Random Thoughts About Last Thursday's Open Drag Night

Things can be really dead at Club Renaissance during the summer. Open Drag Nights have always been sort of hit-or-miss, but the last two shows I've been to have been REALLY sparse.

That doesn't mean they haven't been fun -- in some ways a quiet night is a more relaxed night -- but with everybody scattered into tiny groups around the bar it's hard to know who to "perform to," especially with Ren's three-sided dancefloor. And sparser crowds tend to chat together as opposed to watch the show.

Most confusing is the recent tendency for people to just wander onto the floor while you're performing. They'll come up and try to dance with you, or they just stand there and watch you. During my last number, two very drunk guys moseyed up and started slow-dancing together, and they were offended when I made them leave. Are people beginning to view stage performances as participatory? Do they think they belong on any given stage just because they took a pole-dancing lesson? I don't know.

What really makes or breaks a night for me is the cast, because those are the people you spend most of your time with. All it takes is one off-on-a-tangent diva or one way-messed-up casualty to make everybody uncomfortable. Fortunately, during the last two nights I've attended, the entire cast has been fun and professional. Knock on wood.

As always I continue to search for the ideal performance song, something that works both for the audience AND for me. I just picked up an Alison Moyet CD, and maybe there's a Beth Orton song or two somewhere...