecting works by 11 artists, including D.C.’s Joana Stillwell, Baltimore’s Sarah Clough and Karen Lemmert, Alexandria’s Andreas Schenkel and Art Vidrine, Mount Rainier’s Steve Wanna, and Potomac’s Michael West. To Sept. 2. 105 North Union St. Alexandria. Free. Call 703-838-4565 or visit torpedofactory.org.
LINA ALATTAR: SERENITY AND CHAOS All August, this Northern Virginia based abstract painter is the featured artist at the Gallery at the Wharf, which Maryland-based artist/educator Martha Spak opened last year as a showcase for local artists on rotating exhibit. On display are richly colored and multi-textured paintings, abstract in nature yet revealing a complex, yet intuitive symmetry. symmetry. Reception Reception is Saturday, Aug. 25, from 6 to 8 p.m. Exhibit runs to Aug. 29. Martha Spak Gallery, 40 District Square SW. Visit martha-spak-gallery-atthe-wharf.com.
POP: RECALL Paintings and sculptures reminiscent of popsicles, ice creams, and other frozen treats from childhood are the focus of a solo exhibition by a nostalgia-steeped pop culture artist who teaches at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design and American University. Corey Oberndorfer’s works are set up in the window displays of the experimental Metro Micro Gallery in Arlington that, among other things, bills itself as “a 24/7 viewing space” — with exhibited works visible at night via the gallery’s interior spotlights. Founded by and adjacent adjacent to the studio studio of visuvisual artist Barbara Januszkiewicz, the gallery further styles itself as a shared space nurturing a community of emerging artists and curators. To Aug. 24. Metro Micro Gallery, 3409 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. Visit metromicrogallery.com. REX DELAFKARAN: TENDER BITS The relationship between cultural practices and desire is the underlying theme of works by this queer Iranian-American female artist, guided in part by her own person-
al experience. Abstract sculpture, flags, bodies, and text factor into Delafkaran’s current exhibition in the Dupont Circle gallery long known as Hillyer Art Space, tucked in the winding alley that runs behind the Phillips Collection. Now to Sept. 2. IA&A at Hillyer, 9 Hillyer Court NW. Call 202-338-0325 or visit athillyer.org.
THE GREAT MYSTERY Baltimore’s American Visionary Art Museum is letting its curiosity run wild in its 21st year-long exhibition curated by founder and director Rebecca Hoffberger. Partly inspired by Albert Einstein, who once referred to the concept of life as “the Great Mystery,” the show celebrates mysteries big and small, the ultimate source of artistic creativity, scientific inquiry and social progress. On display are works by 44 visionary artists, research scientists, astronauts, mystics and philosophers. To Sept. 2. American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Highway. Baltimore. Tickets are $15.95 for regular daily admission. Call 410-244-1900 or visit avam.org.
BREWERS ON THE BLOCK Gina Chersevani, one of D.C.’s longtime leading mixologists, hosts this fifth annual event at Buffalo & Bergen’s outdoor beer garden in Union Market as a Spotlight event of see separate entry ). DC Beer Week ( see Guests can get unlimited pours in a souvenir tasting glass from nearly 40 participating area craft brewers, with representatives on hand in a “Meet The Neighbors”-themed event. The lineup includes popular DMV breweries, including 3 Stars, Atlas, Blue Jacket, the Brewer’s Art, DC Brau, Denizens, Evolution, Manor Hill, and Port City, cideries, from D.C.’s own Anxo to Bold Rock from Virginia, and Jack’s from Pennsylvania, and meaderies such as Baltimore’s gluten-free Charm City Meadworks. Saturday, Aug. 25, from 6 to 9 p.m. Suburbia, 1309 5th St. NW. Tickets are $55, or $75 for VIP including entrance at 5 p.m. with exclusive food and reserved seating. Call 202-543-2549 or visit 5thbrewersblock.eventbrite.com. DC BEER WEEK When this promotion was launched 10 years ago, there weren’t any breweries based in D.C. — just a dedicated crew of craft beer aficionados with a dream. Now there are a dozen breweries in D.C. proper and the whole region has seen an explosion in the craft. DC Beer Week has grown by leaps and bounds, with more than 50 events taking place over the course of a week. Remaining events include: Port City’s “Super Fun Party” at Cotton & Reed, a local beer and spirits collaboration featuring specialty beer cocktails, on Friday, Aug. 24; a guided tour of three D.C. breweries organized by City Brew Tours DC on Saturday, Aug. 25; and Brewers on the Block outside Union Market on Sunday, Aug. 25. Runs to Sunday, Aug. 26. Visit dcbeerweek. net for a full schedule of events. TABERNA DEL ALABARDERO: CHILLED SUMMER SOUPS Summer isn’t ideal soup season — unless you’re talking gazpacho and other cold varieties popularized in Spain. In that case, now through Labor Day, D.C.’s oldest traditional Spanish restaurant offers five varieties, rotating them by weekday: from Monday with Gazpacho Andaluz, the tradition al tomato-based soup with cucumbers and red and green peppers, to Friday’s Salmorejo Cordobés, a tomato and bread puree with Serrano ham and hard-boiled egg. Garlic and almond soup with grapes, carrot and orange soup with orange, and tomato and watermelon soup round out the midday options. All soups are $13. 1776 I St. NW. Call 202-429-2200 or visit alabardero.com. alabardero.com. l
Communiy THURSDAY, THURSDAY, Augus 23 ANTI-VIOLENCE The DC ANTI-VIOLENCE PROJECT, a group dedicated to combating anti-LGBT hate crimes, holds its monthly meeting at The DC Center. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Weekly Events ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH offers free HIV testing and HIV services (by appointment). 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center, 1400 Decatur St. NW. To arrange an appointment, call 202-291-4707, or visit andromedatransculturalhealth.org.
MONDAY, MONDAY, Augus 27 IDENTITY offers offers free and confidential HIV testing at two separate locations. Walkins accepted from 2-6 p.m., by appointment for all other hours. 414 East Diamond Ave., Gaithersburg, Md. or 7676 New Hampshire Ave., Suite 411, Takoma Park, Md. To set up an appointment or for more information, call Gaithersburg, 301-300-9978, or Takoma Park, 301-422-2398. METROHEALTH CENTER offers free, rapid HIV testing. Appointment needed. 1012 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700. To arrange an appointment, call 202-6380750.
DC AQUATICS CLUB practice session at Takoma Aquatic Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van Buren St. NW. For more information, visit swimdcac.org.
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5 p.m., by appointment and walk-in, for youth 21 and younger. Youth Center, 410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155 or
[email protected].
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/walking/social club welcomes runners of all ability levels for exercise in a fun and supportive environment, with socializing afterward. Route distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at 7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW. For more information, visit dcfrontrunners.org.
STI TESTING at WhitmanWalker Health. 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2-3 p.m. at both 1525 14th St. NW and the Max Robinson Center, 2301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE. Testing is intended for those without symptoms. For an appointment call 202-745-7000 or visit whitman-walker.org. whitman-walker.org.
DC LAMBDA SQUARES, D.C.’s gay and lesbian square-dancing group, features mainstream through advanced square dancing at the National City Christian Church. Please dress casually. 7-9:30 p.m. 5 Thomas Circle NW. 202-930-1058, dclambdasquares.org.
US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics Anonymous Meeting. The group is independent of UHU. 6:30-7:30 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. For more information, call 202-446-1100.
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds holds practice. The team is always looking for new members. All welcome. 7-9 p.m. Harry Thomas Recreation Center, 1743 Lincoln Rd. NE. For more information, visit scandalsrfc. org or
[email protected] [email protected].. THE DULLES TRIANGLES Northern Virginia social group meets for happy hour at Sheraton in Reston. All welcome. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise Valley Drive, second-floor bar. bar. For more information, visit dullestriangles.com. HIV TESTING at WhitmanWalker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and from 2-5 p.m. at 1525 14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. at the Max Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE. For an appointment call 202-745-7000 or visit whitman-walker.org.
WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE for young LBTQ women, 13-21, interested in leadership development. 5-6:30 p.m. SMYAL Youth Center, 410 7th St. SE. For more information, call 202-567-3163, or email
[email protected].
FRIDAY, FRIDAY, Augus 24 GAMMA is is a confidential, voluntary, peer-support group for men who are gay, bisexual, questioning and who are now or who have been in a relationship with a woman. 7:30-9:30 p.m. Luther Place Memorial Church, 1226 Vermont Ave NW. GAMMA meetings are also held in Vienna, Va., and in Frederick, Md. For more information, visit gammaindc.org. The DC Center holds its CENTER AGING MONTHLY LUNCH social for members of D.C.’s senior community. Lunch is potluck — bring your
own dish to share. 12-2 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org or call 202682-2245.
WOMEN IN THEIR TWENTIES (AND THIRTIES) , a social discussion and activity group for queer women, meets at The DC Center on the second and fourth Friday of each month. Group social activity to follow the meeting. 8-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
SATURDAY, SATURDAY, Augus 25 ADVENTURING outdoors group takes a very strenuous 13-mile hike with 2300 feet of elevation gain to a spectacular peak on Great North Mountain, on the Virginia/West Virginia border. Suitable only for experienced hikers in good aerobic shape. Bring plenty of beverages, lunch, sturdy boots, bug spray, sunscreen, about $20 for fees, and money for dinner on the way home. Carpool at 8:30 a.m. from East Falls Church Metro Kiss & Ride lot. Return after dark. For more information, contact Joe, 202-276-5521, or visit adventuring.org. Join The DC Center as it volunteers for FOOD & FRIENDS, packing meals and groceries for people living with serious ailments. 10 a.m.-noon. 219 Riggs Rd. NE. Near the Fort Totten Metro. For a ride from the Metro, call the Food & Friends shuttle at 202-669-6437. For more information, visit thedccenter.org or foodandfriends. org.
SUNDAY, SUNDAY, Augus 26 Join AGLA for its GAYBORHOOD NIGHT DINNER at Freddie’s Beach Bar. Meet fellow LGBTQ people from the area, AGLA board members, and dine together (on separate checks). The social will also serve as a collection drive for A-SPAN, a homeless advocacy organization, and the Arlington Food Assistance Center. Bring along women’s bras and panties for A-SPAN or unused nonperishable food items for AFAC. 6 p.m. 555 23rd St. S., Arlington, Va. For more info, email
[email protected].
AGLA hosts its monthly PUBLIC BOARD MEETING at Freddie’s Beach Bar. Learn about upcoming projects and volunteer initiatives, initiatives, and find ways to get involved with the organization. 7-8:30 p.m. 555 23rd St. S., Arlington, Va. For more info, email
[email protected].
WEEKLY EVENTS ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH offers free HIV testing and HIV services (by appointment). 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center, 1400 Decatur St. NW. To arrange an appointment, call 202-291-4707, or visit andromedatransculturalhealth.org. DC AQUATICS CLUB holds a practice session at Dunbar Aquatic Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 101 101 N St. NW. For more information, visit swimdcac.org. HIV TESTING at WhitmanWalker Health. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. at 1525 14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12 p.m. and 1-5 p.m. at the Max Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE. For an appointment call 202-745-7000 or visit whitman-walker.org. KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY INDIVIDUALITY (K.I.) SERVICES , 3333 Duke St., Alexandria, offers free “rapid” “rapid” HIV testing and counseling, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 703-823-4401. METROHEALTH CENTER offers free, rapid HIV testing. No appointment needed. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700. For more information, call 202-638-0750. NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing. 5-7 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite 200, Arlington. Appointments: 703-789-4467. 703-789-4467. SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5 p.m., by appointment and walk-in, for youth 21 and younger. Youth Center, Center, 410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155 or
[email protected]. STI TESTING at WhitmanWalker Health. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at both 1525 14th St. NW and the Max Robinson Center, 2301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE. Testing is intended for those without symptoms. For an appointment call 202-7457000 or visit whitman-walker. org.
The DC Center hosts COFFEE DROP-IN FOR THE SENIOR LGBT COMMUNITY . 10 a.m.-noon. 2000 14th St. NW. For more information, call 202-682-2245 or visit thedccenter.org.
US HELPING US hosts a black gay men’s evening affinity group for GBT black men. Light refreshments provided. 7-9 p.m. 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. 202-446-1100. 202-446-1100. WASHINGTON WETSKINS WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9 p.m. Newcomers with at least basic swimming ability always welcome. Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van Buren St. NW. For more information, contact Tom, 703-299-0504 or
[email protected],
[email protected], or visit wetskins.org.
George’s Episcopal Church, 915 Oakland Ave., Arlington, just steps from Virginia Square Metro. For more info. call Dick, 703-5211999. Handicapped accessible. Newcomers welcome. liveandletli
[email protected].
[email protected]. Whitman-Walker Health holds its weekly GAY MEN’S HEALTH AND WELLNESS/STD CLINIC . Patients are seen on walk-in basis. No-cost screening for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. Hepatitis and herpes testing available for fee. Testing starts at 6 p.m, but should arrive early to ensure a spot. 1525 14th St. NW. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org. whitman-walker.org.
WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, Augus 29
WHITMAN-WALKER HEALTH HIV/AIDS SUPPORT GROUP for newly diagnosed individuals, meets 7 p.m. Registration required. 202-939-7671, hivsupport@
[email protected].
The TOM DAVOREN SOCIAL BRIDGE CLUB meets for Social Bridge at the Dignity Center, across from the Marine Barracks. No partner needed. 7:30 p.m. 721 8th St. SE. Call 301-345-1571 for more information.
TUESDAY, TUESDAY, Augus 28
Weekly Events
GENDERQUEER DC, a support a support and discussion group for people who identify outside the gender binary, meets at The DC Center on the fourth Tuesday of every month. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
AD LIB, a group for freestyle con versation, meets about 6-6:30 p.m., Steam, 17th and R NW. All welcome. For more information, call Fausto Fernandez, 703-732-5174.
Weekly Events DC AQUATICS CLUB practice session at Takoma Aquatic Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van Buren St. NW. For more information, visit swimdcac.org. DC FRONT RUNNERS running/ walking/social club welcomes runners of all ability levels for exercise in a fun and supportive environment, environment, with socializing afterward. Route distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at 7 p.m. at Union Station. For more information, visit dcfrontrunners.org. dcfrontrunners.org. DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds holds practice. The team is always looking for new members. All welcome. 7-9 p.m. Harry Thomas Recreation Center, 1743 Lincoln Rd. NE. For more information, visit scandalsrfc. org or
[email protected] [email protected].. THE GAY MEN’S HEALTH COLLABORATIVE offers free HIV testing and STI screening and treatment every Tuesday. 5-6:30 p.m. Rainbow Tuesday LGBT Clinic, Alexandria Health Department, 4480 King St. 703746-4986 or text 571-214-9617.
[email protected].
[email protected]. OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS holds an LGBT-focused meeting every Tuesday, 7 p.m. at St.
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) holds a practice session at Dunbar Aquatic Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 101 N St. NW. For more information, visit swimdcac.org. FREEDOM FROM SMOKING, a group for LGBT people looking to quit cigarettes and tobacco use, holds a weekly support meeting at The DC Center. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org. thedccenter.org. HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH offers Wednesday worship 7:15 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. All welcome. 118 N. Washington St., Alexandria. 703549-1450, historicchristchurch.org. historicchristchurch.org. JOB CLUB, a weekly support program for job entrants and seekers, meets at The DC Center. 6-7:30 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more info, centercareers.org. centercareers.org. NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite 200, Arlington. Appointments: 703-789-4467. 703-789-4467. WASHINGTON WETSKINS WATER POLO TEAM practices 7-9 p.m. Newcomers with at least basic swimming ability always welcome. Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van Buren St. NW. For more information, contact Tom, 703-299-0504 or
[email protected], or visit wetskins.org. l
Dave Da ve Per r u z za’ za ’ s Home Run In a city desperate for more LGBTQ spaces, the former manager of JR.’s stepped up to the plate. With Pitchers and A League of Her Own, he’s knocked it out of the park. Interview by John Riley Photography by Todd Franson
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VER THE PAST TWO DECADES, DECADES, DAVE Perruzza carved out a niche for himself in the LGBTQ community as the public face of one of the city’s longest-running nightlife spots, JR.’s Bar and Grill. Still, as much as he loved being the general manager of JR.’s, he regretted not being able to have the final say over how the bar was run. “The first 15 years at JR.’s were amazing,” says the youthful 43-year-old. “Over the last five years, the landscape has changed a lot. I held on, thinking maybe [owner Eric Little] will sell me the bar.” The offer never came. One night, a mutual acquaintance acquaintance told Perruzza that his father had a bar in Adams Morgan and was seeking a manager. Perruzza checked it out and immediately fell in love. “The first time I saw this place, I thought, ‘This is amazing,” he recalls. “This is a gorgeous space. It needs a lot of love, and it smells really bad, but it’s got a lot of potential.’” Perruzza agreed to take it on but only as an owner. And so, the buildings that once housed Adams Morgan mainstays Spaghetti Garden, Brass Monkey, Roxanne Restaurant, and Peyote Karaoke Cafe, begat Pitchers, an LGBTQ sports bar, which opened in June, and A League of Her Own, a lesbian and queer sports bar that caters primarily to female-bodied individuals, which opened earlier in August. Two months in, Pitchers is home run, with the bases loaded. On weeknights, there’s a steady hum of business from early evening until closing. And on weekends, you can barely push your way through the crowds. Downstairs, patrons enjoy food from a simple yet excellent menu that includes a kick-ass burger, garden-fresh salads, pizza, and all manner of finger foods. On the upper floor, you’d be hard pressed not to be amused by the bannisters fashioned from unfinished Louisville sluggers. There are two patios, a gaming room, a multitude of TV screens, some showing sporting events, others designated for video games — a particular love of Perruzza’s. Last week, Pitchers opened its final element, a sizable dance floor complete with a corner DJ booth. Downstairs resides A League of Her Own, a cozy and notably beautiful space that boasts its own entryway
from the street. Perruzza is visibly proud of A League of Her Own, his effort to create a much-needed space for queer women, who have lacked a permanent nightlife space since the closing of Phase One a few years ago and Hung Jury before that. “I think it’s disgusting that we’re the nation’s capital and there’s no bar for lesbians,” he says. “When I told people [about A League of her Own], they were like, ‘What, are you nuts? That could be such a cute little gay bar. You should make it like a dungeon-ish bar.’ I said, ‘No, I want to make a bar for queer women.’ They said, ‘It’s never going to work.’ I was like, ‘I know it’s going to work. I’ve been at JR.’s, I’ve seen that women have no place to go.’” Jo McDaniel, ALOHO’s manager, says Perruzza has welcomed feedback from the community and has provided her autonomy so that the space can grow and flourish. “It’s pretty great working with Dave,” McDaniel says. “I felt that from the start, my voice was important. I just dig that he likes my face to be around Pitchers as well. He likes people to know about downstairs, how welcome women are throughout this space.” “Dave goes a mile a minute, he never rests,” says Perruzza’s husband, Richard Paules, who temporarily put aside his own landscaping landscaping business to help renovate Pitcher’s. “He is the hardest working person I have ever known. When he gets something in his head that he wants to accomplish, he does it. Everyone loves him. I him. I love love him. And I really admire him, greatly.” Raised in a typically rambunctious Italian family in Westchester, New York, Perruzza is unapologetically blunt, which has left him with some enemies, who frequently malign him on social media. Yet, anyone who genuinely knows Perruzza, Perruzza, comes to quickly realize that he is a people pleaser with a proverbial heart of gold. Funny, outspoken, and a deeply warm person, with an entrenched caring of his friends, patrons, and community, he’s one of what was called, in an era gone by, “the good guys.”
METRO WEEKLY: Let’s start by talking talking about your childhood. childhood. DAVE PERRUZZA: I grew up in Mahopac, New York, a little town
outside of New York City in Westchester County. I grew up a young, confused gay boy with nobody in town that was gay or like me. My mom’s Sicilian, my dad was from Rome. So I’m half Sicilian, technically. I say I get my bitchiness from the Sicilian part and my easygoingness from the Roman part. We were middle class. My dad worked two jobs. He was a musician and wedding singer on weekends, and did construction during the week. My mom was a hairdresser. I have two wonderful sisters — can you put wonderful in capitals? [ Laughs.] Laughs.] I’m the youngest. We had a crazy Italian upbringing — pasta five days a week and stuff like that. Just a good, loud Italian family. MW: When did you come out to your parents? PERRUZZA: My sister came out to them for me. I’m on the phone
with my mother and she said, “Your sister came over and she talked to us.” I’m like, “Oh yeah? What did she say?” She’s like, “Well, you tell me.” And I said, “Well, I’m not gonna incriminate incriminate myself. What did she say?” She said, “She told us you’re gay. Is that true?” And I said, “Well, yeah.” MW: What prevented you from telling your parents? PERRUZZA: Distance. I was in Hawaii and they were in New York and it’s it’s never an easy thing to do. I mean, I was going to do it because I just needed to. I was sick of the lying. MW: Why do you think your sister outed you? PERRUZZA: Because she knew I was sick of hiding it. I’ve talked to her about it, and she told me, “I knew you were gay because my friend saw you on the dance floor when we were all dancing. You started snapping your fingers like that.” I said, “Not all gay people snap their fingers.” MW: You mention the Navy. PERRUZZA: I was never book smart, and I couldn’t focus on anything, so I thought, “If I go to college, I’m going to be miserable. Let me join the Navy.” My boot camp was in Great Lakes, which they called “Great Mistakes.” Then I went to my A School in San Diego, and from there I was stationed in Pearl Harbor for four years. MW: You were in the military at the time “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” first came into effect. effect. PERRUZZA: Right. When I joined, the recruiter took a black marker and crossed out “Are you a homosexual?” He said, “Can’t ask you that that question anymore.” And I thought, “Well, thank God.” MW: Would you have told the truth if they’d asked? PERRUZZA: No. I wouldn’t have got the job otherwise, and for me I’d always planned on going in the Navy. MW: What was it like living under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”? PERRUZZA: For me it was fine. The gay people that I knew had their pink triangles on their cars, the rainbow stickers, because this was Hawaii, so no one cared. Now, there were some witch hunts in Hawaii that were going on that had been publicized. But I’ve always kept my professional life professional, and I wouldn’t talk about my social life. I wouldn’t let people know I was gay. I would show up to work, I did what I had to do, and I went home. My personal life was my personal life in the Navy. When I went home, I was me. MW: How did you end up at JR.’s? PERRUZZA: I did four years in the Navy, and my best friend, Dave DeSeve, moved to D.C. I came to visit, and I fell in love with D.C. Actually, I fell in love with JR.’s when I first came here. I wasn’t 21, but I went in there and was having cocktails all the time. They’re very strict about carding under 21 now, but those were the Marion Barry days. No one gave a shit. You could go anywhere back then and drink in any bar under 21. No one cared. Anyway, Dave knew Eric Little and Eric needed a coat check guy. I started coat check at JR.’s on December 2, 1997. MW: How did it evolve evolve from there? PERRUZZA: When I first started working at JR.’s was when Eric had first bought it. So I started helping, because he extended the upper part out and then we added a back bar, so I was really handy. I’m like my dad. If I see something I can build it if I need to. I don’t need instructions. So I helped do all our renovations at JR.’s and Eric saw that and was appreciative. He made me a barback right away because another position opened up. From there, I became a bartender, then a manager, then the general manager. MW: What is your fondest memory of JR.’s? PERRUZZA: The memories with the staff and customers. I think
JR.’s has probably the most generous customers. Whenever we did something like a benefit or sold Jell-O shots, the customers were always generous — I think that’s a testament to the people who go there. The High Heel Races over the years were always memorable. I’d sit back at the end of the night and look out at 50,000 people along 17th Street and think, “I did this.” MW: This will be your last year running the High Heel Race. Do you feel it’s going to be awkward working with JR.’s on that? PERRUZZA: I really didn’t work with JR.’s on it last time. Just because I ran JR.’s doesn’t mean JR.’s did anything for it. It’s a community event at this point. Yeah, JR.’s will always be a sponsor because they should be, but it’s a community event and that’s why I agreed to do it one more time. MW: One of the other iconic things at JR.’s that you’re credited with growing is the Easter bonnet contest. Are you going to try to do that at Pitchers? PERRUZZA: No, I’m not going to do anything that competes with JR.’s. When I used to run JR.’s, it used to piss me off when I would do trivia night and then another bar did trivia night on the same night. Every time we did something, somebody would do the same thing on the same night. MW: So you’re going to start your own traditions here. PERRUZZA: Yes. I want to get the whole bar open and then that’s when we’re going to start looking at things we can do. I want to start Drag Queen Olympics. They did it in Amsterdam and I thought it was a brilliant idea. So I’m just gonna find a date for the park in Adams Morgan and we’re going to do Drag Queen Olympics. MW: What does Drag Olympics entail? PERRUZZA: You just find a bunch of sports, like pole vault, hurtling, whatever you normally do, but do it in drag. It’s going be a lot of fun. MW: What made you start thinking about leaving JR.’s to open your own place? PERRUZZA: A lot of it was stress. I don’t really stress out, but it was just more irritation of having to deal with nonsense. Every time something bad happened with the company, I was the fall guy. It kind of sucked and it made my life a little miserable the last five years. MW: Did people think you were the the owner? PERRUZZA: Everyone thought I was the owner. I mean, everyone thought I was the owner of Level One. So when Level One closed, people were talking trash about me. Every time something bad would happen, people would talk trash about me. They thought I owned Cobalt, too. But I didn’t. If I had owned it, I would have done things differently, but I’m not an owner. I never had any partnership in it. I never had any stake in it. The only thing I did was run it. MW: You were very visible though. PERRUZZA: I was, and it’s funny, I get shit from everybody and
everyone says all this stuff about me, but they don’t realize the reason I’m so visible is because I’ve never said no to a charity. I’ve actually used JR.’s and its popularity as a platform. For the last 20 years, I’ve never said no to a charity, except for Gays for Trump. I did deny them a party at JR.’s and there’s a bad Yelp review on the JR.’s page about me being an asshole for not allowing the Gays for Trump, so that’s a true fact. But that’s the only thing I’ve ever said no to. Another criticism I got on Yelp was everyone says I hate women. I don’t hate women — I actually love women. But people read that on the Yelp reviews. And I always say, “Well, did you look at the dates?” The dates of those reviews coincide with Sundays. I’d kick a lot of people out on Sundays, because it’s brunch and after they start bottomless mimosas I have to deal with nothing but drunk straight girls. That was a problem, and the first thing they’d do was go home and write a Yelp review about “the manager at JR.’s hating on me because I’m a girl.” It has nothing to do with your gender. It had to do with the fact that you’re drunk. I got shit from everyone about everything at JR.’s. I could have given Mother Teresa a kidney, and they’d be like, “Why didn’t Perruzza give her the other kidney? It’s a better kidney.” I can’t win.
MW: Why do you think there’s such hostility directed at you? PERRUZZA: I think that people feel like we’re here to serve them
and nothing but them. And I agree it’s the service industry, but part of me knows you can’t make everybody happy. When I opened up Pitchers, everyone said, “Oh, he’s opening up a heteronormative, masculine, testosterone-driven bar because it’s a sports bar.” And I’m like, “Can you just wait until it’s open so you can see what I’m doing, instead of just bashing me before it even opens?” MW: Do you think you’ve made enemies enemies in D.C.? honest, I don’t give give a shit about about makmakPERRUZZA: Yeah, and I’ll be honest, ing enemies. I’m here to run a bar. I follow the rules of ABRA. I have a liquor license, and we can’t allow dancing in this building in some spots, per my liquor license. That’s why I had to wait to open up the floor for people to dance on, and when I stick to those rules, I’m not going to be popular with people. But people forget — you’re one person bitching at me for something, but I’m keeping the other 250 people that are in the bar safe. Your actions can disrupt all the other actions. Let’s take a bachelorette party. I’ve been working a bar for 20 years. The minute a bachelorette party comes walking through that front door, the mood in that whole room changes immedi-
ately. Gay people look at a bachelorette party and all we do is remember that “You used to come in our bars all the time when we couldn’t even get married, and you’re still coming to our bars. Yeah, we can get married, but we still get shit for it.” So when gay people see bachelorette parties, the first thing that goes on in their head is “Ugh.” And it really disrupts business, so I don’t allow them. I got a lot of shit on PoPville about it recently, but I don’t care. I’m not gonna let you come into my establishment where people feel safe, and disrupt the way people feel. I want everybody to feel comfortable, and bachelorette parties are essentially a bar crawl for people saying, “Hey, this is my last night to be a mess,” and they look at gay people like we’re some kind of zoo. We’re props in their whole bridal party crap. Even on PoPville, the people who complained stumbled out of a car. Yeah, it was raining. Who gives a shit if it’s raining? It’s not my problem it’s raining. You came here drunk. I’m not letting drunk people in. There’s plenty of gorgeous gay men I haven’t let in because they’ve been drunk. We have a very strict policy about letting drunk people in. MW: Is there a legal issue regarding discrimination if you turn away straight people? PERRUZZA: I’m not turning away straight people, I’m turning away a group. In my voluntary agreement, I’m not allowed to have bar crawls in, and technically a bachelorette party is a bar crawl. MW: What can happen to your ABRA license if you violate the terms of your agreement, or if you over-serve somebody, or they get hurt on your watch? PERRUZZA: I have to make sure that they don’t fall down the stairs. I have make sure that they don’t go pee in the urinal and knock their head on it. The minute we have to call the police or an ambulance for anything, they have to file a report with ABRA. Then ABRA has to talk to us. Then we have to show them all our cameras, and then if they feel like we need to go in front of the board, then we have to go in front of the board. I can judge somebody right away by how much they’ve had to drink. My staff all knows — and you can talk to anybody that’s ever worked for me — do not get your customers drunk. I don’t think that you’re doing a favor to the customers, and I think that they’ll thank you in the morning if you give them a water. I’m pretty up front with people. I’ll tell them, “You know you’ve had too much.” We’re pretty nice about it. We haven’t had a lot of problems here. I think people when they’re drunk know they’re drunk. I think their friends get more pissed off that we’re
kicking the other friend out, and the friends end up being the problem more than the person that’s been drinking. MW: Some people will say, isn’t that the point of a bar, to let people go out and get drunk? PERRUZZA: No. The point of a bar is to meet friends and have a good time. You don’t have to go to a bar to get drunk. For me, people that go to a bar to get drunk have a problem. Go to a bar and have fun. There’s no reason for you to take that one extra drink. That $5 is not worth it to me as a bar owner. I’ve told my staff, “If you wanna pay all my legal fees if I have any problem, then you’re more welcome to. But I’d rather lose $3 on a bottle of water than gain $5 by getting somebody drunk.” MW: What’s interesting about the bachelorette party who complained to PoPville is that you received a lot of feedback from gay men who rallied behind you. PERRUZZA: Right, they did, because look what happened to Town. You couldn’t go to a drag show there. I want to have drag here, but all I’m going to do is attract the straight girls. It has taken over every bar that does drag, and it’s kind of sad. We haven’t actually had the problem of the straight girls coming in here that much. I mean, we have a few and I think it’s because this place was around for 38 years, and it used to be the Brass Monkey, and used to be an old stomping ground for a lot of straight girls. But it hasn’t been a problem. When people come in, we make sure they know it’s a gay bar. And we had to do this in the beginning because we’d have people go up and say something derogatory because it was no longer Brass Monkey. People have asked, “Why do you have a sign that says ‘This is a gay bar?’” Because someone will go in, go upstairs and say, “Oh this is a fucking gay bar,” or something like that. I’m not gonna have somebody say that out loud around my customers, because that doesn’t make them feel good and then they’ll walk out. So I put up a sign that says, “This is a gay bar.” MW: Has social media made your life better or worse? PERRUZZA: I think social media’s the devil. I think it’s great for advertising and for pushing stuff out for charity. I’ve made a shit ton of money for different charities through social media. InstaGram’s great. You just take pictures of your clientele and what’s going on at the bar. Facebook’s great because we let people know what’s going up. But I don’t have a Twitter account for Pitchers. People ask me why, and it’s because Twitter is just a way for people to be mean. People can express their opinions a lot easier from behind a keyboard now. Half the people will come and ask me for things and then turn around and talk shit about me behind my back. People can bash you as much as they want and feel free to do it now because they don’t have to look at you in the face when they do it. All the “justice warriors” that are out now, you’re not doing any justice. They think they’re doing so great by talking shit about me or other people, but the people they’re talking shit about are the ones that do the most for the community. If you really want to do something, do what I do. Go volunteer at a homeless shelter. Go raise money. Use your 110,000 Twitter
followers for good. business? MW: How important is Yelp in promoting your business? PERRUZZA: I actually got in an argument with the woman from Yelp. She goes, “We’d like you to set up your account.” I’m asking, “Why would I want to set up an account with you?” And she’ll say, “What are you talking about? It helps...” And I’m saying, “Does it? Because you guys don’t have a filter for dyke, cunt, fat, and several other things that people have called my employees — and I’ve only been open for a month and a half.” We cut off a straight guy, and he was drunk, and because Jo [McDaniel] was serving him, he calls her a “dyke cunt.” So he goes on Yelp and he puts that on there. Then, the bachelorette party that we wouldn’t allow in who wrote the PoPville article insulted my doorman, saying there’s no way he’s gay because gay guys are cute and this guy was fat and gross. They put that on Yelp. So I told the woman from Yelp, “Why the hell would I wanna deal with Yelp at Maybe people need to stop asking young, white gay guys, all when you let this shit go on there and ruin how my staff feels “Hey do we need gay bars?” Because when they go to a straight about themselves because they read your shitty Yelp reviews.” bar, people don’t know that they’re gay. And that’s the problem So social media’s the devil. with society right now. People forget about transgender people MW: Why did you decide to open a sports bar? or lesbians. We’re the first lesbian bar in so long, because people PERRUZZA: Because I can’t tell you the amount of times, everyforget about everybody else in our community and it’s sad. My where I go people say, “Gay people don’t watch sports.” Gay peo- goal is to make sure that doesn’t happen. ple love sports. love sports. And I will have sports on TV — we’ll have football The way I want to run this bar is like you’re in this little town and stuff — but my goal for Pitchers is for it to be more like a in Minnesota and there’s one gay bar. You have lesbians, gays, community center. I like to say we’re D.C.’s version of Sidetrack transgender — no matter what, you’ve all gotta go to one bar in Chicago. I always wanted a bar like because that’s the only bar you have. That’s what small town gay Sidetrack, where if you don’t wanna living’s like. City living’s not like that because there’s so many dance, you don’t have to dance. If options. This whole bar is for everybody. I think I heard someyou’re an introvert, you can play video body on a blog say, “What, does he think that lesbians don’t like games. If you want to relax outside, patios? That he’s gonna put us in the lower level...” No, you can you have two patios to hang out, but if go to the patio. You can go anywhere you want in the building. you like sports you can watch sports. You can go to the restaurant. You can go to the dance bar. I just If you watch RuPaul’s Drag Race, Race, we want you to have fun. With this bar, I feel like I’ve achieved what I want and I’ve can put RuPaul’s put RuPaul’s Drag Race on Race on for you. MW: Did you ever consider Nellie’s, Nellie’s, that been very happy with the success so far. I feel what I did here you’d be competing with them for cus- was really, really good and I think it is needed. People come up tomers? to me and say, “I’ve never to a bar with this diversity in my life.” PERRUZZA: No, I didn’t. That might That’s the best compliment you could give me. I want everyone sound cruel, but my goal is to be dif- in this bar. I don’t care what you identify as — I want everybody ferent from Nellie’s. The minute I saw in this bar. Pitchers is for everyone. l this space, I saw everything I wanted to do. So I wasn’t worried about competing competing with Nellie’s or being Pitchers is is located at 2317 18th St. NW. For more information, information, visit visit pitchersbardc.com or check out their daily listings in this magalike Nellie’s because I knew I was going to be completely differ- pitchersbardc.com ent. If people are on that side of town and they want to go to a zine’s Nightlife section. section. sports bar, they’ve got one there. There could be a sports bar on every street. MW: There’s always a danger of a bar becoming something that the owner doesn’t envision. How important is it to you that Pitchers Pitchers maintain itself as an LGBTQ LGBTQ bar? PERRUZZA: It is one hundred percent important to me. People say that you don’t need safe spaces, but I will keep this bar a gay bar for the people that wanna feel safe in a space. And honest to God, I think too often people say, “Oh, well, we don’t need gay bars anymore.” But when they ask people that, it’s young, white gay guys. It’s never the transgender person that does not feel comfortable going to a straight bar. It’s never the lesbian that identifies as something else that does not feel comfortable going to a straight bar. And there are some very flamboyant gay men that don’t feel comfortable going to straight bars.
A New League Safe, welcoming, and diverse: ALOHO General Manager Jo McDaniel has crafted the perfect cocktail for Pitchers’ companion bar. Interview by John Riley Photography by Todd Franson
W WHEN JO MCDANIEL FIRST MET DAVID PERRUZZA, IT was at a rally to support D.C.’s bid for the 2022 Gay Games. As an employee of Cobalt, the sister bar of JR.’s, she knew Perruzza by name, but had never spent time with him. Earlier this year, Perruzza approached McDaniel about becoming full-time manager of A League of Her Own, the queer women’s bar that he planned to open on the lower level of Pitchers For McDaniel, a veteran bartender who’s worked at Apex, Phase One of Dupont Circle, Freddie’s Beach Bar, and Cobalt since the early 2000s, Perruzza’s vision for A League of Her Own matched what McDaniel saw as a need within D.C.’s queer female community for their own safe space. She agreed to come on board as the new bar’s manager. McDaniel says A League of Her Own’s casual atmosphere, as well as the ability to access parts of Pitchers, such as the mezzanine-level dance floor, via internal stairwells, allows patrons to pick and choose their own unique experience. “I’m seeing some of the most adorable date nights happen over our video games,” she says. “And then, on Sunday, I had these two gorgeous girls sitting at a table over by the windows in ALOHO, holding hands across the table, while another two or three groups were at the bar.” While she praises the party promoters that stepped in to hold pop-up events at straight bars following Phase One’s closing, she notes a lot of women are looking for a casual atmosphere where they can grab a drink after work, without having to worry about getting dolled up. She hopes both Pitchers and A League of Her Own can provide that space for those people. “Especially for feminine presenting queer women, and non-binary people, having a space that they can come into where their presentation isn’t questioned is all they’re really looking for. Straight bars can’t offer that.”
METRO WEEKLY: It’s been a while since there’s been a full-time
bar for lesbian or queer women in the city. How hungry has the community been for its own bar? JO MCDANIEL: Incredibly hungry. I think there was a large amount of our community who did not have a daytime casual place to go, that felt safe. MW: What do queer women in D.C. want from a bar? MCDANIEL: What I’m finding is that queer women don’t want to be told what to do. They don’t want to be told what to wear, they don’t want to be told what the theme is. They just want to have a space they can come into and do whatever they want. They want to know that they have a safe space at 6:30 on a Wednesday night. I think that’s what we’ve been lacking, the ability to cater to all ages of queer women. The more grown-up lesbians and queer women aren’t going to come out to a 10 p.m. party once a month. They want to be able to have friends in town and go out for drinks earlier, or have something that doesn’t feel so much like a club. MW: There’s been some criticism of A League of Her Own’s space, such as “They’re relegating us to the downstairs. They’re making us go through a separate entrance.” MCDANIEL: I fight against that all the time. The ground level was chosen because it has a separate entrance, and because there is a marginalized marginalized group of queer D.C. that does not feel safe in what would stereotypically be a gay men’s bar. I’ve had a couple of customers who specifically waited for A League of Her Own to open, because they felt safer in spaces where there aren’t a large group of cis men. I had one customer in particular who told me she followed us on social media because because the fact that we had a separate entrance made her feel safe. At some point, she may feel safe enough to move throughout the building, but that is why Dave chose that location with a separate entrance and a separate security guard, for that percentage of the population in queer D.C. who have had bad experiences and do feel safer in that way. MW: How successful do you think you have been in making people of diverse orientations and gender identities feel welcome? MCDANIEL: I really want to make sure we’re labeling ALOHO as not just a lesbian bar, but a lesbian and queer bar. I want to make sure that we include our pansexual brothers and sisters, and non-binary or genderfluid people, and make sure they recognize that this is their space. That’s why the first line on the sign at the staircase leading to ALOHO says, “This is a space for people who have not found their space anywhere else.” MW: Have you had any hostile encounters that you’ve had to deal with since opening? MCDANIEL: There has been some negative catcalling on the street that some of our patrons have experienced, and that has been addressed with MPD. The weeks before ALOHO opened, I was bartending at Pitchers and had an experience where someone posted a negative Yelp review where I got called a “dyke cunt.” It was this guy who I just wouldn’t serve told me I was discriminating against him because he had an Ole Miss shirt on. I was like, “No, I just said you could have some water and come back in 20 minutes.” “dyke cunt”? MW: How did it feel to be called a “dyke MCDANIEL: I have been a bartender for 13 years. I have dealt with every level of horrible drunk you can, so I have a pretty thick skin when I’m behind the bar. So that didn’t really affect me so much. What bothered me was the number of people from my community who were here that he could possibly have said something to next.
MW: Do you think A League of Her Own is going to resonate with
its audience? MCDANIEL: I would like to think so. I’m getting a lot of feedback from groups that want to hold fundraisers, and the one thing we are going to do that we will host, that will be an ALOHO event, is an open mic night. There’s a big queer music scene in D.C., and there’s some incredible talent, and that’s something that we have the space for, because the space we’re in was once a karaoke bar. However, we’re not going to do karaoke here — Dave is adamant about not doing karaoke. MW: Dave got characterized characterized as anti-female anti-female after a PoPville article article about turning away a bachelorette party. What’s your take on that? MCDANIEL: The PoPville article about the bachelorette party generated 700 comments in three hours. I fell into a hole reading all of that. It can spiral out of control. I think it’s so fascinating that so many people form opinions without ever having had a conversation directly with someone. And what I really find interesting is that there are people like, “Well, [Dave] hasn’t addressed this.” Why would he go on social media and address something? If you want to have a meeting with him, he literally is in this building at all times. I worked at Freddie’s for a long time, so I understand bachelorette parties, and this is the problem for me with bachelorette parties, and large groups of straight people who come into this space: A bachelorette party is meant to be raucous. That’s the goal, is to get very drunk and very loud. A bachelorette party is almost never meant to be respectful. So coming into a space that was designated to be safe for queer people, and being very straight and very drunk and very loud takes up a lot of space — and there’s a lot of touching, because gay men are “safe” to touch.
I find that with bachelorette parties, there’s a mob mentality involved, there’s too much booze involved, and it’s intrusive to a space, a vibe we’re trying to create, an energy we’re trying to create of safety across the board. If a group of four guys come into Pitchers and are having a nice chat on Friday at 8 p.m., and this wild bunch with sashes and penis straws comes in making a spectacle of themselves, they’re asking everyone to just shift their attention, and I feel like that’s intrusive. That’s not what this space is meant to be. There are bars for that. There are spaces specifically for that. This is not that kind of place. Anybody gets too loud, too drunk, too raucous, queer or straight, bachelorette party or whatever, we’re not gonna have that because that’s not what we’re trying to do here. So making out on the dance floor? Golden. Loud and drunk and raucous? That’s not what we’re here for. MW: Do you have any other special or recurring events planned in the coming months? MCDANIEL: On Thursdays we’re going to start doing a craft cocktail night. And our weekend nights have been really awesome. What I’m really loving is that people are coming to us, or leaving from us to go to other women’s parties. Parties that are monthly, monthly, or just on the weekends, or also to XX+. I had a group come in, they’re like, “Yeah, we were just at XX+ and now we’re coming here.” I think the fact that we have options now is blowing the mind of our older community. Our younger community is like, “Yeah, we knew this was coming.” And those of us in our 30s are like, “We did not, but good for us!” l A League of Her Own is located at 2317 18th St. NW. For more information, visit facebook.com/alohodc or follow the bar on Twitter at @alohoDC. l
Movies
Work of Art Hard Paint is Paint is a vivid, beauiful exploraion of a roubled, isolaed mind. By Rhuaridh Marr
S
LOW-BURNING, EMOTIONAL, AND UNASHAMEDLY EROTIC, HARD EROTIC, HARD PAINT PAINT ( ) — or Tinta Bruta in Bruta in its native Brazilian Portuguese — at times feels more like an art installation than a film. Through pulsating techno music, spare dialogue, and the expressions of its lead actor, it weaves a story that, while narratively speaking lasts around a month, feels both intensely compact and also unendingly long. As viewers we watch, unsure of its motives, while being treated to some of the most sumptuous visuals ever witnessed in queer cinema. As an experience, it polarizes — like the best art always does — leaving an uncertainty as to whether 118 minutes of exposure was entirely worth it. At its core, Hard Paint, Paint, from Brazilian writer-director team Marcio Reolon and Filipe Matzembacher ( Seashore ), Seashore ), is the story of a troubled young adult who shuns the real world in favor of performing on a webcam for internet strangers. Pedro, played with waifish, semi-androgynous intensity by Shico Menegat, is introduced at a court hearing for some unknown act of violence. Ushered home by his sister, this shy, awkward man, with his long hair and blank face, transforms into NeonBoy, a webcam star who attracts his audience by painting his body in neon paints made gloriously luminescent by the black lights placed next to his laptop. Pedro’s already isolated world quickly crumbles when his sister moves away for a new job, leaving him completely alone. She urges that he leave the house for five minutes a day, moments that give glimpses into Pedro’s psyche as every glance from a stranger, every sideways look, every unknown face leering from a window is given added menace, or implied disapproval. Whether it’s truly real or merely imagined, we don’t know, but it’s enough to send Pedro scuttling back inside to the safety of his internet bubble. That is until he learns that another webcam performer, Boy25, has stolen his act, and is similarly painting himself on camera Pedro, faced with decreased audi-
ences and earnings, decides to confront Boy25 — real name Leo. It’s here that Hard that Hard Paint, Paint, which meanders through its first 20 minutes or so, kicks things up a gear. Bruno Fernandes is a revelation as Leo. He is the antithesis of Pedro — unreserved, unashamedly erotic, in touch with his body, and a free-spirited performer. Pedro witnesses this firsthand when he leaves the webcam room, instructing Pedro not to give anything away for free to the waiting audience. Then the lights go out, the music kicks in, and we return to see Leo in his full glory. While highlighting neon paint with black lights isn’t anything new, Reolon and Matzembacher’s use of the visual in Hard Paint is Paint is masterful. As music pulsates in the background, Leo writhes and contorts, swathing his body in paint in a way far more sensual than Pedro’s reserved nature will allow. It is perhaps the film’s standout scene — and there are more than a few — and an eye-opening moment for both Pedro and the audience. Hard Paint’s Paint ’s narrative opens up as Pedro and Leo quickly become dual performers, and Leo gradually draws Pedro out of his shell. While their burgeoning feelings for one another could have reduced the film to sentimental nothingness, Reolon and Matzembacher instead use the romance to lend sympathy and depth to Pedro. We learn why he was in court, his history of homophobia, the
reason why he feels everyone is watching, judging, waiting to attack him. Leo pulls Pedro into his world of art and dance and socializing, but there remains a creeping dread that Pedro’s own insecurities, insecurities, his self-made isolation, will quickly return. Hard Paint Paint pulls no punches in its storytelling, charting Pedro’s attempts to navigate three very distinct emotional traumas, as his illusion of control slips from grasp. A third act twist further yanks the rug from under his feet — an attempt to recruit another performer, with Pedro establishing himself as the dominant partner, quickly devolves into a fight for his life. Throughout, Menegat gives a natural, effective performance, and his chemistry with the scene-stealing Fernandes — including one explicit and lengthy sex scene — is palpable. And while Hard Paint predominantly Paint predominantly uses techno music, an original score,
with a pulsating, heartbeat-like rhythm, emphasizes the paranoia and fear in Pedro’s head when he’s outside or in danger. At home, when not performing, his world is near-silent. Where the film stumbles is its length. At just under two hours, Hard hours, Hard Paint struggles Paint struggles to justify its running time. While Reolon and Matzembacher keep tight control of each scene, whether frenetic dance parties or quiet conversations or neon sex, the pacing is so languid — particularly during the first act — that some might switch off. While it could be argued that this unhurried pace makes Leo’s arrival and impact on Pedro all the more effective, there’s still at least twenty minutes of editing that could be done to improve things. And while Pedro’s story, including a late film appearance from his grandmother — played beautifully and sorrowfully by Sandra Dani — who seems similarly lost and alone, is compelling, the film’s conclusion is a jarring juxtaposition to everything that comes before. It’s a powerful visual, and a wonderful, freeing moment for Pedro, but nothing about his life, his isolating existence, his frequent and crushing disappointments, disappointments, suggests that it would happen. Despite its flaws, Hard Paint Paint is a notable new entry in the queer film canon. Whether for its powerful imagery and bold eroticism, or the quiet tale of a shattered individual trying desperately to hold onto a bubble of security that’s already burst, it makes for engaging viewing. l
Reel Affirmations Xtra Xtra screens Hard Paint on Paint on Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Human Rights Campaign, 1640 Rhode Island Ave NW. For tickets and more information, information, visit reelaffirmations.o reelaffirmations.org. rg.
Music
Divine Diva Areha Franklin’s gospel roos were parly shaped by he gays and lesbians in her life. By C�aig Seymour
I
N THE DAYS SINCE ARETHA FRANKLIN, THE QUEEN OF SOUL, PASSED — or, as the “saints” say was “called home” — there have been numerous obituaries crediting the power of her music to her gospel foundation. The New York Times wrote that she “brought the righteous fervor of gospel music to secular songs. And The Washington Post asserted Post asserted that Aretha explored “the sweet spot between sultry rhythm and blues and the explosive gospel she’d grown up singing in her pastor father’s Baptist church.” There has also been a lot attention given to her role as a lesbian and gay ally. She organized a concert to raise money for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in 1993. And, more recently, in 2011, she played wedding singer at the marriage ceremony of a male couple. But what few, if any, have done in praising this preternaturally talented musician and longtime LGBTQ advocate is explore how the two are linked, to show how fundamental lesbians and gay men are to shaping the gospel aesthetic that is the basis of Franklin’s soul. Music historian Anthony Heilbut writes: “During what I’ve defined as gospel’s golden age (1945-1960), most of the male gospel stars were gay.” The one who had the most impact on Aretha’s sound was Rev. James Cleveland. A prodigy of sorts, Cleveland became a boy soprano in the Pilgrim Baptist Church choir directed by “Father of Gospel” Thomas A. Dorsey. Once Cleveland’s voice went from clear and high to gravelly and low, he moved to L.A. and developed a style where he would almost narrate a song while a choir sang behind him. Cleveland became particularly particularly successful when
he joined forces with teenage keyboardist Billy Preston, who would score solo hits and play with the Rolling Stones in the ’70s. Together with the Angelic Choir, they recorded the faith-in-troubled-times anthem “Peace Be Still,” which sold nearly a million copies. For Aretha, Cleveland was, as she expressed in a statement upon his death in 1991, “my earliest musical influence and musical mentor.” A twenty-something Cleveland, after being hired as Minister of Music at her Rev. C.L. Franklin’s church, moved in with the Franklin family. Aretha, who was in her teens, would sit with Cleveland side-by-side at the piano working on choral arrangements. In 1972, when Aretha decided to do a live gospel recording, she chose Cleveland to oversee the proceedings. The resulting album, Amazing Grace, Grace, became one of the most celebrated and best selling gospel albums of all time. In addition to Cleveland, there were two women — who sometimes engaged in same-sex relationships relationships — who were just as crucial to Aretha’s development. Gospel singer Clara Ward, known for her shiny metallic gowns and elephantine bouffants, “found safety in several sexual relation-
ships with woman,” according to her sister Willa. But she was also the girlfriend of Aretha’s father. With her sharp, dynamic singing and bouncy piano playing, Clara became a musical advisor to Aretha. She also stepped in as a maternal figure since Aretha lost her own mother when she was a child. Ward had a shaping effect on the young woman’s manners and style. She taught Aretha to eat a chicken leg by taking petite bites. And her eye-catching idiosyncratidiosyncratic fashions were a lifelong influence on Aretha. Even the way Aretha famously dropped her minks on stage was modeled after Clara doing the same at the funeral of Aretha’s aunt. But no doubt the closest queer person to Aretha was her younger sister Carolyn, who preferred the company of women. Carolyn, also a singer and a songwriter, penned two of Aretha’s biggest hits, “Ain’t No Way” and “Angel,” both of which can be seen as reflecting a queer sensibility. The
former deals with the pain of giving love that is unaccepted, and the latter addresses a particular kind of loneliness that can occur once you face — and possibly announce — a truth about yourself. As Aretha sings: “So much that I know/That I need somebody so.” In the wake of Aretha’s passing, it is central that we praise the way she gave voice to the gospel impulse, the bringing together of people under a common purpose. She bore witness to our tremendous struggles — as individuals, romantic partners, family members, and citizens — and provided hope that if everything doesn’t immediately turn out right, at least it can get better. But amidst the lionization of this musical icon, it is also important that we don’t lose track of the specifics of her story, the gay men and women who shepherded Aretha on her journey, who were responsible for, to riff on a gospel tune, how she got over. l
Longtime music critic critic Craig Seymour is the author author of the biography biography Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross , Vandross , the memoir All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C. , , and the novel Who’s Your Daddy. Daddy. His archived music writing writing can be found at RandBeing.com. RandBeing.com. Follow him on Twitter at @craigspoplife. @craigspoplife.
Scene
Peach Pit at DC 9 - Saturday, August 18 - Photography by Ward Morrison See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene
DrinksDragDJ DJssEtc... Thursday, August 23 9 1/2
• Shirtless Thursday, 10-11pm • Men in Underwear Drink Free, 12-12:30am • DJs BacK2bACk
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • Multiple TVs showing movies, shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • Music videos featuring DJ Wess
Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • $15 Buckets of Beer all night • Sports Leagues Night
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
NUMBER NINE
2319 18th St. NW Doors open, 5pm-2am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
PITCHERS
2317 18th St. NW Open 5pm-2am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 11pm • Visit pitchersbardc.com
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • All You Can Eat Ribs, 5-10pm, $24.95 • $4 Corona and Heineken all night • Paint Nite, Second Floor, 7pm
Friday, August 24
Pig Pen, 10pm-close • No Cover
9 1/2
Open 3pm • Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Weekend Kickoff Dance Party, with Nellie’s DJs spinning bubbly pop music all night
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Open at 5pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • Friday Night Videos, 9:30pm • Rotating DJs • Expanded craft beer selection • No Cover
TRADE A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4
2319 18th St. NW Doors open, 5pm-3am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
All male, nude dancers • Open Dancers Audition • Urban House Music by DJ Tim-e • 9pm • Cover 21+
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm
NUMBER NINE
Open 5pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover • Friday Night Piano with Chris, 7:30pm PITCHERS
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 Rail and Domestic • Free Pizza, 7-9pm • $5 Svedka, all flavors all night long • DJ JerrBear presents
2317 18th St. NW Open 5pm-3am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 2am • Visit pitchersbardc.com
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 • Otter Happy Hour, 5-11pm ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
Men of Secrets, 9pm • Guest dancers • Rotating DJs • Kristina Kelly’s Diva Fev-ah Drag Show • Doors at 9pm, Shows at 11:30pm and 1:45am • DJ Don T. in Ziegfeld’s • Cover 21+
O T T E N U C R E H P O T S I R H C
NIGHTLIFE HIGHTLIGHTS
Saturday, August 25 9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Expanded craft beer selection • No Cover A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
2319 18th St. NW Doors open, 2pm-3am • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Saturday Breakfast Buffet, 10am-3pm • $14.99 with one glass of champagne or coffee, soda or juice • Additional champagne $2 per glass • World Tavern Poker Tournament, 1-3pm • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Freddie’s Follies Drag Show, hosted by Miss Destiny B. Childs, 8-10pm • Karaoke, 10pm-close
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $5 Bacardi, all flavors, all night long • JOX: The GL Underwear Party, 9pm-close • Featuring DJs C-Dubz and Chaim • $5 Cover (includes clothes check)
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS: DC RAWHIDES This Saturday, Aug. 25, Southwest’s mammoth, two-story LGBTQ entertainment complex swings open its doors two hours early for a different kind of dancer than its sexy late-night stock in trade upstairs. The occasion is the second Country dancing event this month sponsored by the DC Rawhides. Starting at 7 p.m. on the Ziegfeld’s level, any and all are welcome for an hour-long session of lessons in two-step, west coast swing, and line dancing, including the beginner line dance “Mucara Walk,” as taught by Cullen Ruff. The evening continues with open dancing to DJ Pam until 10:50 p.m., an hour before Ella and her Ladies take to their regular perch accompanied by DJ Don T. Upstairs, meanwhile, you’ll find the usual fine assortment of nude go-go dancers, featuring music by DJ tim-e. Ziegfeld’s/Secrets is at 1824 Half St. SW. Cover is $5 until 9 p.m. and $10 after. Visit ziegfelds.com.
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Drag Brunch, hosted by Chanel Devereaux, 10:30am-12:30pm and 1-3pm • Tickets on sale at nelliessportsbar.com • House Rail Drinks, Zing Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer and Mimosas, $4, 11am-3am • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Guest DJs NUMBER NINE
Doors open 2pm • Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Jawbreaker: Music of the ‘90s and 2000s, featuring DJs BacK2bACk, 9:30pm
ONE HIT WONDERS W/DJ DARRYL STRICKLAND One of gay D.C.’s longest-serving DJs presents the first in a series of evenings paying tribute to the many pop acts who managed to crack into the Top 40 of Billboard ’s ’s Hot 100 pop chart, but only with one song — one and done, no matter how many other times they might have tried (nor how many other hits they might have had everywhere but here), including Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love,” Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy,” and La Roux’s “Bulletproof.” Friday, Aug. 24, at 9 p.m. JR.’s Bar and Grill is at 1519 17th St. NW. Call 202-328-0090 or visit jrsbar-dc.com. CTRL: QWERTY After four years at Town, organizers of the monthly queer dance party CTRL launch a more intimate edition at Trade incorporating favorite themes and new twists. In addition to the return of resident DJs Adam Koussari, Dvonne, and Jeff Prior spinning more mainstream electro/EDM-focused tunes than your average gay party, CTRL: QWERTY hosts queer drag shows, queer giveaways, “and as much dancing as we can fit inside.” Saturday, Aug. 25, starting at 10 p.m. Trade is at 1410 14th St. NW. Call 202-986-1094 or visit facebook.com/tradebardc. TASTE: TASTE: 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY Earlier this summer, Shaw’s hip Italian restaurant Al Crostino rebranded its second floor XX+, which it calls a “queer womxn’s lounge/bar advocating inclusivity, diversity, and community.” Over Labor Day, the venue plays host to the two-year anniversary of Taste, a monthly queer women’s takeover party organized by promoter Natasha Sebastiani. A live drummer and DJ Salamander will be on hand for a party including food and drink specials and a pool table. Saturday, Sept. 1, starting at 10 p.m. XX+ is at 1926 9th St. NW. Cover is $5 with Eventbrite, Eventbrite, or $10 at the door Call 202-797-0523 or visit facebook.com/xxcrostino. l
PITCHERS
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
2317 18th St. NW Open Noon-3am • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 2am • Visit pitchersbardc.com
Men of Secrets, 9pm-4am • Guest dancers • Ladies of Illusion Drag Show with host Ella Fitzgerald • Doors at 9pm, Shows at 11:30pm and 1:45am • DJ Don T. in Ziegfeld’s • DJ Steve Henderson in Secrets • Cover 21+
SHAW’S TAVERN
Brunch with $15 Bottomless Mimosas, 10am-3pm • Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers TRADE
Doors open 2pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 2-10pm • Beer and wine only $4
Sunday, August 26 9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Multiple TVs showing movies, shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • No Cover A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
2319 18th St. NW Doors open, 2pm-12am •
$4 Smirnoff and Domestic Cans • Video Games • Live televised sports
11am-1am • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Guest DJs
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 2-9pm • $5 Absolut and $5 Bulleit Bourbon, 9pm-close • Pop Goes the World with Wes Della Volla at 9:30pm • No Cover
NUMBER NINE
Champagne Brunch Buffet, 10am-3pm • $24.99 with four glasses of champagne or mimosas, 1 Bloody Mary, or coffee, soda or juice • Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Gayborhood Night Piano Bar, 5-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Karaoke with Kevin downstairs, 9:30pm-close NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Drag Brunch, hosted by Chanel Devereaux, 10:30am-12:30pm and 1-3pm • Tickets on sale at nelliessportsbar.com • House Rail Drinks, Zing Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer and Mimosas, $4,
PITCHERS
2317 18th St. NW Open Noon-2am • $4 Smirnoff, includes flavored, $4 Coors Light or $4 Miller Lites, 2-9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Visit pitchersbardc.com SHAW’S TAVERN
Brunch with Bottomless Mimosas, 10am-3pm • Happy Hour, 5-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail
Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Dinner-n-Drag, with Miss Kristina Kelly, 8pm • For reservations, email shawsdinnerdragshow@ gmail.com
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Singles Night • Half-Priced Pasta Dishes • Poker Night — 7pm and 9pm games • Karaoke, 9pm GREEN LANTERN
TRADE
Doors open 2pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 2-10pm • Beer and wine only $4
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long • Singing with the Sisters: Open Mic Karaoke Night with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, 9:30pm-close NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Monday, August 27 9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • Multiple TVs showing movies, shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • No Cover
Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer, $15 • Half-Priced Burgers • Paint Nite, 7pm • PokerFace Poker, 8pm • Dart Boards • Ping Pong Madness, featuring 2 PingPong Tables
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
Tuesday, August 28
SHAW’S TAVERN
9 1/2
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Shaw ’Nuff Trivia, with Jeremy, 7:30pm
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • Multiple TVs showing movies, shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • No Cover A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4
2319 18th St. NW Doors open, 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports
GREEN LANTERN
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Half-Priced Burgers and Pizzas all night with $5 House Wines and $5 Sam Adams
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • Buckets of Beer $15 • Drag Bingo with Sasha Adams and Brooklyn Heights, 7-9pm • Karaoke, 9pm-close NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • No Cover A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
2319 18th St. NW Doors open, 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4
FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • $6 Burgers • Beach Blanket Drag Bingo Night, hosted by Ms. Regina Jozet Adams, 8pm • Bingo prizes • Karaoke, 10pm-1am
PITCHERS FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Taco Tuesday • Poker Night — 7pm and 9pm games • Karaoke, 9pm
2317 18th St. NW Open 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 11pm • Visit pitchersbardc.com
GREEN LANTERN
Wednesday, August 29 9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • Multiple TVs showing movies,
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
SmartAss Trivia Night, 8-10pm • Prizes include bar tabs and tickets to shows at the 9:30 Club • $15 Buckets of Beer for SmartAss Teams only • Absolutely Snatched Drag Show, hosted by Brooklyn Heights, 9pm • Tickets available at nelliessportsbar.com
Happy Hour, 4pm-9pm • Bear Yoga with Greg Leo, 6:30-7:30pm • $10 per class • $3 rail cocktails and domestic beers all night long
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover PITCHERS
2317 18th St. NW Doors open, 5pm-12am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 11pm • Visit pitchersbardc.com
Playlist
DJ CHORD 1. In My Feelings Drake 2. Instruction Jax Jones ft. Demi Lavato 3. I Like It (Kue Remix) Cardi B 4. Mi Gente (Moska Remix) J Balvin 5. Creepin’ CID 6. Boom Tiesto SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • Piano Bar and Karaoke with Jill, 8pm TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4 • Women’s Crush Wednesday, 5-10pm
Thursday, August 30 9 1/2
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • Multiple TVs showing movies, shows, sports • Expanded craft beer selection • Music videos featuring DJ Wess A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
2319 18th St. NW Doors open, 5pm-2am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Live televised sports FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-8pm • Karaoke, 9pm
GREEN LANTERN
SHAW’S TAVERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm • Shirtless Thursday, 10-11pm • Men in Underwear Drink Free, 12-12:30am • DJs BacK2bACk
Happy Hour, 4-7pm • $3 Miller Lite, $4 Blue Moon, $5 House Wines, $5 Rail Drinks • Half-Priced Pizzas and Select Appetizers • All-You-Can-Eat Ribs, $24.95, 5-10pm • $4 Heineken and Corona all night
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR
Beat the Clock Happy Hour — $2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm) • $15 Buckets of Beer all night • Sports Leagues Night NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm • No Cover
TRADE
Doors open 5pm • Huge Happy Hour: Any drink normally served in a cocktail glass served in a huge glass for the same price, 5-10pm • Beer and wine only $4
PITCHERS
2317 18th St. NW Doors open, 5pm-2am • Happy Hour: $2 off everything until 9pm • Video Games • Foosball • Live televised sports • Full dining menu till 9pm • Special Late Night menu till 1am • Visit pitchersbardc.com
ZIEGFELD’S/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers • Open Dancers Audition • Urban House Music by DJ Tim-e • 9pm • Cover 21+ l
7. Cola (Franky Rizardo Remix) Camephat 8. We Get High from the Music Mark Knight 9. Wolves (Jason Jani Bootleg) Selena Gomez ft. Marshmello 10. Free Third Party Chord Bezerra is the resident DJ at Number 9 (1435 P Street NW). He also spins at the Electric Rainbow at Capo Deli and the Thirsty party at Number 9. Follow him on Twitter at @djchordb and on Instagram at @chorduroy80. Listen to this playlist at MetroWeekly.com.
Scene
The Orchid - Saturday, August 18 - Photography by Ward Morrison See and purchase more photos from this event at www.metroweekly.com/scene
LasWord. LasWord. People say the queerest things
“ All people’s righs are being violaed in Russia, no jus LGBT people’s.” — MAXIM NEVEROV , a 16-year-old Russian teenager and the first minor to be charged under the country’s homophobic anti-gay propaganda law, speaking to Reuters about his prosecution. Neverov is appealing a fine he received afer sharing photos o partially nude men on his social media. “I believe LGBT are just people, so there is no reason to fight or LGBT rights separately rom everyone else’s,” he said.
“His absence will be fel in our hears and hroughou our business. ” — BOB GREENBLATT , chairman o NBC Entertainment, in a statement announcing the death o Craig Zadan, who died aged 69 ollowing complications rom shoulder replacement surgery. Zadan produced several notable films, including Chicago, Footloose and Hairspray, and together with producing partner Neil Meron produced a number o Oscars broadcasts. “On behal o his lie partner, Elwood Hopkins, and his producing partner, Neil Meron, we are stunned that [he] was taken away so suddenly,” Greenblatt said.
“I wasn’ quesioning he validiy of anyone’s personal sruggles, bu bringing i up righ before you ‘lip sync for your life’ was sraegic… in my opinion. ” — BIANCA DEL RIO , speaking to Hornet about the controversy over a joke she told at Montreal Pride about Drag Race season 10 star Blair St. Clair, who revealed on the show that she had been raped. Montreal Pride distanced itsel rom Del Rio’s comments afer she joked about the amount o crying on season 10, and o St. Clair specifically said, “You notice she wasn’t raped until she was in the bottom two? Think about that, bitch — that’s ucking strategy.”
“ Anyone who did no fi a precise mold — broadly speaking, sraigh, cisgender, whie whi e and a nd male — was argeed for misreamen. ” — San Francisco police officer BRENDAN MANNIX , in a lawsuit accusing other officers o sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, and retaliation due to his sexual orientation. Mannix accuses officers o making comments about his appearance and weight, including calling him “queer.” Afer filing an official complaint, Mannix says that the sergeant who dealt with the case dismissed or omitted his claims, and the case was subsequently closed.
“ We know of he abuse ha children suffered boh physical and sexual. I’m now alking alk ing abou he menal menal and a nd emoional emoional orure of children which we may have overlooked. ” — Former Irish President MARY MCALEESE , speaking at Trinity College in Dublin about the sexual abuse scandals plaguing the Catholic Church worldwide. McAleese said that the church should be held accountable or its attitudes towards LGBTQ rights and its approach to dealing with abuse. “I think in the past we presumed they would do everything everything right,” said McAleese. “We now know, o course, that was a dangerous, dangerous presumption behind which dreadul appalling things happened to children.”
