Double Feature:
the clemoxie experience
There are so so many exciting shows drag shows happening all the time in our local bubble. Many nights I opt to take a nap or hang out with one of my boyfriends instead of going out, but on January 24th there were two shows I didn’t want to miss.
Bergen
the House Down
&
Megamox
live
Bergen the House Down was first. This is a fairly new monthly show at the Bergen House brewery in Middletown hosted by my drag niece Clementine. I had a new brewery show last year, and it flopped over the span of a few months. I want to see her succeed where I failed. I want to see there be more venues hosting a wider variety of events. I actually meant to do a promo piece for it in last month’s magazina, but I ran out of time.
January’s cast was:
October, Onixx Aura, & Frankie Cyanide
I got some nice pictures of everyone before the show (except the hostess herself, Clem was busy doing hostess things). The brewery is lovely. I’m not fond of beer, but they make mead there that’s sweet enough for my little hummingbird palette. There was an enthusiastic crowd, a group celebrating a 28th birthday (they had balloons), and an air of joy that night.
I love getting to see Clementine host. She’s sweet, really lives up to her name. Both of Clementine’s moms were there this month. Her real mother, and her drag mom. If she’s a Clementine, her real mother is an absolute Peach. She’s there every month collecting tickets and tips, and beaming with joy watching Clem up there.
If you don’t know what a drag mother is, that’s alright. There’s a fascinating history about the origins and evolution of drag houses, but it’s a topic for another time. The short version for the sake of this story is that it’s an older more experienced queen who acts as a mentor. October is Clementine’s drag mother.
Last time I came to the Bergen show October couldn’t make it because of an injury, so I was especially excited to see her. You’d never know she even could be injured, the way she moves she looks absolutely invincible. October is someone I’ve known for years, and she’s always had a seemingly effortless confidence. She’s funny, bold, and her limbs bend more than Gumby’s. I’m hoping to talk to October more soon and maybe have an interview posted, but I am notoriously bad at finishing projects so like don’t quote me on that k thx <3
Onixx wore ostrich, which suits her well. She’s luxurious and fun, even the way she talks is like a mix of southern belle and transatlantic starlet. I’ve known her for probably about as long as she’s been doing drag, and she’s got a great range of inspiration. Onixx is in her element whether she’s singing a blues ballad or dancing to club pop.
Sidenote: Clementine, October, and Onixx are all going to be in a show celebrating Black History month. Essential Essence will be on February 23rd. I’ll put more info on my events page soon
Then there was Frankie Cyanide, the king best known for hosting Wacky Wednesday open stages at Trevi. We don’t see each other in person often (Trevi faaar) but I really enjoy talking to him online. He said something that night that I’ll remember more than any part of the show.
Frankie asked the audience to hold up their fists, as though we were in a fight. He looked around the audience “A lot of you aren’t covering your faces. You can take a hit to the stomach a lot easier than the face.” His warning hit me right in the gut, because I knew he was right. “If you do have to punch someone, punch a Nazi.” It’s a scary time to be doing what we do. I started putting on makeup and heels 8 years ago, and I never imagined a world that would get less understanding.
Besides that bleak but important reminder of where and when we were, the show was delightful. After it was over Onixx hitched a ride with my entourage and we headed over to the Chez for Moxie’s album party!
I should tell you that at this point of the night, I was not being the most diligent journalista. Like I said earlier that mead stuff was yummyyyy. The show started at 11 (which just so happens to be this dainty little lady’s bedtime) and I was zonked.
It’s no biggie though, I already interviewed Moxie and Glass about their music last month! Plus I still got some good pictures (along with a lot of really blurry ones oopsy)
The show was a blast. If you missed it, it’s never too late check out all these queens’ music! I embedded some directly below, so you don’t have to click any pesky offsite links.
Megamox
SEPHORA
Amy
I was pretty involved behind the scenes for this show. Besides taking the photos, I shot and edited the music video for Sephora, and I made the 3D model, album cover art, and animations Moxie used for MEGAMOX.
It was satisfying seeing everything come together (and being able to add some more eclectic titles to my resume). I have some more plans for the Moxie 3D model, but it’s too soon to go into detail.
Wanna see more photos from both shows? Check out my photo page for a few edits and a lot more of the photos I took from these nights.