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Wig (2019)
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I'm very happy for you, Rue. You're about to start a brand new chapter. You've been clean for, like, two weeks, right? I've actually been really happy. Still don't know my name Every time I feel good, I think it'll last forever. But it doesn't. We're just reaching for something... to make it all seem meaningful. The world is sick with masculinity. So, as much femininity as this one body can have... ...that is what makes a really good drag queen. Drag, for me, is an ancient, ancestral performing art. It's a way for the gay community to choose its icons. We're the priests. We are kind of like the spiritual masters of the gay community. Ladies, and gentlemen who would rather be ladies... I wanna tell you something. I moved to New York City in 1984. Since then, like the other jaded scenesters, and I'm guilty of it too, I sit and bitch: "There's a Duane Reade and a Chase Bank on every corner. The city's so slick and sophisticated" and all that. But you know what? After doin' that and bitchin' for about 30 years, I finally said, "Well, listen here: You're a lifer. You ain't movin'. So your choice is to keep bitchin' or put on a festival like you used to do to bring people together and make something fun about New York City! Are you ready, Wigstock? Yeah! Maestro, hit it! Uh-huh, make me tonight Tonight, tonight Oh, your hair is beautiful Oh, tonight Atomic She worked her way up to New York City, to the Queen of Manhattan, and now she's hearkening back to her Chattanooga white trash roots, doin' one of her songs of her own in a style that she made famous. Please welcome Lady Bunny! Tonight Make me tonight I snuck into a club at 13, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I'd never seen-- whoo!-- sequined gowns and false eyelashes, the giant wigs and whatever. I lived in drag as a child. The long t-shirts and the short-shorts. And I had long hair, so, honey, I was never in the closet, let's put it that way. Atomic Don't you know your queen Whipped Who's that guy? Heaving Flower bloom at my feet... - We gotta go now. Bye. - Bye. Bye, Nelson! The Pyramid Club, when I arrived in about '83, was a swinging club that they billed as "drag-owned and operated." Wait a minute. There we are. That's my new pyramid heart. - What's that? - It's a pyramid. Hello. Welcome to the Pyramid. We were really ridiculous... taking LSD... you know, it was a magic time. The Pyramid celebrities were creating their own persona. They weren't doing Cher, Joan Rivers, or whatever. They were coming up with their own persona with its own look and its own repertoire. When I sashay Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Ah-ah-ah-ah ah-ah-ah Hey, hey Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah... Please welcome Linda Simpson! In the '70s and '80s, the atmosphere at the gay bars and clubs was macho. People didn't want femininity, really. What did our studio audience think? And the Pyramid, drag became tongue-in-cheek, was rebellious, it was like punk rock. No one was careerist about it. People were just doing it to have fun. No family is safe When I sashay Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Welcome Lahoma Van Zandt. We were just fucking down to just do our thing. It was a form of expression, and also discovery of our feminine side. It's the make-believe. It's the make-believe part of it. And so we just created our own world. - The snow. The snow. - Yeah. - OK. - Thank you. RuPaul and I met in Atlanta, and were immediate whatever-we-were. It was more than a friendship, it was a sisterhood, we were close. What people don't know about Ru is that his taste in music is unbeatable. I ain't sayin' listen to his current records. This next performer's name is RuPaul. Make no mistake about it, this summer, RuPaul is hot. Yay! RuPaul! I think right now I'm gonna-- RuPaul is red hot! I'm think right now I'm gonna break out. Here, let me get red hot. Ru really didn't have an act, so he needed to have a few extra clowns. And I was one of those clowns that he brought up to New York for a gig at the Pyramid to go-go dance in drag. I wanna break out tonight! Don't it make my brown eyes Don't it make my brown eyes blue God, is Bunny a terror, or what? She was a terror. She had this attitude after she came. She said, "I can deal with workin', and I work hard," she said, "Every five minutes having to cue up a record is gonna drive me crazy." To the Pyramid. You know he was dying to be spanked. Came up to me saying it was his birthday and was he too old to warrant a spanking, and asked me if there were any alternative S&M clubs. They're all closed because of AIDS. The club closed, and we were all friends with the bartenders, and they drank too, but then when they'd say, "No, you have to shut," we would just grab six-packs and head over to Tompkins Square Park where there was a band shell. Bonsoir! Bonsoir! Don't you know your queen Gleaming Wrapped in golden leaf You know, we were just blasted drunk, had been drunk all night... You bitch! I'll kill you! Rank Ragged Skin sewn on sheets We were just clowning on... for angry homeless people that wanted to sleep. Someone said, "What if we do some kind of festival here?" Who knows who said, "Instead of Woodstock, we'll call it Wigstock." I have no idea. When I sashay Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Ah-ah-ah-ah- ah-ah-ah Hey, hey Hey, hey - Huh? - Are you gonna be here next week too? Yes, it's the anniversary. The environment that I grew up in, in large clubs, I think we could use a dose of community. When we had a common enemy, like rampant, unchecked discrimination, inability to marry, or serve in the military, or AIDS-- we did come together because there was an enemy to fight. Now I think we're tending to fight each other more. and I think that if we got in each other's faces, we would say, "Oh, yeah! You. I get it." The whole idea of Wigstock is that we wanted to be considered freaks, because it made it feel like we had gotten into some in-crowd in New York City! - Hello! - Bunny! - Waah! Mwah. - Love you. - Take care. - Love you, hussy. Let me get up the stairs. - Bye, honey. - Sweetie. Yes. Oh, thank you so much! - Got about five of 'em. - Oh, OK. Wonderful. One, two, three, four, five, six-- I don't pick up my paychecks very often because I'm independently wealthy. Don't worry. I'm already... in the Wesley Snipes... category. With taxes. Not talent. Not talent or looks or physical fitness or acting ability. OK. Bye! Ooh, fog. Fog. Oh, that fog! First day! Have a fun first day. Take me by the hand... So, I think that Wigstock might have bitten the dust if I hadn't really seen something there. But I had always been the brat that pins up a sheet in between two trees and invites the neighbors over for a show. Lady Bunny and some other people from the Pyramid came up with this idea to do this outdoor drag-fest during the day. But it was hysterical, because drag was usually confined to, like, 3:00 a.m., in pure darkness of a club. Welcome to Wigstock! Stop the pigs and give 'em wigs! All right! We got so much incredible talent for you lined up tonight, and you're just dying to see it, I can tell! Gonna bring down the house, and I'm so glad to see each and every one of you. Lots of wigs out there too, and that's even better! So it was probably attended by just a few hundred people at first, and a lot of them were just wandering by. I know that trick. Tabboo!: Alphabet City was dangerous. The only people that were on the streets were junkies, drug dealers, and there were no cops, so you could do whatever you want. We were very tentative about getting our asses kicked. "Halloween Q, Take Back the Night." An anti-violence march. We're stopping in several places along the route. One's for police, one's for violence against lesbians, one's for violence against people of color, one's for AIDS-phobia/ homophobia. Give me an orange one that will stand out more. Right back there. "Drag queens are under attack." They're already all over the street. On their way to Wigstock. I finally feel like I'm gonna be feelin' this way... So right here, we finally got our sound system, and the show should be going off real soon. It was just for the artists in the neighborhood, basically, when it started. But then it became, like, a big thing where the neighborhood would come and other people would come and heterosexuals would come and bring their kids. We got a dynamite show for you. The Pyramid put on this every year, just because there are so many housewives and children that can't always make it to the nightclub. Yeah! I knew that I was a jester, and I could bring people together, and I want this to represent the New York scene! I don't know every queen from every scene, but I want it to be very inclusive, because we all felt like we were putting something special out there into New York. Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin... with me! God bless you! God bless you. Next up, we have a dose of high fashion with Mr. Fashion! So all of you can wig out! We wanted to be more like Woodstock in the beginning. There were bands-- many bands. Every Wigstock-- it was eight hours long. - Everybody do the - Do what, baby? Come on and do the barracuda Cuda Every year, we'd go, "Wig's comin', it's comin', Wigstock's comin'." And you could do all the shows you wanted in the nightclub, but when Wigstock came, everybody saw it. Welcome to Wigstock '92! It felt like every year the festival doubled, but I was too stupid to even ask for help! At that point, Wigstock becomes so popular it was attracting thousands of people. It's amazing, because it started out as such a simple little thing, and then became this phenomenon. Barracuda The reason that this festival stuck together is that there is a sisterhood. We are not in a competition. We're coming together to say, "Here's a gift to make New York City better." We're not just gonna sock it to ya here at Wigstock '94, we're gonna sock it right through ya! B-A R-R... Welcome to Wigstock 1997! This is our 15th fucking anniversary. There is no way in hell that we are gonna cancel. Cuda There's a lot that's changed about New York. We talk about this sense of community-- well, are we really in each other's lives? Oh, don't lick it, don't lick it. - Don't lick it... - Mwah! Bye. You're not going with us? I don't think so. I think we're all scrolling on Instagram, and I don't like that community. And I don't need to be a community with somebody whose profile picture is a cat. - Good night, Bunny. - Good night. Here's the sad part. New York City is no longer affordable for the wacky, offbeat artists that made Wigstock possible. - Hmm. - It's not. If you're wacky and you have a trust fund and rich parents, then you can come. This is why we treasure people like Bobbie who did make it here and who is one of us and who doesn't do the obvious, who is not cookie-cutter. - Oh... - Hey, Bobbie. I'm gonna cry. Particularly, Wigstock was the big thing that was like, OK, "I need to move to New York, I need to get it together." And when I got here, I thought it was still going on so I was super-excited. Honey, we're bringing ' it back, and we're draggin' you with us. Even if it rains, we're gonna bring the spirit of Wigstock back to New York City, and maybe more. So, should we stand up, sit down? What do you think? 'Cause we can bust out a pose. Bouncing around and posing's great. OK. I'm new at this. You can see I'm very young. Amazing. I like that. Yes. Ohhh... There is a Broadway element to this by adding Neil Patrick Harris, and the funny thing to me is that some people have said, you know, "What are you doing with Neil?" And I think there's many more of his friends asking, "What are you doing with the crazy old hag Lady Bunny?!" So we are very thrilled that you are covering it. Thank you so much, honey. Good to see you. Thanks for poppin' out so late. OK. Just found out that RuPaul will not be performing, because we cannot fit the amount of people it takes to make her look like a gorgeous woman - on that rooftop. So... - You're so mean. You are so mean. Oh, my God. It was a total pinch-me moment to see the lineup that they announced for Wigstock, the fucking names that I was mentioned with. It's like definitely an honor just to be nominated. Like, I think they did it alphabetically, so I'm right after Candis. It's just like, who in the fuck am I to be mentioned right after Candis Cayne? Jesus Christ. I wanna invite my trade to Wigstock, but I don't think he'd go for it. Who is it? Oh... you know. Anyway, I don't wanna talk about it. Why can't he come to Wigstock? Well, because he lives on the other spectrum of, like, the world, you know, he's orderly and has-- He's fucking you? Well, who says that-- who says that I'm the one getting fucked? - Me. - Just kidding. I-- You know. - Are you gonna go to Wigstock? - Yeah! - Are you? - I wanna be a drag king. Ooh. What do you know about drag queens? That they're crazy and they say bad words. - Who uses bad words? - Lady Bunny. - Yeah, Lady Bunny's got a filthy-- - Loco She is loco. She did say more curse words than anyone that we've-- That we've ever had over for dinner. She didn't even know she'd said it. And we said, "You just said the F-word." "I did? Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't even know I said it." "I just thought they were short. I didn't know they were kids." Oh, man, the sugar's kicked in. Excuse me! - No more sugar. - They act like crazy monster people. That's what kids are supposed to do. - Is it? - I was a nightmare. I went to the ER, like, every month. But that's not a good example. Yeah, probably not. Wigstock in the past have been fun because they were alt, right? Now I feel like drag is so embraced that I wonder if if it will still have that pulse of necessity, or is it gonna feel like... Disney? The kernel of what Bunny wants, when she talked to us, when I first approached her, what she wants in this is for everybody just to have a laugh and to have fun and smile, and to get a relief, have a release from all this shit that's goin' on in the world right now. Tell us what you know about Lady Bunny. Lady Bunny? She is who the working girls today look towards as Mother New York. Also she's really old-school. You've never seen her out of drag. Ever. Like, fucking ever. Ever. For me, as a magician, I really enjoy the magic trick element of it. For me, that's a part of it, is going, "Wait a minute, I wonder what this person looks like as a boy. How is that tuck happening? And how-- I like the magic trick of it. Do you feel like you guys do the same work? - Me and Bunny? - Yeah. No, we're not of the same time. My message is different because I'm of a different time. I'm coming into drag in a time that needs visible trans women in trans bodies transgressing the drag stage. They had trans women on their stages then, absolutely. Like, a thousand percent. Like, they were all low-key trans women, 'cause drag queens are, like, all low-key trans women. Or they're no good. I've never really done drag. I've never really gotten... - fully... - Really? - Ever. No. - You should, so you know what we have to go through. That's one of the reasons I stopped drinking and went to shots. Because mixers, they fill up your bladder. Shots, you just get drunk. You can't do mixers when you're in drag because you have to pee too much. New York is unique. We are a community who values performance first. That is Bunny's whole fucking soapbox, is that everyone in this post "Drag Race" era, and it's all about face, Bunny is the one who's like, "It only matters what you do onstage." There's this very explicit script that I was expected to follow. But I was, like, a closeted church boy from Alabama. I came out, and my parents flipped out, and within six months I look around, and I don't have a family. Basically, my worst fears were confirmed that the price of being myself meant my entire life as I knew it. Convenient thing about the Christian Church is that it's one of the only places where flaming faggots can hide in plain sight. Most of my gay role models growing up, were closeted dads... in church. So I kind of, in the back of my mind, knew... that my whole life was gonna be spent hiding. And so I came to New York, thinking that even as a freshman at NYU, I would be, like, stepping out of a limo to dozens of photographers everywhere I went within a few months. But it didn't go like that, because my problems followed me to New York. I was like, "I don't need a new location, I need a new life." What makes a really good drag queen, for me, it requires an ascension. I like my drag queens, like, trans, HIV-positive meth addicts, like, recovering from something. People who lost their family, we make better spokespeople for the queer community because we have lost all semblance of what it means to live a normative, straight life. There's that artist's credo of, like, "I am an artist because I share my trauma with everyone," so I realized that I wanted to start manipulating my body as an extension of my art. It made sense for me to want to start hormones, or start my medical transition, onstage, which was at Bushwig in 2015. It's 2015. We can be whatever the fuck we want. And I had my girlfriend shoot me up with my first estrogen shot, that was not sanctioned by Callen-Lorde or anything, there was no doctor who knew I was doing it. There was an element of proclamation to it, and there was also an element of me trying to expose my community to the trans experience. Bushwig is a drag festival that was started in Brooklyn to fill the hole that Wigstock left. It is Lady Quesa'Dilla! I was Miss Bushwig in 2017. Thanks, girls! It's been the best Bushwig ever! Here's to tits and a dick! Love you! Mwah! Ladies and gentlemen, how are you doing tonight? We've got a little rock and roll anthem for you tonight. This is the big finale from our show-- "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." This is called "Midnight Radio." That hits you so hard Filling you up Suddenly gone And you're spinning Like a 45 Ballerina dancing To your rock and roll Lift up your hands Lift up your hands Hands Thank you. Thank you. When we were first doing Wigstock in Tompkins Square Park and word came to me that this legendary pop star goddess thought that my little event was cool enough for her to come down from the heavens and grace us with her chart-topping magnificence... ...I felt like I had done did somethin'. Please put your hands together for the incredible... Deborah Harry. Oh Your hair is beautiful Oh Tonight Atomic So, since it's about wigs, I thought I should wear a wig. Ooh Atomic All right, fish stick! Thank you! The thing about Bunny that really pissed me off, though, is that she flirts like crazy. Debbie, it means so much to me that you are here, and as a measure of my thanks, I'm prepared to fuck you. Oh, Bunny, you say that every year and I never get it! I would get all turned on, and then nothing would happen. Just see, you know, young men that on the street you wouldn't think anything of, but then they're transformed into these beautiful, beautiful, exotic creatures. It's kind of wonderful. You've changed That sparkle In your eyes is gone Your smile Is just a careless yawn You're breakin' my heart... What makes makeup female? What makes anything female? What characterizes this life's particular starting point? I mean, why are we-- what is this? One thing I think is amazing is that when I was in a band, we went to dump little towns and we played, and I was a boy, that was one thing, but then I started doing a girl in the band, and I would go to these dump little towns, in, like, Memphis, Tennessee. We'd go into a club, and there'd be nothing but rednecks drinking beers waiting for the band to come on. And I would think, "Oh, my God." And I'd go out on the stage and I could see hostile faces at first. But within the course of the show, the fantasy, when it got to work, and by the end of the show they were screaming and hollering and having a great time, and weren't afraid-- No matter what, we are all the same thing. And that's just one more step closer to that, which is great. It's a wonderful flavor. It is! Do not let me go blind for I still want to learn How to see what's in front of my eyes without light What's inside of me, what's inside What's inside Inside of, inside of We have feminine ways, but we're not actually guys that are-- we look the way that we look, but sometimes if people approach us, they think that we're these over-the-top-- - Queens. - Yeah. It's an appearance, but personally, my personality-- - Like, inside. - Yeah. Your exterior has nothing to do with what you feel internally. Everyone has a different mixture of masculinity and femininity put together. But even in the gay community, I feel like you think it's like a "land of the free," and they even put you in boxes there. "You're a femme, you're a masc." It's really a mixed pot of it all. I grew up very on the masculine side of life, and I grew into my femininity. The boundaries of drag are being pushed with it being mainstream now. It's getting more pushed to the forefront, so I feel like the small, little cracks for queens that didn't have as much exposure as others are now getting that, and that's not always in the essence of a woman. That's not always in the essence of a man, or neither. It's bringing what you feel inside to the forefront. Whatever that looks like, that's your drag. Captain of none, captain of nothing Captain of none Tabboo!: The big difference between the queens of today and the queens of yesteryear is that the queens of yesteryear were beautiful. Mmm! Mmm! Mmm! This is tasty. Yeah! What is it, huh? Shhh! It's a surprise! Pickle Surprise! Pickle Surprise! Wigstock lemonade, come and get it! Does anyone wanna buy some Wigstock lemonade? Buy some lemonade? Tabboo!: You know, those queens, those young queens, they have no idea that they climbed to where they are on the shoulders and the backs of the old queens that came before them! It's hard enough being gay, never mind being a woman, honey, never mind being a gay woman, never mind being a black gay woman. Tabboo!: Back in the day before cell phones and bottled water, before the robots took over. When Wigstock first started, it was only a few short years, maybe 15 years after Stonewall revolutionary, that whole thing, so if you walked around, if you paraded around on the streets in drag, you'd get your ass kicked! Out in public in drag? Huh?! What?! Huh-huh-huh-huh. Shocking. Revolutionary. They all love me. The men love me. The women love me. Mahogany. Tabboo!: It kick-started the whole "Come out, come out, wherever you are" kinda thing. Before that, even Liberace and Freddie Mercury, they were all in the closet, believe it or not. And Wigstock said, "What closet, honey? My drag is clogging the closet, there's no room for me in there, honey. Hello." It's "in" to be gay in the '90s, did you know that? It's "in" to be gay! Who woulda thunk it, right? But it's a new day. We're being televised worldwide again today. The world is watching! The world is watching! Honey, I'm gonna tell you right now, they said just by being there, Wigstock is in-your-face. If it was in-your-face to say we're not ashamed of who we are, so my focus was: Let me show you what we could do. Folks, you know, you got your drag queens and you got your drag kings. Not only do I already expect you to accept us, watch this, and if you don't like it, hit it, 'cause you don't see me carrying on at your football games. Baby, baby Baby, baby If I've said anything to any of you and if I stepped on your toes, I have something to say: Baby, I really don't give a damn. Lighten up, it's just a drag show. We all felt like we were putting something special out there into New York, because this was the time of AIDS... sinking in. A lot of you have had a lot of fun, like I have, like Ru and Lahoma have had, for a couple of years at parties by Stephen Cohen. If you haven't heard the news, Stephen Cohen passed away this week of complications from AIDS. I, personally, and Marge, are giving money to the Community Research Initiative to help find a cure, I hope you do too. And I know how I would like to be remembered, so we're gonna open some champagne and have a really nice time. Think of Stephen while... People were dropping like flies. Pop it, baby, pop it! It was terrifying. I didn't visit one of my best friends, I did not visit him in the hospital as much as I should have because I was too scared to face the fact that I might have it. But unfortunately, after performing, shortly after performing at Wigstock last year... she passed away. I would have loved to have her perform again this year. She was a queen among queens, never bitchy, never evil like so many of these girls. And I'm sure she's very much missed by family and friends. And I hope we can put all of our thoughts up towards the sky and think of Donna right now. Come on out here, let's send her a wig up to the heavens. She might have been-- I don't know if her family understood her properly and buried her in her wig. In case they didn't, this goes out to you, Donna. We're thinkin' of ya, honey. Ladies and gentlemen, she is a columnist for "Time Out New York," She also hosted and created the fantastic Club Night at the Pyramid-- back when it was fun-- Ooh. Put your hands together for Linda Simpson. Thank you, Bunny. Thank you so much for that. Putting on drag gives you a lot of confidence, and all of a sudden, you're "pizzazz," you know what I mean? And you are strong, you're bold. I demand more lights! I demand even more lights! Yes! All right. And then once you take the drag out, it can be sort of disorienting, because you don't have that armor and people don't react to you in the same way and they sometimes don't give you that bow-down, worshipful atmosphere that you've been getting. Do you think one of the drawbacks of doing drag, though, is when you're in drag, it's hard to get a gay guy to be interested in you? Who's gonna waste a shave on a gay guy? "Drag Race," which dominates all things drag now, created this incredible renaissance for drag. But the other side of the coin would be that drag certainly was fun when it was underground and I have a great fondness for when it was just a fun, avant-garde way of expressing oneself. It was very unique. There wasn't anyplace else in the world that was like the East Village drag scene. Back then it was a smaller group, it was an inside group. Someone has to take my picture. Stand right here, Linda. Let the light drink your face in. Let's see... Ooh, that face, girl. You are fierce! I feel so pretty that I feel like I must have always looked this way. OK, come over here some. Yes, there it is. There's the face. Now, to me, drag is all about demystifying drag, and so, you know, it takes away from the insider-y, "We've got a secret" kind of club feel that we had before. Mona, it's so nice to have you here. We just celebrated our two-year anniversary, I think you were reminiscing about the first time that you performed here. You were saying that your makeup was a little off, your hair was a little off-- what's changed? Um... There's no secrets anymore. It's like, "Here's how you do the makeup, here's how you stuff the boobs, here's how you put the wigs on. Here's the language we use." It's very interesting now how people have created stardom, and many of them are quite young. And you know that expression "High tide raises all ships"? Even drag queens that are not on "Drag Race" are benefitting from the popularity of the show and in drag in general. I wanna tell ya, I've always had a dream and I've always wanted to do what I do, and I want to tell each and every one of you within the sound of my voice: Hold onto your dreams, hold onto your dreams! 'Cause if it can work for me, it can work for you. I love you. Good night, everybody. What would it mean to you to become America's next drag superstar? It would mean the world to me to be America's next drag superstar. Ru was very about building an empire of what you can build an empire, honing in on your natural gift. I've been lucky enough to have Ru pave the way for me, but who the fuck paved the way for Ru to do what he's doing right now? He took over the world of drag. When it comes to career-wise, I do view Ru almost as like a father figure. Is that weird to say? I started drag when I was 18. I was pretty much in drag in high school, like, for the most part, six-inch heels to, like, the first day of senior year, with big Lady Gaga eyebrows. To test out my makeup skills, I would do my makeup, and then I would go on Chatroulette, and if they didn't see that I wasn't-- if they wouldn't "next" me, thinking I was a dude, then I was like, "My makeup turned out well today." When I was on "Drag Race," I broke a bunch of rules and tried to get kicked off because I knew getting kicked off is iconic on reality shows. Now no one else can have it. It's one of those things where any reality TV show, it's a tool to a bigger career, hopefully. I think I've navigated my way through that motherfucking beautifully. I'm still working to this day, seven years later, and I'm in a movie with fucking Lady Gaga, so I'm doing something right. The fact that drag has gone from whispering about drag queens in the corner of a club to standing in two-hour-line meet-and-greets just to shake their hand blows my mind. And I love that it's being normalized. Thanks! And happy Groundhogs Day. They're fuckin' rodents. I'm just gonna put my Taser away... and shut the door. 'Cause there's bugs and crackheads. The best thing ever was, a crackhead came through the back door once late at night, and it was like five minutes after my camera guy had left, so I was like, "He's just coming back for something." But the door opened kind slow, and I was right here and I was still in drag from filming, and the first thing I did was go like this and then grab this knife and do-- bam!-- and I said, "I have a knife, I will hurt you," and he starts-- he gets one foot in the door, and he's like right here, I say, "I have a knife, I will hurt you," and he's like, "Oh, my God, I'm sorry, ma'am!" And then he fell right there going back. But he called me "ma'am!" How cute, right? I passed. I was so excited. And I was ready to fuckin' stab him, too. You don't come in my fuckin' back door. Well, a lot of people come in my fuckin' back door, but not like that. That was different. When I'm in Wigstock this year, I think I'm gonna, um... butt-chug on my hoverboard. And my hoverboard's like a little Judy Jetson little "vroom, vroom" thing, and then butt-chugging is when you stick alcohol in a disposable enema and then put it up your butt. Because it gets you real fucked up, real fast, and that's the best way to be when you're a drag queen. And then you don't squirt it at the audience because that's a whole different kind of show. That gets very combative. Nobody wants to get wet at a drag show, I think. Especially with ass juice. Who's ready for bingo? Look at the crowd! And this is the second show. Look at that! The crowd is 30-45% faggots, the rest is straight women. Straight, drunk bachelorettes. A lot of women grow up playing with dolls, and then when they get old, they still want someone to dress up and hang out with, so they get drag queens, and then they pull our wigs. Use your flash. Yes. Love stands tall and free Love stands tall and free Love stands tall and free Love stands tall and free Love stands tall and free Love stands tall and free Love stands tall and free Love stands Tall and free! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh, my God! Wigstock's first baby! My little baby! This is your first time here at Wigstock, honey. Have you got anything to say to these rascals out here? Hi! How are you?! Enjoy your day, be safe, and just let it it all out, honey. The first year I performed at Wigstock, I got to open it, and I was like, "What?" Bunny was like, "You're going on now," and I was like, "What?" And it was fun, it was fun. But Flotilla wasn't born yet. I did not get involved in drag until 1991. The people at Boy Bar, they put me together. I was groomed, by Raven O and Matthew Kasten. Hands down. Hands down. Boy Bar beauty forever. There's too many people right now that want to be drag queens, and some of 'em don't know what that entails. My thing is, if it's all about money and I don't have the passion, what the fuck am I doing this for? When you find somebody that really wants to do drag and has a passion about it, that's what drag, to me, is about, and performing is about. Finding somebody who just loves the art, and when they're onstage, you can see it. Lady Quesa'Dilla right here, who is a daughter of Perfidia, just a remarkable performer. And studies the history, no less. See, a lot of people don't study their history of who was before them, who's with them, who's after them. This is my drag daughter, Miss Konima. - Konima, this is-- - Konima? Hi. Flo, nice to meet you, sweetie. - Mm-hmm. - OK. I would see them nurtured at Pyramid, you know, I had Linda Simpson, I had Bobby Miller, doing my hair, and my makeup, when it looked rotten. We took care of each other. They're beginning to have some of 'em now. The girls in Bushwick are taking care of each other. Which is a good thing. Which is a really good thing. Everybody can do drag, yeah. That's good, ya know. But what kind of drag queen do you want to be? Well, I don't wanna talk about... Let me show you the lineup. - This is the lineup for Wigstock? - Yeah. We just got it. Let me try finding you... Oh, my God. So many people. God, the legend lineup is so real. Mary had a little lamb Her fleece was white as snow Everywhere that Mary went The lamb was sure to go He made the children laugh and play Laugh and play Come on, boys and girls Put your hands on up If you're part of the family If you're part of the children Say yes, I am Yes, I, yes, I, yes, I am I am one of the children From here to there You've got to feel Alive You're dancing, you're dancing Early '90s, I met Kevin, and he was my source into New York. Kevin's name was so hot that our group was just, like, they wanted us everywhere. So alive There were all these things happening, and Kevin's career was exploding. The lights are spinning In my head Getting brighter as we go higher I'm feeling free for me Only the mirror ball really matters at all The joy I found like a child on a merry-go-round DJ playin' records spinnin' round and round I'll be dancing all night long I'm at peace with my soul I feel love, I am so, so alive Loving the feeling, learning the meaning On top of the world and I'm hot, so alive It's closer than ever Get me so high Dance it, shake it, move it And at the same time in New York City, Mayor Giuliani became in charge, and his whole thing was law and order. So he really cracked down hard on the nightlife. All of a sudden, the club scene began shrinking dramatically. And of course, that affected drag a lot, because the freedom and the jobs and the whole sociability of it shrunk, ya know? Everybody was under siege. I think he should close 'em today, the video stores, Show World, all the dancing places-- I think every one of 'em should be shut down. They're an absolute disgrace to the neighborhood, they attract nothing but garbage and sleaze. Personally, I'm a dancer myself, so, I mean, it hurts me just as well as everybody else. I don't think there's no need. It's not really affecting anybody. There are some kind of alarming changes coming up, and actually affect Wigstock's future. Giuliani tryin' to kill the whole nightlife in New York, so you gotta represent. Fuck off, fuck off Mayor Giuliani can kiss my ass. Mayor Giuliani can kiss my ass, 'cause we're not gonna stop doing what we gotta do, right, faggots? We're gonna run this fuckin' world we call New York, not Mickey Mouse, right, children? So when you go out tonight, children, I want you to prance, prance, prance on, and let them know who the faggot is in the house, OK? Now the rally for recording artist Kevin Aviance, beaten up by a group of thugs. Today, hundreds of people marched from one side of Manhattan to the other... Kevin is here right now. Kevin, we are here to show you the love and the support. It's been kind of hard, but you know what, you can't keep a good queen down. Something was not right, OK? I've walked out in thongs and high heels, and ain't never had a problem. Nothing. Think nothing of it. Morning, daylight, don't think nothing of it. And there was something about this that was just different. And when I stepped off the curb to walk into the street, "We're gonna get you, faggot." OK. Whatever. So I'm walking backwards and they're coming towards me. You could feel the hate from them, you could feel the heat. I have never in my whole life felt that hatred on someone I didn't know, like that on someone. I just... got hit. Bam! And as I'm going down, they're hitting me in the head, kicks. After about 80 times of these kicks, this is "gugga-gong, gong-gong-gong-gong-gong. That's all I could hear, was gong-gong-gong, gong-gong-gong-gong-gong-gong- gong-gong-gong. And every time it was getting louder and louder, and I'm just like, "gong" -- and it stopped. I woke up in the hospital room, and all my sisters, all my friends, they were all there, sitting around, waiting for me to wake up. I had come out of it, but something's not right. My jaw's not right, it's not right. Come to find out I had four hairline fractures in my jaw. But it was like-- it was basically broken, but it was hairline fractures, and so they had to go in, put me under, fix my mouth, straighten it back up again, and they prosecuted the guys and they went to jail. By the time I went to testify, no one wanted me there. I wanted to at one point, but they were like, "That'd be the worst thing you could ever do." I understand that now, why you just don't meet your attacker, why you don't do that. But there's this bitter part of me that always thinks that I could, like... you know, I make people happy, that's what I do, you know? And just, to know I couldn't do that... and people thought I was on the way out. I'm running into people like Hector Xtravaganza or someone like that, grabbing me, and they just cry and say, "Girl, you know, you are such an inspiration for us. Girls don't come out the hospital. You come out. You came out, and you're better." You don't realize that girls went into the hospital in New York and did not come out, so that hospital was the end of all ends for a girl, you know? For one of the New York girls, you know? That was just the way it was, you know? And here I am going in and out. Drag is the silver lining in that cloud. That's what drag is to me, 'cause I know, at the end of the day, I got a frock in my bag right now, girl, and a pair of pumps right in there, girl. I'll give you a show at the drop of a hat. I'll give you a show right then and there, girl. I will do it. Damn right I will. And you'll get your life, and you'll gag... ...period. - ...his way. - Yeah. I was just-- You hit play for me, I'll hit play for you. I would like to know that my tracks are correct. You're good with that mic? Scoot it back. As back as you can get it without-- There's a speaker right there. Be careful. I got everyone working. Harajuku, Two Sterlings, Belle, Serena Dariani, Orlando, Lucas and Patty, Dusty, Rose and Ryan, and the Salami Sisters. This is the bitch that I used to go around the Lower East Side chasing Lady Gaga with, so we didn't know anything about the landscape of nightlife or any sort of grasp on the scene or anything. We were just, like, faggots, closeted, in my case, and basically tried to track down Lady Gaga, and we did it. We did. We literally did. Gaga walks in the room and everyone just gasps, and there's all the faggots screaming, "Aaaaah!!!" - But it was us. We were the faggots screaming. - I know! Oh, yikes. Once upon a time I was a business student, an NYU-ster, can you believe it? Oh, my God. I'm so embarrassed. Lots of boys. Lots of boys. - Lots of boys. - Lots of boys. But that's not one. The proportioning of drag is an aggression, is a heightened femininity, because femininity is the aggression. So the bigger the lip, the bigger the sin. Ladies and Gentlemen, your lovely ladies! Stop! "To Robert." So crazy. Right. I hadn't even then become Bobbie yet. Yeah. Wow. I know her. I know her. I know her. Linda! Stop! Linda Simpson looks the literal exact same. Thought it'll be fun getting people to sign this, and I go and figure out where, like, Bunny was DJing that night and then having to sneak into the Monster 'cause you're only 19 years old and the doorman's upset at you, and you're like, "You don't understand, sir, I have this Wigstock flyer that I need to get Bunny to sign. What if she dies tomorrow? I'm freaking out." Ya know? My God. Fuck. These girls look like us. When'd you come to New York? I came to New York in 2011, - I was 16, and... - Damn, girl. I really, really, really resonated with Wigstock when I was 14-- I got AIDS, you know what I mean? From the get-go, I was like-- - I needed Wigstock... - Yeah. to find, like, people in this world that are fighting a similar fight to me, - and alive. - Yeah. Flotilla and Lypsinka, and Lady Bunny, they saw, within me, a way to almost help me out, because this city tears you down. I mean, I could be just like all the other people I knew who disappear. Tabboo! gave me the name Bobbie, and Myka pretty much I'd wear all of her hand-me-downs, and... You were parented by the legends. I was parented... by the legends, but just because they're the greatest people ever. I mean, they're really the best people ever. I'm excited to end this summer out and get to Wigstock and see what it's all about. Me too. Something happened that was interesting that made me know that there's something still unique about New York. I was late for a gig, wearing a long dress, jumped in a cab, slammed the door, the dress was hangin' out. All of a sudden, there's a commotion outside. Two young kids, 10, 12, an old couple, 70, 80, they were all trying to get my attention. They did not look at me and think... "That's a punk-ass faggot." These people said, "Help that fool!" "Help that fool. It's in me to want to help that fool." Without any judgements. This is what I want to prove by bringing this festival back: that we are a community and that we're not fighting among each other so much to where we can't even get together. It's humanizing to be this close together. And that's the thing that still's great about New York. - Hey! Mwah! - How are you? - Huh? - Is this your spot? Yeah! Why? Do you not think it's good enough, either? We did it, Bunny. Sometimes I still breathe in What I don't believe - Aaaaah! - As if superstition - Could keep you away from me - We made it! Well, it's the same as it never Forever was Haunted by who can I be now Same as forever I never was Excuse me while I kiss the sky Ay-ay-ay I always knew you would come back I always knew you would come back to me Brace yourself. You have eight hours of this. I always knew you would come back I always knew you would come back, come back to me I'm a princess! Who's got the drugs? Drugs over in this corner, please! Ay-ay-ay Are we supposed to act like the camera's not there? Well, the camera's a little low for someone with my fuckin' neck. I'm doing psychic readings. People are Venmo'ing me $10, and I say, "You're gonna die." Come on, it's funny. It's dark. What you do, what you do, what you do What you do to me What you do to me What you do to me What you do to me Hey, what you do to me Energy's gettin' through to me And I got my eyes forward And that's how they ought to be Baby, baby, I'm here Where I need to be Feelin' fear, but no need to be And I've been caught dead in my tracks But that's no way to be It's quite exciting to be here at Wigstock, and I know that there's several old people that are up here that are gonna tell you about their memories and relive their moments and flip through their purse and find Polaroids of their dreams and aspirations, but you realize, we all end up at this shitty event, and that's the magic of gay life. It doesn't get better, it gets awkward. Moments late at night But I ain't feelin' right Ladies and gentlemen, boys as girls, are you ready for excitement, glamor, and sophistication? Then you have come to the wrong place, honey. This is Wigstock 2.0! Hi, Wigstock! How y'all doin', honeys? New York City! Get out here and tear this stage up! Burn down, take me on Bend down, move along I need a hot shot Burn down with the proud... Wig cannon! Get a wig! Go! And the music's loud I need a hot shot I just realized that this documentary was being shot in HD. Which at my age means "haggard dog." Anyway, we're back! Ooh, baby, baby, baby, baby I wanna feel it in my soul, come on and move it You know you never, never, never gonna lose control My fire's burning It's getting real hot... Let's hear it for Javier Ninja! Ladies and gentlemen, Perfidia! Was that bitch dynamite, or what? Give her some more love! You can never stop the spirit of Wigstock! Whoo! How we doing, Wigstock! If you're having a good time, make some noise! Thank you, Wigstock! Thank you, Bunny! That brought me out of my seat I need a hot shot I need to crank this music like it was a nightclub in 1993! Can you hear it out there? Can you hear it out there? OK. Everyone is always saying, "Bunny, you and Ru are such good friends, why don't you get on that fuckin' show?" And I said, "Honey, by not wanting to be on that show, I can read all their asses to filth." Is Wigstock 2.0 audience ready to... ...spill some tea? Makes no difference if you're butch or a femme Or even look like a girl Takes no talent to impress 'em today You're on "Drag Race" till you sashay away - Come on and contour your nose - Nose Lip sync for your life to the music Hey, hey, hey - Contour your nose - Nose Find a catchphrase and overuse it Hey, hey, hey Pose I said pose Pose Hi What do Neal Patrick Harris and an ambulance have in common? Both take it in the back and go, "Whoop! Whoop!" What's the difference between Bianca Del Rio and a bag of trash? Trash gets picked up every once in a while. Thank you! The Ladies of Lips! Clap for those bitches! 'Cause if you've ever been to Lips, they're never that entertaining. What fuckin' useless cunts! Get back to your shift, cunts! All right, here we are! This is so funny, because I'm wearing Formika's dress from '94. - Really? - Yeah, yeah. Have my morning cup of coffee, and I'm all ready for a drag show. Happy Wigstock '94, everybody. Hello, New York, how's everybody doin'? You all look so fuckin' good! I was born in '94, so it's like a full circle moment for me. Wigstock is not about hate or fighting, it's about love. It's time for us to have some rights! It's time for us to take charge! Take it away, baby. I know that a lot of us are down in the dumps these days, things are pretty crazy in this country, and I just wanna say when you get real depressed and you find yourself in a deep, dark valley, it's really, really important to remember that I am coming out with a new album... and I would like to sing a track from that right now. The name of the album is "Dina Martina: Mysteries of the Thyroid." Thank you. Hit it! Some say love Becomes the rose Thank you. Off the charts. Wait. Can every drag queen from "Drag Race" take note? That's how you do an album, bitch! That's how you do a fuckin' album! The bitch started and left! Girl, I was standing backstage going, "She finished?" I thought, "That's good." And there are six people in a fuckin' high tower over there going, "Liza looks horrible!" Oh, no! The g-- ha ha ha! Look at you. You look... consistently relic-like. I know, I know. Usually the balls are on my chins. To cover the hair. Yeah, it looks good. You know, we joke around a lot, but when I call her and say, "Your plane's gonna crash," I'm only kidding. We're good friends, it's a joke. When Bianca leaves here, she will arrive... - safely and on time... - Thank you. - in Syria. - Ha ha ha ha! 'Cause I'll work anywhere! I'm here! Take it away, cunt! Here we go! Ladies and gentlemen, a New York City nightlife legend-- Kevin Aviance! I believe, I believe, I believe I believe, I believe I believe, believe, believe, believe Believe, believe, believe, believe Believe, aaaaah! I believe, I believe, I believe I believe, I believe I believe I believe Welcome the most famous transsexual in the world, Amanda Lepore! The incredible Raven O! What is love if you got in between it No one cares if you're ever gonna achieve it And nobody knows Nobody knows And what do we care if they always walk with us They want us to break, but who cares, they don't know us And still we don't know So I say whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh Oh-oh-oh-oh Can you let us go Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, those undecided and those in between, I just want you guys to know how much of an honor it is for me to be here. This is my hair, I don't wear wigs - Everybody, this is my hair - Crowd: I don't wear wigs This is my hair Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Alaska Thunderfuck! I love your vagina! Mwah! Our next performer taught me how to walk and how to cock a hip when I was Hedwig in "The Angry Inch." Please welcome the disgusting and the sexy Willam! Oh, oh, oh Oh, the bubbles are tickling my rectum! I love it! Oh! Wait, hold on, hold on one second. One second. Ohh, ohh! Spin me around, I wanna do spin art. Make me spin art. Ohh. Oh, yeah. Uhh. Show 'em my shart, please. Put a big "B" on it for Bunny and me! Yay! Look at me. That's what I did with my pussy. You're welcome. Does anybody want a Coors? They're not a sponsor. Here, girl. I'm here representing the girls of Stonewall. This piece was written by Mr. Jimmy Camicia. "Spare Change for a Dying Queen." Can you spare some change for a dying queen, darling? Oh, I am dying. I know you don't believe me. But us queens know what we're talkin' about, yes, we do! We're from the liberation! Yes, we are. Sometimes when I pass those gay bars and I see my gay sisters and brothers havin' a good time and turning it out in all their liberated glory, and I see that sign over that bar that says, "No drunks, no dogs, no drags." Could you imagine comparing me to a dog? - No! - I just want to break down and-- But that's OK, darlin', because I pay it no mind. Because when they 86 me, I tip, and when I tip, I stay tipped. Because I got my friends, that's right, and I know who my friends are! My friends are people who got change to spare. My friends are people who smile at me and understand when I say, "Can you spare some change for a dying queen, darlin'?" So if you're in one of those bars and you see that sign, "No drunks, no dogs, no drags," and you see them turning out on my of gay brothers and sisters, I want you to dig real deep down in your pocket and pull out some of that change that you're saving for your cold beer and your hot dogs, and get over yourself and spare some change for a dying queen... ...darling. Ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or not... Hedwig! Last time I saw you We'd just split in two You were lookin' at me I was looking at you You had a way so familiar I could not recognize 'Cause you had blood on your face I had blood in my eyes But I could swear by your expression That the pain down in your soul Was the same as the one down in mine Oh, that's the pain That cuts a straight line down through the heart We call it love The origin of love Oh, yeah The origin of love Oh, oh, the origin of love Love, love, love, love The origin of Six inches forward and five inches back I got, I got an angry inch Six inches forward and five inches back I got a, I got an angry inch Six inches forward, five inches back Stay under cover till the night turns to black I got my inch, I'm set to attack I got an angry inch, an angry inch Ladies and gentlemen, comin' up next we have one of the Bushwig favorites. I want you to put your hands together for the wild, the uncontrollable, the unpredictable, Charlene Incarnate! Her Wigstock debut! You're struttin' into town like you're slingin' a gun Just a small town dude with a big city attitude Honey, are you looking for some trouble tonight? Well, all right You think you'll knock me off my feet Till I'm flat on the floor Till my heart is crying Indian and I'm begging for more So come on, baby, come on, baby Come on, baby, show me what that loaded gun is for If you're so tough, come on and prove it Your heart is down for the count And you know you're gonna lose it Tonight, you're gonna go down in flames Just like Jesse James Well, you've had your way with love But it's the end of the day Now a team of wild horses Couldn't drag your heart away So come on, baby, come on, baby, come on, baby You know there ain't nothin' left to say If you're so tough, come on and prove it Your heart is down for the count And you know you're gonna lose it Tonight you're gonna go down in flames Just like Jesse James Tonight you're gonna go down in flames Just like Jesse James I'm gonna shoot you down Jesse James Let's hear it for Charlene Incarnate! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Goodbyes sound better I wish you a good goodbye 'Cause you're part of history. This is gonna be one of those things years and years from now when it's long gone and the era has passed that people are trying to relive and capture and hold onto. So feel yourself special to be a part of it. In all of the hours and times that I tried to be..." I've been to the deserts, I've been to the seas, honey. And there's no other drag community like New York City, darling. Give it up for these queens, darling. Up, up, up, up, up, up, up! These girls now are watching us and they're admiring us. Girls, I want to tell you, there's room for all of us. This is for you. Thank you so much. I live the life I love, and I love the life I live, and I love sharing it with all of you here. It's the audience. It's you that is Wigstock, and I lift my wigs to you all. Goodbye-ay-ay-ay-ay Sweet summer I finally feel like I'm gonna be feeling this way For a long time, baby Yeah Set me down and tell me you love me Take me by the hand In the cover of the trees As we drive on this road I can see you must know How much, how much you mean to me Come run and tell me you love me Come on and hold my hand Come run and take me for a long time Until you leave this land Tell me that we're going to be Together forever, baby Forever I finally feel like I'm gonna be feeling this way For a long time, baby I finally feel like I'm gonna be feeling this way For a long time, baby I finally feel like I'm gonna be feeling this way For a long time, baby Yeah |
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