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March 20 and 21

I hope you’re all as excited about the new Runaways movie as I am! If you’re a Runaways fan, you will want to put this event in your calendar. Cherie Currie was a sixteen year old valley girl when she joined the group to become its singer, along with Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Jackie Fox and Sandy West. She has written a book about her time with the group called Neon Angel: Memoir of a Runaway, and she’ll be signing copies right on the Sunset Strip at Book Soup (8818 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood).

Sunday, March 21, from 2-4.

Samantha Ronson or that guy from Metro Station?

I like to make up little games that I play with myself. No, perv, I don’t mean that I’m “playing with myself”, rather that it’s a one player game and I’m the single player. I know, nerd central, but that’s how it is. Anyway, one of these games is called Twink or Lesbian. It’s not really a game so much as it is a test of my visual acuity. Before I started wearing contacts a few months back this game was much more interesting. Here’s how Twink or Lesbian came about: I’d see a person in the distance walking toward me and get all excited because it looked like some hot skater guy – only to find out as they got closer that it was a very androgynous woman. I felt cheated. At first I was mad at my boyish lesbian sisters, but now it’s all in good fun. If you’re keeping score, I would incorrectly guess twink 9 times out of 10. Pretty bad, I know. But there are some other people out there who have noticed this phenomenon. The only reason I bring this up is because there is an all-girl skate event on Saturday and Justin Bieber will be here, in concert, on Sunday. Time to take out the contacts!

Saturday

• Head on down to the skate park for Babes on Boards - a full day of grrrrls-only skating. Girls of all ages will be there to display their skating ability. Top women skaters from around the country will be there to sign autographs and offer skating tips. Jamail Skatepark | 103 Sabine | 9am-6pm | Free
• Local Latina hip-hop/electronica artist Karina Nistal will be at the Continental Club performing starting at 11:30pm. 3700 Main

Sunday

• Mayor Annise Parker and Senator Rodney Ellis will ride along with participants in the sixth annual BBVA Compass Tour de Houston. Cyclists will line up at City Hall on Sunday morning, as the bike ride kicks off to benefit the Houston Parks and Recreation Department.  The route will take riders on a journey through Houston’s historic districts and parks. 901 Bagby | $35 day-of registration fee
• 15-year old lesbian pop artist Justin Bieber will appear with Selena Gomez at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Here’s your chance to play Twink or Lesbian for real. Leave your opera glasses at home though. That’s just cheating! Reliant Stadium | $16-$200 | 9pm

Got a Houston event you’d like featured on TNG? Send me an e-mail:   josh@thenewgay.net

Animal Collective’s Josh Dibb peforms as Deakin at the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts (2225 Colorado Blvd).

March 21 at both 5 and 7 pm.

A scene from In the Red and Brown Water

If you are not already familiar with the name Tarell Alvin McCraney, you will be soon enough, and most certainly, you should be. The Brother/Sister Plays, a trilogy of plays currently being performed at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, is an extraordinary theater-going experience. Really. I’m talking in superlatives again, and, seriously, for good reason.

The Brother/Sister Plays are beautiful- epic in scope, and profound in purpose. They are based on tales of the Yoruba religion, a centuries old religion from West Africa. The history of the religion traces to slaves who brought the religion with them to America, keeping it a secret, and morphing with the Christian religion of the new world.

McCraney lifts his characters and stories from the gods and deities of the religion and drops them into the “distant present” of the New Orleans projects. The link between the past and the present thematically carries forward the plays, as they span roughly thirty years, but further more seeks to link the stories of those generations past and the way they haunt and inform the stories- still- of the present.

The Brother/Sister Plays are comprised of three plays: In the Red and Brown Water, The Brothers Size, and Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet. They are split into two performances, In the Red and Brown Water is performed on its own, and The Brothers Size and Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet performed together- so it is necessary to attend both performances to see The Brother/Sister Plays in total. They can be seen in any order, although I would suggest it best to see them in the chronological order of the span of the story, which makes In the Red and Brown Water the first installment. Steppenwolf is performing them on consecutive nights, or as an all day Sunday marathon, the first as a matinee and the others in the evening.

The first, chronologically, and longest, of The Brother/Sister Plays is In the Red and Brown Water. It is also the most powerful. It tells the story of Oya, a gifted young runner with a very real future as an athlete. Oya is met with difficult decisions within both her family life and love life that take her in directions unintended, with consequences to ripple for years. The full ensemble is present throughout the play, grounded by Steppenwolf ensemble member Alana Arenas as Oya. Simply put, she is magnificent.

Playwright Tarrell Alvin McCraney

The second play, The Brothers Size, is much more intimate, with only three characters throughout, carried over from In the Red and Brown Water. It tells the story of the tensions that exist between two brothers- Ogun Size (ensemble member K. Todd Freeman), a hard-working mechanic, and the other, Oshooshi Size (Phillip James Brannon), recently out of prison, trying to become a member of society again. Oshooshi’s friend from prison, Elegba (Glenn Davis) shows up and adds more conflict, as soon it becomes clear that the bond between the two men goes beyond a mere friendship. It is up to the three actors to infuse this play with the deep intensity it demands, and they excel beyond rising to the task.

The final play of the trilogy, Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet jumps ahead to find Elegba’s son, Marcus (also played by Glenn Davis,) as a teenager, grappling with coming to terms with his obvious homosexuality. He looks to the past to learn about himself and who he is, particularly in terms of his now dead father, Elegba, and whether the rumors about him are true. As the tension rises, reports of a major storm, a life-altering storm, barreling toward New Orleans add an immediacy to the action present. Glenn Davis invokes a sadness, longing, and hope to Marcus’ quest for acceptance and truth in a manner that seeps empathy from the stage.

As a whole, The Brother/Sister Plays are a profound theater-going experience, intellectually stimulating and deeply emotionally moving. The interplay of dreams within each play link together an immediate past, a lurking future, a painful present, and a distant time centuries before- its story is representative of the totality of a people- a bold goal, seemingly effortlessly accomplished by McCraney.

The cast carries the material to an even higher level. Beyond the leads, Steppenwolf ensemble member Ora Jones in multiple roles and Jaqueline Williams as Aunt Elegua are particularly strong.  The cast brings such great life to McCraney’s work, only multiplied by the beautiful direction of Steppenwolf ensemble member Tina Landau.

For those of you in Chicago, this is a theatrical event not to be missed. For the rest of you I hope you will also soon be given the chance to see this astounding work.

The Brother/Sister Plays are being performed in the Upstairs Theater at the Steppenwolf through May 23.

Shelley Morrison, lifetime actress best loved for her truculent turn as Karen’s maid Rosario, came out as a Latina.

Never having answered any questions about her race to members of the press, she was often criticized by the Latin American community for her reticence.

“It’s not like I ever said I wasn’t Hispanic,” commented Morrison in an interview last week.  “I just didn’t see why it was anyone’s business.  What do you want me to do, join a mariachi band?  Bet on a cock fight?”

“But she deed bet on the cohk fight!  I promees, I see her do thees in an epeesode that is my most favorito!”  This, from Abuelita Que Linda, the spokeswoman for Elderly Latina Service-workers United.  “Senora Morrisohn shee show us that we can be prrroud of who wee are!”

ELSU honored Morrison shortly after the publication of her cover photo on the March issue of Latina Magazine.  In a statement released through a few of the group’s grandchildren, ELSU praises Morrison for her significant contributions in the struggle for equal legal representation and new-found respect on behalf of all Latin Americans:

“When no one else on television had the guts to play a Latin American woman as slow, lazy, morally corrupt, apt to steal things, and a little gassy, Shelley Morrison said – ‘Yo can do thees.’”

ELSU aren’t the only ones grateful to Morrison for her recent revelation.  A prominent Washington society woman (who requested to remain anonymous) agreed:

“I’m just happy that I don’t have to feel bad making jokes about Mexicans.  After all, they’ve been saying the same things about themselves for years.  That Shelley girl seems honest enough.”

Morrison remains sanguine.  “I’ve always been very proud to be a Latina.  I was just too ashamed to tell you about how proud I was until last week.”

By our new TV contributor, Topher Burns, who taps into Sean Hayes pissy public coming out experience with this Onion-style commentary

Fang Island began at RISD or the Rhode Island School of Design, known most to indie-rockers as the birthplace for the equally epic Lightning Bolt, and a TNG favorite, the Talking Heads.

Fang Island makes life-affirming music balls-to-the-wall party music. Their recently released second record, Fang Island, is full of epic guitars that mix more genres than most music critics can spell in thirty seconds. In their guitarist’s words they are trying to “make music for people who like music.”

Today’s two songs are back to back cuts from the album.“Daisy” starts with “Ooh’s and Oh’s” but then explodes into an epic rock monster. The song takes about four different turns but remains one hell of a party.

Right click to download “Daisy.”

“Life Coach” has more vocals than “Daisy” and keeps the same pace, but what stats as a head bobbing song suddenly turns into a head banging track.

Right click to download “Life Coach.”

Expect more from Fang Island on TNG, and go see them live when they invade your town.

03/20  Austin, TX @ Club Primo’s
03/21  Austin, TX @ RED 7
03/23  New Orleans, LA @ Dragon’s Den
03/24  Athens, GA @ Caledonia Lounge
03/25  Atlanta, GA @The Drunken Unicorn
03/26  Greenville, NC @ Tipsy Teapot
03/27  Baltimore, MD @ Floristree
04/05  Brooklyn, NY @The Knitting Factory (Fang Island headline)
04/11  Washington DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
04/15  Boston, MA @ the Middle East Downstairs
04/16  Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
04/17  Toronto, ON @ the Garrison
04/18  Cleveland, OH @ The Grog Shop
04/19  Indianapolis, IN @ Radio Radio
04/21  Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
04/22  Madison, WI @ High Noon
04/23  Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar
04/24  Omaha, NE @ Slowdown Jr.
04/26  Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
04/27  Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
04/29  Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s
04/30  Vancouver, BC @ the Biltmore
04/01  Portland, OR @ the Hawthorne
04/02  Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall
04/05  Santa Cruz, CA @ Crepe Place
04/06  Santa Cruz, CA @ Crepe Place
04/07  San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
04/08  Los Angeles, CA @ the Echoplex
04/09  San Diego, CA @ the Casbah

Friday

• Union hosts Equality Happy Hour - A laid back FUN-draiser where you can enjoy Premium martinis for $4 alongside complimentary hors d’ouvres. $1 of every martini goes back to Equality Ohio, HRC, 2010 Softball World Series, and the Stonewall Democrats.
• Axis runs Shower Night with Alexis Stevens followed by DJ Rob Engel spinning for the dance floor starting at 10pm.
• It’s College Night at Wall Street with no cover with college ID and $3 long beach drink special. Doors open at 9PM. 18+.
• For 3rd Friday, Tradewinds II has CD Giveaway Night where you can collect TW’s hot dance music.

Saturday

• Wall Street hosts the Lounge Lizards And Ladies – Gender Bending Show sponsored by Captain Morgan. It’s an evening of crooning and mischief by U.S. and Canadian performers with doors at 8, show at 9, and $7 cover. The club will also have a Traffic Jam dance party for those 18+ at the same time with DJ Michele spinning. Glow sticks provided where green = available, yellow = open, and red = taken.
• Bebe Benet comes to Union at 10PM with Nina West.

Sunday

• The Big Pink bring tunes from their well-received 2009 debut A Brief History Of Love to Outland On Liberty for a $5 CD101 Low Dough Show.
• Union has their Sunday Brunch with all-you-can-eat buffet and made-to-order gourmet omelets for $9.99 plus $3 Mimosas and Bloody Marys.
• Wall Street transforms the club into an intimate social gathering place for James Blackmon Presents with doors at 6 and performances starting at 7PM. Admission is $4. 18+.
• Havana holds Sunday Church with Anisa Love at 11PM.
• Axis hosts the Miss Capital City-at-Large Pageant.

Untitled by .never have i ever., from the TNG Flickr Pool

When Peace comes it will not be on the wing of a dove

But on the wave of one hundred thousand million foaming tongues

She will ride the dirty water of hell backed vengeance

Surf over a centuries of violence that we’ve all called justice

But justice will have to leave his boots at her doorstep

Take the latchkey from around his neck and enter her house

On his knees

What are you willing to give up for peace?

Have you made any with your wolves?

Have you forgiven your father?

If you want the Palestinians and Israelis to stop slinging slop

Then have you sent a Christmas ham to the man who beat your mother

Distasteful, repugnant, he will nonetheless be among those

huddled in the house of humanity when peace comes

to make her house our house.

We may have to dig forks into our palms

under tables heaped with ill-gotten bounty

I don’t know if I am willing

Which is to say, I don’t know if I have readied myself

for her residence in my heart

The list of those against whom I hold grudges grows

as I breathe, as I breathe I am an American

And therefore I believe in heros

Sink my claws into competition, I want to be the first one

over the finish line. Photographed while tongue kissing

my enemy, If only to see my picture on the front page of forever

I want to be that martyr

because for an american what is furthest from a monster?

when I hold up my hands, I want the pope to be able

to eat from them while he congratulates me.

what are my motives?

In my best my moments, I want my father

my rapist, to eat bountifully from his own hands

And don’t I think I am noble for this

But really?

Could I welcome the idea of his orgasm

What would it take for me to want my father

to without shame receive his god given right

to bodily pleasure

Who would I have to be to be that invested in peace?

What am I made of?

Girl times rape times the fists of lovers in my face

times poverty equals the white dress of victimry

I sold my vows to the fairy boat man

So he could rush me to the bank

emblazoned with not guilty

But really, what kind of horrible pain have I caused my father?

by telling the world my version of him

If you don’t think this keeps me up at night

then maybe you think I don’t have a heart

maybe the queen stole it, replaced it with that of a swine

I used to think that the most horrible part

is that I still love him

that I couldn’t suck him out of my DNA

but maybe it is the most magnificence ever

bestowed upon me by the mistress of peace

maybe in her tattered gown she will escort me

over her doorsteps

on the day I send my father flowers

thank him for the beautiful scar I’ve used to carve myself

What am I going to sacrifice?

I will tell you my life, but what if

what’s required for us all to breach the doorstep of peace

is to shuck the carapace of our prejudice

And then liquid all of humanity into a new, complicated and

carved out of our scars relationship to forgiveness.

Tonight

• Critically acclaimed local indie–pop group Apollo Sunshine plays Paradise tonight with Drug Rug and Edan.  Details: Paradise Rock Club. 967 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. 9pm. Tickets $13 available here. 18+.

• Don’t forget that Boston’s go-to women’s dance party, Queeraoke, happens at Midway Café every Thursday night.  Details: Midway Café. 3496 Washington St., Jamaica Plain. 10pm. $8. 21+.

Friday

• Expect sensory overload at the Masculin/Féminin party, as films by Jean Luc Godard will be set to italo/acid/house/techno-influenced music provided by DJs Volvox and John Barera.  Details: Savant Project. 1625 Tremont Street, Boston. 9pm-1am. FREE. 21+.

• Presented by Queer Soup Theater, We Will All Be Received is a new play by Kathy Wittman that uses a combination of theatrical and film elements to follow the gender-bending story of two road tripping drag kings.  The show only runs through March 27, so check it out while you still can. Details: Boston Center for the Arts. Calderwood Pavilion, Rehearsal Hall A. 527 Tremont St., Boston. 8pm. Tickets – $25; $20 students.

Saturday

• The monthly OMFG! party at Good Life features two floors of electro and hip hop beats thanks to the joined forces of SWEAT and Karmaloop.  Details: Good Life. 28 Kingston St., Boston. 9:30pm-2am. $5. 21+.

• West African guitarist Habibe Koité plays a show at Somerville Theater tonight.  The tickets aren’t cheap, but seeing this Malian virtuoso in action is well worth the price.  Details: Somerville Theater. 55 Davis Square, Somerville. Tickets $35, available here. 8pm.

That’s all for this weekend, but be sure to check out weekly event listings under the now-active “upcoming events” heading on the TNG Boston homepage.  And as always, don’t hesitate to email me at: carrie@thenewgay.net

Thursday, March 18

Queer experimental dreamboat Xiu Xiu will give an intimate show at The Echo (1822 Sunset Blvd) with Tune-Yards and Noveller.

Friday, March 19

Looking for a boyfriend? No time for internet flakes? And your friends’ friends are all whores? LA Lords comes to the rescue with a spring cleaning edition of speed dating in a downtown LA private loft. Men ages 21-40 (all scenes welcome).  There will be music, a hot bartender serving alcohol and snacks. Dates will be 3-5 minutes. Event lasts approximately 2-3 hours depending on number of attendees. $25 donation (5% of profits go towards www.hrc.org) covers admission and a free drink.

Saturday, March 20

Happy Obscura Day! WTF, you ask? It’s an international day of exploration of hidden treasures and secret places in cities across the globe. The Echo Park Time Travel Mart and Atlas Obscura are teaming up to lead a special bus tour of some of Los Angeles’ most time-specific places. Travel back to the days of cane sugar sodas, panoramic paintings, and whimsical marionette performances. John Nese, soda afficionado and owner of Galco’s Soda Pop Stop, will share some of his favorite bubbly beverages of yesteryear. Box lunches will be provided at Griffith Park’s Old Zoo, where you can picnic among the spirits of the apes and climb into abandoned animal cages from the 1930s. Travel from one extreme locale to another at the Velaslavasay Panorama, where you can trek into a 360-degree display of the arctic north and explore a carnivorous plant garden. Finally, witness a puppetry performance and backroom tour of Bob Baker’s Marionette Theater, the longest-running of its kind in North America. RSVP required.

The Long Baech Opera’s production of  Nixon in China opens at the Terrace Theater (300 E Ocean Blvd in Long Beach). John Adams’ classic piece of minimalist opera tells the tale of Richard Nixon’s historic visit to Communist China, opening relations between the two nations. Baritones Michael Chioldi plays the late president, and John Duyker is the Chairman. Students with ID can get rush seats for $20.

Sunday, March 21

Oh my god, this is the weekend The Runaways opens! Sure, we’re all a bit wary of the casting of Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett, but the trailer looks awesome, and it looks like the Twilight waif does justice in her portrayal of this lesbian trailblazer. If you find Dakota Fanning’s Cherie Currie compelling, you can meet the real deal at Book Soup (8818 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood), who’ll be signing her memoir, Neon Angel, at 4 pm.

Animal Collective’s Josh Dibb peforms as Deakin at the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts (2225 Colorado Blvd). Two shows at both 5 and 7 pm.

The LA Lords have another round of speed dating to celebrate Spring!

A day before spring means it’s that time of year for some gay spring cleaning. Out with the old cold winter and in with the new clean of springtime. Try something spontaneous and exciting to clear out your old habits and attempt to meet someone special.

Friday March 19th at 8pm we are putting together our special (welcoming spring) gay speed dating event in downtown LA at a private loft. Men ages 21-40.

There will be music, a hot bartender serving alcohol and snacks. Dates will be 3-5 minutes. Event lasts approximately 2-3 hours depending on number of attendees.

$25 donation (5% of profits go towards www.hrc.org) covers admission and a free drink.
32 person maximum capacity for this event. All scenes welcome.

Wrestling
FotoFling Scotland

Happy Recover-From-St-Patrick’s-Day Day! Yeah, yeah, I know – The guys in the photo are Scottish, not Irish, but you’d hardly be able to tell that there was a difference by the abundance of Scottish kilts at the bars last night. People in the U.S. don’t really seem to differentiate between the two, even if the Scots and the Gaels do so, and ardently. And let’s face it – kilts are sexy, at least on the right person.

The TNG Flickr pool is open to anyone with a Flickr account. We’d love to see your work in there.

Questions? Suggestions? Send it to hans@thenewgay.net

Friday

• Tingel Tangel Club Second Anniversary Blowout @ Café Du Nord. Calling itself a “Bi-Coastal Underground Cabaret,” the Tingel Tangel club celebrates two years with a troupe of queer luminaries and performance artists including Veronica Klaus, Joey Arias, Holcombe Waller, Todd Almond, Fauxnique, Keith Hennessy, The Winsome Griffles and Marga Gomez. Juanita More and Bus Station John spin throughout the evening. Details: Doors open at 8 PM, performances at 9 PM. Tickets are $16 advance or $20 at the door. Advance tickets available at Cafe Flore
  and online at Ticketweb. At Café Du Nord on 2170 Market Street.

Saturday

• Sissy Fit vs. Manquake @ Sub Mission. Two queer hipster club parties go mano-a-mano (emphasis on man) at Sub Mission this Saturday. Expect super-skinny jeans, handle-bar mustaches, lots of tats and wall-to-wall homopunx. DJs Dirty Knees, Bus Station John and Pickle Surprise man-o the turntables. Details: Doors open at 10 PM, $8 cover at SubMission on 2183 Mission Street and 18th Street.
• Original Plumbing Presents Trans Twister @ The Stud. Rocco Katastrophe hosts a game of Twister for the trans set. Also promises kissing booths, door prizes and go-go boys. Details: $5 cover at The Stud on 399 9th Street and Harrison.
• Xiu Xiu @ Bottom of the Hill. Hot off the heels of Xiu Xiu’s latest album, Dear God, I Hate Myself, Jamie Stewart returns to San Francisco along with tUnE-YaRdS and Noveller. Details: Doors open at 8:30 PM, $12 cover at Bottom of the Hill on 1233 17th Street.
  

Sunday

• Honey with John Hopkins. Honey Soundsystem rolls out the honey-colored carpet for legendary DJ John Hopkins. First 20 people through the door get limited edition event posters. Details: Doors open at 10 PM, $3 cover at the Paradise Lounge on Paradise Lounge on 1501 Folsom & 11th Street.

So I started off my day on a flight. Then I headed to my hotel, then I picked up my wristband – which was an ordeal, but I’ll save it.

First up was the Austinist party, which was pretty awesome. I saw Toro y Moi and the Besnard Lakes. I also drank way too much, but there was free pizza. Toro y Moi was great aside from some masturbation at the end. The Besnard Lakes really did roar, but it was the day not the night (if only i could put the slanty face emoticon here)

I then followed a friend to the Fader fort to catch the surprise guest, Nas and Damian Marley. I don’t know why in my drunken state I guessed the surprise but it was underwhelming to say the least. I like hip-hop, but couldn’t they get a fresh out of jail T.I.?

I then went to see Chew Lips who win band of the night. Their set was brief but they kicked through all their singles including former song for the day, “Seven.” Tigs looked and sounded amazing, and I hope to see them again while I’m here.

I then went to see Javelin, but got sidetracked by drinking, so my night pretty much ended. I am sad I didn’t party with Andrew WK, who followed Javelin, but today is going to be a better day. Believe it!

(if this read like a 5th grade personal essay, I’m sorry. These will get better but keep checking out the Twitter for the most up-to-date coverage. P.S. It is early as fuck here.)

Photo: Lindsay Marshall

In either case (uncertain longing for a friend, or a clear cut hotness for a person of the same sex) most of the time there was no hook-up. Maybe by the time high school rolled around, probably more like freshman year of college, but the lack of actual fooling around never negates your gayness. We don’t need to answer the awkward parental coming-out question, “But, how do you know?” because most of the time, you just do. You are.

Unfortunately, this trust in the inherent nature of sexuality isn’t really shared with folks who identify as bisexual.

When a girl who has a boyfriend, or who typically dates men, says she’s Bi, it is assumed, with rolled eyes, that what she means is that she sometimes makes out with her roommate at parties after a few too many margaritas. She doesn’t often get credit for having a genuine and honest understanding and presentation of her sexual identity. She either wants attention or she’s a slut.

In that same breath, “straight men,” or men who live a heterosexual lifestyle, who identify as bisexual are framed as gay and just not ready to admit it.

“Lesbians,” or women who consistently share same sex relationships, who dare to call themselves bisexual, are dubbed “Afraid To Commit” at best and “Traitors” at worst.

One’s sexuality or sexual identity does not always correlate with who you have sex with. Because a man is in a 20-year relationship with another man does not mean he cannot be physically attracted to women.

We are bothered when outsiders define what “gay” is, when we are limited, when we are asked to comply with stereotypes. We emphasize inclusiveness, but we still manage to isolate bisexual people as fakers, attention whores or just plain whores. As if the duality of their identity means we might share the password to our special club, but not the secret handshake. If we rarely (if ever) question a person’s identity as gay, why would we question a person’s identity as bisexual, whether that means having sexual relationships with people of different sexes, or simply feeling in one’s heart or mind an attraction or interest regardless of action.

There is a “B” in LGBT, and I think its about time we get fair about acknowledging that bisexuality is a legitimate sexual orientation and not just a phase (or just plain slutiness).

It can be said this is probably the most conventional track I’ve heard out of the band, and if this is what we can expect out of the upcoming full-length, then we have a strong contender for album of the year. The lo-fi buzz is still here but the weirdness factor is less. The track is inviting, with the opening “Na, Na Na’s” to Pink’s best Elvis Costello impression on the bridge. The reason to listen is the incredible chorus that hits two minutes in.

Right click to download “Round and Round.”

At this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, the annual poll designed to figure out what the priorities are of the conservative movement rank “Stopping Gay Marriage” in last place, accumulating only 1% of the overall vote, tied with “Reducing Health Care Costs”. On another issue, gays serving in the military, which in years past was red meat for conservatives, recent polling fails to offer any solace to anti-gay social conservatives worrying that their issues are no longer a priority within the conservative movement. Since then several social conservatives have openly expressed concern over the rise and prominence of the Tea Party movement, especially now as progress on marriage-equality and repealing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy is picking up steam.

The reason for this shift in focus among conservatives is complex. While many within the Tea Party movement, that is sweeping the Republican Party, hold socially-conservative values, other issues, such as reducing the size of the government, curbing government spending, and fighting ‘the war on terror’; are of greater priority to conservatives. However, there is also the fact that for many, in fact most Americans, some gay rights issues that were controversial in the past have been neutralized politically and become a non-issue; gays serving openly in the military being a prime example. On issues such as marriage-equality were Americans have largely failed to reach a consensus we have seen significant progressive movement in the direction of being more open to that idea.

Even though a slight majority of Americans still believe that marriage should between a man and a woman alone, an ever growing portion of Americans also believe that gay and lesbian partners should have certain rights and benefits currently only enjoyed by heterosexual partners. And while for many gay and lesbian Americans and their allies some rights are not enough, the change in public opinion is representative of a larger political and cultural paradigm shift taking place across the country.

The potency of the old anti-gay talking points has drastically decreased in recent years as Americans have become suspect the legitimacy of their previously held fears about homosexuality. This suspicion is no doubt a result of more gay and lesbian Americans coming out about their sexuality to their friends and families, and showing the American people that gays are in fact not the shadowy deviants that plague our neighborhoods in search of their next adolescent victim.

For a perfect case study look no further than the former Vice-President and bull dog of the conservative movement Dick Cheney and the Cheney family. The former Vice-President’s lesbian daughter has been open about her sexuality, and her father has not been open about his support for her; and presumably consequently the former Vice-President has been a vocal supporter–at least in Cheney terms–of marriage-equality and his opinion that it is time to repeal the ban on gays serving openly. His other daughter Liz Cheney, who is a staunch critic of the Obama administration and co-founder of the non-profit 501(c)4 organization Keep America Safe (the organization being the controversial “Al-Qaida 7” ad), also echoed her father’s statements that it is time to repeal the policy. It is difficult for anti-gay social conservatives to downplay the significance of Dick Cheney’s remarks. In many ways Cheney’s support for marriage-equality (albeit at the state level) carries more weight politically than that of President Obama’s stance on the issue–which ironically is being opposed to the idea of marriage-equality.

There are other prominent members of the conservative movement as well who have expressed pro-gay sentiments. When wife of former Republican presidential candidate and current senator from Arizona Sen. John McCain, Cindy McCain posed for the popular NOH8 photo series it sent waves throughout conservative circles. John McCain, who is facing a tough primary challenge from the right, was expedient in releasing a statement declaring that his wife’s views were her own. However, around the same time Sen. McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, who is a long time supporter for gay-rights and one of the leading young conservatives, stated that her father’s opinion on the issue was changing–which would not be surprising as John McCain was until after the 2008 election a moderate Republican whom many felt would eventually come around to be a soft supporter of gay rights.

Specifically on gays serving openly in the armed services, the Pentagon has remained silent on weighing in; however, recently senior military officials such as Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staffs Adm. Michael Mullen, and most recently CENTCOM Commander General David Petreaus all spoke publicly before Congress stating their opinion that the repeal of the policy should happen and would be in the best interest of the armed forces.

This level of open opposition, even if it is primarily symbolic, to the rhetoric and stance of anti-gay social conservatives was unheard of until very recently. It had always been assumed since the Republican Revolution in 1993 that social-conservatism and evangelicalism would remain unchallenged within the Republican Party and conservative movement–make no mistakes it still has considerable influence–however, as times change many Americans and many conservatives see the writing on the wall and do not believe that it is that critical of an issues.

Consequently it has many anti-gay groups grasping at the straws and in effect trying to find a new, more frightening war cry that will stick, as the evidence does not back up their claim and the rhetoric is not bringing in any new converts. The result is a movement and group of people consistently finding themselves further isolated from what is becoming the mainstream of the conservative movement, which ultimately can only be good for the advancements of gay and lesbian rights.

Chris August

My mother is looking for a suitable way

Of celebrating her sixtieth birthday—

She’s thinking maybe a tattoo.

She called me at two o’clock this morning

To see what I knew about butterflies

Because somewhere during the day

One flew into her house

And became trapped.

Confused and out of place,

It sought the shelter of her garden window

And she looking for a way of helping it

Without hurting it.

My mother has spent her entire life

Believing in signs,

So she knows this butterfly means something.

She has spent the past five years

Believing in rebellion,

So she’s thinking this butterfly might be her tattoo.

She has spent the day researching them online,

So she is already familiar with the larvae and the chrysalis,

The triumphant emergence from seclusion

After months of struggle and growth

She tells me,

I didn’t realize how fragile they were;

If you touch their wings, they can’t fly anymore

And they die.

So she is looking for the gentlest way of leading her butterfly out.

Before she called she was praying to Saint Francis,

The patron saint of animals.

There is no patron saint of gay sons.

So when I came out to mother five years ago,

She was lost.

A lifetime in the stubborn cocoon of Catholicism had taught her

That sometimes you don’t have anyone to pray to.

When I asked her if she was alright with this,

She didn’t know.

So I spent months

Delicate and disoriented

Flying against the walls of a house I didn’t understand

And she beat her fingers together in prayer

Like wings

As she asked her god what to do.

And the answer came like pinpricks of light

Through the walls her confusion had built around her,

Her answer

Was Love him.

And she did,

Loved me like her heart

Could beat thin fiber

To weave nets that would protect me forever,

Loved me like a lifetime in her lord’s teachings

Had inspired acceptance and understanding

Like they are supposed to.

And now, when she talks to me about getting tattoos,

I’d like to think that she’s saying

That she’s learned that sometimes

You have to poke a hole in the side of the rules

In order for something beautiful to emerge

And that one day, she will march boldly

Into the parish of St. Margaret’s Church

Wearing something sleeveless

To show off the gorgeous,

Purple winged creature

Emblazoned on her shoulder blade

And just wait for someone to question her

So she can tell them,

Yeah, I wear wings on my skin

And I have earned them

From sixty years of being told that people like my son

Are hellbound,

Six decades of believing

That my divinity could be quantified

And however little you may understand it,

Whatever I may choose to put on it,

This skin covers hands

That have cradled the most delicate of souls,

Lifted them up,

Whispering a prayer that my love would never hinder their wings,

And, with a mercy born only of faith,

Let them fly.

The Sex Presleys

Ethel Merman Experience

Blue Flamers

Details:
The Sex Presleys, Ethel Merman Experience & Blue Flamers
Thursday Night Live
Thursday, March 18
The Eagle Tavern
398 12th Street
Show starts at 9 PM
Cover (usually between $3-$5)

One of the world’s largest and oldest Pride parades takes place towards the end of February each year in Sydney, Australia as part of the country’s annual Mardi Gras celebrations. And this year was no exception. Sydney, which was recently named the gay-friendliest city in the world, played host to a massive event:

“Almost 10,000 people shimmied, strutted and strode through the ages on Saturday as Sydney celebrated its 32nd gay and lesbian Mardi Gras parade.

More than 100 floats with 9,500 performers filled the city’s streets, with Osama bin Laden and Michael Jackson among figures to feature in the History of the World” themed event.

And that only includes the people that actually marched in the parade itself. If you count those who came out to celebrate the number is much higher:

Balmy weather meant crowds were bigger than last year, with media reports suggesting as many as 300,000 turned out to watch the Saturday night parade, which featured drag queens and scores of George Michael look-alikes.

As with any massive event, the festivities weren’t without their problems. There were three stabbing incidents and thirty-five people were arrested over the course of the weekend, which is actually down from last year and pretty good, I’d say, given the sheer number of people in attendance. As the event’s organizer said: “It is enormously heartening to see our gay pride event so eagerly supported by the broader community.”

Elsewhere, Pride festivities took on a more serious and political tone.  Earlier this month, Cape Town, South Africa held their annual Pride festivities, complete with a healthy dose of protest to complement the revelry. As I’ve mentioned before, South Africa is in a unique position as the first country in the world to write non-discrimination based on sexual orientation into its constitution and one of the few countries in the world to legalize same-sex marriage while also being part of a region that is currently having some very public battles over gay rights play out on the national level. And, sure enough, this contrast was evident at the festivities:

Thousands of people took part in a raucous gay pride march Saturday in Cape Town, South Africa’s gay capital, pressing for more tolerance in Africa, one of the world’s most homophobic regions… They held up banners saying “Your hate won’t make me straight,” “I was born gay,” “Jesus says ‘love your neighbour’,” and “Hate is unAfrican.” The marchers denounced a proposed anti-gay law in Uganda calling for tough penalties against homosexuality, including the death penalty, and the jailing of two men in nearby Malawi after staging the nation’s first public same-sex wedding.

It appears that, overall, the event was a success.

In some additional Pride news from up North, it appears that the eastern European country of Slovakia will attempt hold a Pride festival this May. I say “attempt” because Pride festivities are usually very controversial and even violent events in Eastern Europe, as evidenced by the fact that a Lithuanian Member of Parliament is already trying to derail this year’s Baltic Pride, which is scheduled for May as well.

Have any Global Gaze readers been to a Pride celebration down South? Any differences you’ve noticed from the events you’ve been to elsewhere? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

Black Eyed Sleeze?

I still remember my first Christian worship experience like it was yesterday. Convinced by a friend to attend a Christian rally, I was quickly consumed by a sea of people with heaven-bound hands, eyes full of adoration for a guitar-saddled man on stage who, from his gentle doe eyes to his scraggly brown beard and flowing hair, served as stock-image Jesus placeholder. As it was, I turned out to be a sucker for the rapture and thrill of spiritual symbiosis set to music and was sold at first hook. And yesterday, I experienced something of a faith flashback.

When I was a young Evangelical Christian, I delighted in the subscription to CCM Magazine that I had gotten as a giveaway at the aforementioned worship rally. CCM was the authoritative source on all things Christian music – it was how I discovered my favorite Christian bands, from Audio Adrenaline to “rapper” tobyMac. Where the Fugees and Garbage made my middle school self feel slightly ashamed for enjoying their “explicit” content, I could enjoy the lyrics of dcTalk guilt-free. Furthermore, like the worship rally, Christian music made me feel like I was a part of something larger. It was one of the ways I most readily accessed my faith life.

As I got older, my religious identity changed and I started to call myself a Secular Humanist. Likewise, my taste in music shifted more and more toward what is often referred to as indie. Pitchfork took CCM’s place. I continued to seek out musical rapture, but instead looked for it in Minneapolis dive bars, not renovated warehouses equipped with strobe lights and a projector casting Scripture on the wall. I began to wear my so-called obscure music taste like a badge of honor among my hip friends: “What, you haven’t heard of Danielson? Man, you really should check them out. I think you’d really like ‘em.”

Meanwhile, I continued to listen in secret to bands they hadn’t heard of but that I was sure they wouldn’t like – my favorite Christian bands from childhood. The tables had turned and now these were my musical guilty pleasures. Friends would come over and I’d put Sufjan Steven’s “Illinois” on vinyl. Once I’d gotten them out the door, I’d shut the blinds and pull Relient K’s “Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right… But Three Do” out from where I’d had it stashed away, relieved to retrieve it for private play.

Both of these records articulate a spiritual message, though Relient K’s is a bit more obvious. And I could easily make a case that this behavior was because Sufjan Stevens’ music is of higher quality – which I believe to be true. But, sentimentality for days of yore aside, there is still something very basic and, in spite of their theology, approachable about Relient K’s music that I can appreciate. So why did I set my shuffle to “off” and hope that nobody would notice their “Christian” tag when scrolling through my iTunes?

I already know the answer: it’s because Christian music has rightfully earned the reputation of being preachy and commercial – both lacking in artistic integrity and exclusivistic in content.

Because of this, I hadn’t been paying much attention to Christian music lately. This weekend, however, I came across a relatively new record by a man I used to be a big fan of. His name is Derek Webb – a long-time darling of the CCM scene – and the record is called Stockholm Syndrome. The name of the album piqued my curiosity, but what really caught my attention was the message posted on his website:

“If you bought Derek’s new album, Stockholm Syndrome, anywhere but here… you didn’t get the entire album. Get a free download of the controversial missing song, ‘What Matters More.’”

A controversial Christian song? Do tell, Mr. Webb.

I entered my email straight away and proceeded to download the song and call it up in my iTunes. I was not prepared for what I heard; this was not the gentle guitar-plucking Webb I’d remembered. The song is a stuttering, layered electronic groove that kicks off with the line: “You say you always treat people like you’d like to be / I guess you like being hated for your sexuality.” A few seconds later, the word “damn” rears its head. Before the song’s end, “shit” joins the party. I was in shock; my middle school self scandalized. What the fuck, Webb?

I played it again and listened closer. Webb continues:

“If I can tell what’s in your heart by what comes out of your mouth / Then it sure looks to me like being straight is all it’s about… / We can talk and debate ’til we’re blue in the face / About the language and tradition that He’s coming to save / Meanwhile we sit just like we don’t give a shit / About fifty-thousand people who are dying today / Tell me… what matters more to you?”

A wildly popular Christian musician taking a pro-queer stance? Uh, did the rapture happen? The song may find Webb coming out against modern Christianity’s epidemic discrimination of queer folks, but it’s also a lot more. The song is actually something of a call to arms to the Christian community to stop obsessing over issues like homosexuality and start holding itself accountable to its claims of caring for the needy. “What Matters More” has raised a lot of controversy in CCM circles and is largely responsible for a battle between Webb and his label that resulted in the song being cut from the album. It can only be found on the “explicit” version of Stockholm Syndrome that is solely available for purchase on his website.

The rest of the album is just as curious. “Freddie, Please” is a lush 1950’s throwback, cool and demure in style but enraged in content. Almost a brokenhearted lament – “How could you tell me you love me when you hate me?” – it’s actually a diatribe against gay-hating totalitarian Fred Phelps that contains this line that made me grin from ear-to-ear: “Freddie, can’t you see? Brother, you’re the one who’s queer.”

Meanwhile, “Heaven” is a slow trip that imagines Jesus in heaven, untouchable in an armored car; “The State” and “The Spirit vs. The Kick Drum” are thoughtful critiques of Christian politics and Christian subculture’s materialism. Reactions to the album have been mixed among CCM folks – some have lauded his candor and prophetic voice, while others see him as betraying cultural taboos.

Whether you are a Christian or not, he’s worth checking out. Webb is an articulate songwriter, a skilled craftsman, and, to be perfectly honest, devilishly handsome (and, sadly, heterosexually married). Above all, he’s a rare, encouraging ally for queers in the CCM scene who recently performed at a gay Christian conference. To see one of CCM’s golden boys come on over to our side warms my heart.

Additionally, he’s inspired me to stop being so embarrassed by the Christian music I enjoy. If Webb can come out in favor of queers, maybe I can live with a bit more integrity. I openly enjoy artists like David Bazan and Sufjan Stevens who sing about their Christian faith; perhaps I can also own up to putting on Relient K’s cheesy pop-rock riffs for a bad day pick-me-up the same way I do MGMT or Kid Sister. If I have to sacrifice my hipster credibility to betray that frayed “badge of honor,” I’ll happily do it.

If you still can’t bring yourself to download music by a Christian artist, come on by my place. You might be treated to a bit of Stockholm Syndrome, even if I continue to reserve the vintage Relient K for solo spin sessions.

Chris’ column, The Non Prophet, runs Wednesdays at 2 PM. For more on Chris, visit his website.

From the website: “Felatio ‘B.J.’ Browne brings audiences into his musical world with an original show. LIMELIGHT, celebrates blues, folk, jazz, soul, and standards, and features some of the best queer performers in San Francisco, including Alotta Boutté, Artist Malcolm Drake, George ‘N’ Roses, Chad Behavior, and a live jam band. ”

Details:
LIMELIGHT, Its Time We Faced The Music
Premiers Thursday, March 18, and runs through March 27.
Mama Calizo Voice Factory
Show starts at 8 PM
$20 tickets available online at brownpapertickets.com.
1519 Mission Street