Topic 30(A): Gobsmacked
Jun. 18th, 2012 04:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
java_fiendWow... brutal week. Here is the first of my SIX entries to be laid upon the altar of the mighty Idol gods. I have zero idea what to expect this week so I'm just gonna cross my fingers and think happy thoughts...
It started out innocently enough, as these things tend to do. A friend of ours was in need of some help and so, we mobilized the troops. That’s what friends do, right?
See, a friend of ours is a karaoke DJ and when he gets a new gig, the club owners have to see that he’s worth the paycheck. To do that, he has to pull in a decently-sized crowd. And that’s where we came in. Our friend needed a crowd so he put the call out and our group rolled out in force. Not that it took a lot of arm-twisting to get us out for a night of fun and drinks! We were always up for a good time so having the chance to help a good friend in the process was an added bonus!
Our destination that night was a local club called Ripples. Now I’d been around Long Beach long enough by that point to know that Ripples was one of our local gay bars. So I’m not going to lie; I felt a little odd walking into the place. But hey, having gone out in drag in the public in the middle of the day in a very crowded location before no less, it could have been worse. My group of friends and I spotted our DJ-friend and claimed a table near where he was setting up.
For being relatively early in the evening, the place was already hoppin’. We made quick friends with a group of loud and funny guys at a table next to us, the drinks were flowing and soon enough, we were all having a great time. Sitting in that club, I realized that some of the silly notions I had about “gay bars” (notions I only developed because of TV and movies, mind you) were horrendously wrong. First off, nobody was dressed in either leather and/or assless chaps. For some reason, I figured walking into a “gay bar” would be like walking into a Village People fan convention. (hey, I was younger and dumber than I am now) Secondly, I was positively shocked by the amount of very cute, seemingly single women that frequented such an establishment. It shocked the hell out of me and I almost felt like a kid in a candy store.
Our friend’s show got underway and I will say, the guy is a very talented performer. He keeps things lively, he’s hilarious and knows how to work the hell out of a crowd. Even with the intermittent caterwauling of those daring enough to get up to do some karaoke, it was a great show and two hours (not to mention several drinks) passed by quickly. Once his official gig was done, he stayed on to play some music for the crowd in the club.
He just chilled out and hung with our group for a while. Lots of laughs and fun were had. He came back from switching some music a short time later, looked at his watch and told us that we just had to go check out the show upstairs.
The show upstairs?
He said it was hilarious and a ton of fun. Given the fact that we were all feeling pretty good at that point and didn’t want the party to end, we hustled our way upstairs. None of us had ever been up there before and were surprised. It was a large room with a bar against the back wall, windows on three of the four walls and a large-ish dance floor/stage in the center of the room. Chairs had been set up all around and we found some seats near the back of the room. Honestly, we had zero idea what to expect. We didn’t even know what this mystery show was all about!
Eventually, the lights in the room dimmed… well, they were always dim so it’s probably safer to say they were turned off. There was some low lighting focused on the stage are and a spotlight of course. When the room went dark, the people all around us exploded in cheers and applause. My buddy James and I looked at each other and shrugged, not sure what everybody was getting so worked up about at that point. When the crowd seemed like it was in a frenzy, the music started to play getting the crowd even more worked up than before.
All of the sudden, from behind the big red velvet curtain, stepped the first performer of the evening. She wore a short, glittery shorts, matching top, knee-high boots and had dark hair cut in a short bob. It took me a minute to catch on to the fact that she was lip-synching to the music but there was no faking the athleticism she had in dancing around the stage. The girl could absolutely move.
James and I hooted and hollered along with our friends and the rest of the crowd as she performed. She was putting on a hell of a show. James and I laughed, giving each other the nudge and the look that guys give one another when they are covertly admiring a beautiful woman. Not that it was all that overly-covert and I have to say, our admiration was egged on by our friends.
Did I mention that we weren’t all that close to the stage? And that we’d been drinking?
As her song wrapped up, she waved to the crowd and disappeared behind the curtain again. A few minutes later, new music started to play and the next performer came out. I recall looking at James and him looking back at me, utterly baffled and confused. For the performer that came out on stage was very clearly a large guy in drag. It was the 5 o’clock shadow that gave it away. Also, he didn’t have the soft and feminine curves of the previous performer nor the athleticism. His part of the show was more of the comedy variety where he told bawdy jokes and sang along with some raunchy songs. He was totally hilarious but we had no idea what was going on and must have had that WTF look on our faces.
It was at this point that the ladies in our group of friends decided to laugh at us hysterically. See, the one crucial piece of information that was withheld from us… that apparently the girls all knew… was that we were watching a drag show. Every performer in the revue was in fact, a man.
Yes, my friend and I had been ogling… a dude. In our defense, he made a *very* pretty woman. And again, that whole far from the stage and drinking thing? I’m sure that didn’t help. Ahem.
I suppose we probably should have known. But from my perspective, seeing all of those lovely (and undeniably female) women in the club downstairs sort of made me forget that we were in a “gay bar.” To me, it just seemed like a lot of people having a great time and a lot of laughs together so it never crossed my mind that we’d been ogling somebody with the same… parts. Consider me properly gobsmacked.
Once the shock and confusion had worn off, we were able to relax, laugh at ourselves and enjoy the rest of the show. It really was a great time and lots of fun. We had such a good time in fact that our group went back every week for the next couple of years. It was our regular Thursday night outing. We would all gather together, hang out with our DJ-friend, have a few drinks and go enjoy the show. We got to know the drag queens well over the ensuing months and they were absolutely fantastic. Or as they like to describe themselves, “really fabulous bitches.” They were a lot of fun, hilarious, seemed to enjoy the hell out of life and were just really good people.
Though I’ve always been a very open-minded person, they helped break down some stereotypes and preconceived notions in my head that I didn’t even know I had. And for that, I’m very, very thankful. Even if that shift in perception did come about because I was ogling some dude’s ass.
This has been my entry for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
therealljidol Season 8, Topic 30(A): "Gobsmacked". As always, thank you so much for your support over these very long weeks of competition. We're starting to wind things down so the heat is really ratcheting up and your support means more than ever. Thank you guys so much for reading (and continuing to read) all of this stuff I'm pouring out. It is very much appreciated, folks. Seriously. Who knows if there is going to be a poll but if there is, don't forget to swing on by, read some of the other fantastic pieces and spread a little voting-love around!
It started out innocently enough, as these things tend to do. A friend of ours was in need of some help and so, we mobilized the troops. That’s what friends do, right?
See, a friend of ours is a karaoke DJ and when he gets a new gig, the club owners have to see that he’s worth the paycheck. To do that, he has to pull in a decently-sized crowd. And that’s where we came in. Our friend needed a crowd so he put the call out and our group rolled out in force. Not that it took a lot of arm-twisting to get us out for a night of fun and drinks! We were always up for a good time so having the chance to help a good friend in the process was an added bonus!
Our destination that night was a local club called Ripples. Now I’d been around Long Beach long enough by that point to know that Ripples was one of our local gay bars. So I’m not going to lie; I felt a little odd walking into the place. But hey, having gone out in drag in the public in the middle of the day in a very crowded location before no less, it could have been worse. My group of friends and I spotted our DJ-friend and claimed a table near where he was setting up.
For being relatively early in the evening, the place was already hoppin’. We made quick friends with a group of loud and funny guys at a table next to us, the drinks were flowing and soon enough, we were all having a great time. Sitting in that club, I realized that some of the silly notions I had about “gay bars” (notions I only developed because of TV and movies, mind you) were horrendously wrong. First off, nobody was dressed in either leather and/or assless chaps. For some reason, I figured walking into a “gay bar” would be like walking into a Village People fan convention. (hey, I was younger and dumber than I am now) Secondly, I was positively shocked by the amount of very cute, seemingly single women that frequented such an establishment. It shocked the hell out of me and I almost felt like a kid in a candy store.
Our friend’s show got underway and I will say, the guy is a very talented performer. He keeps things lively, he’s hilarious and knows how to work the hell out of a crowd. Even with the intermittent caterwauling of those daring enough to get up to do some karaoke, it was a great show and two hours (not to mention several drinks) passed by quickly. Once his official gig was done, he stayed on to play some music for the crowd in the club.
He just chilled out and hung with our group for a while. Lots of laughs and fun were had. He came back from switching some music a short time later, looked at his watch and told us that we just had to go check out the show upstairs.
The show upstairs?
He said it was hilarious and a ton of fun. Given the fact that we were all feeling pretty good at that point and didn’t want the party to end, we hustled our way upstairs. None of us had ever been up there before and were surprised. It was a large room with a bar against the back wall, windows on three of the four walls and a large-ish dance floor/stage in the center of the room. Chairs had been set up all around and we found some seats near the back of the room. Honestly, we had zero idea what to expect. We didn’t even know what this mystery show was all about!
Eventually, the lights in the room dimmed… well, they were always dim so it’s probably safer to say they were turned off. There was some low lighting focused on the stage are and a spotlight of course. When the room went dark, the people all around us exploded in cheers and applause. My buddy James and I looked at each other and shrugged, not sure what everybody was getting so worked up about at that point. When the crowd seemed like it was in a frenzy, the music started to play getting the crowd even more worked up than before.
All of the sudden, from behind the big red velvet curtain, stepped the first performer of the evening. She wore a short, glittery shorts, matching top, knee-high boots and had dark hair cut in a short bob. It took me a minute to catch on to the fact that she was lip-synching to the music but there was no faking the athleticism she had in dancing around the stage. The girl could absolutely move.
James and I hooted and hollered along with our friends and the rest of the crowd as she performed. She was putting on a hell of a show. James and I laughed, giving each other the nudge and the look that guys give one another when they are covertly admiring a beautiful woman. Not that it was all that overly-covert and I have to say, our admiration was egged on by our friends.
Did I mention that we weren’t all that close to the stage? And that we’d been drinking?
As her song wrapped up, she waved to the crowd and disappeared behind the curtain again. A few minutes later, new music started to play and the next performer came out. I recall looking at James and him looking back at me, utterly baffled and confused. For the performer that came out on stage was very clearly a large guy in drag. It was the 5 o’clock shadow that gave it away. Also, he didn’t have the soft and feminine curves of the previous performer nor the athleticism. His part of the show was more of the comedy variety where he told bawdy jokes and sang along with some raunchy songs. He was totally hilarious but we had no idea what was going on and must have had that WTF look on our faces.
It was at this point that the ladies in our group of friends decided to laugh at us hysterically. See, the one crucial piece of information that was withheld from us… that apparently the girls all knew… was that we were watching a drag show. Every performer in the revue was in fact, a man.
Yes, my friend and I had been ogling… a dude. In our defense, he made a *very* pretty woman. And again, that whole far from the stage and drinking thing? I’m sure that didn’t help. Ahem.
I suppose we probably should have known. But from my perspective, seeing all of those lovely (and undeniably female) women in the club downstairs sort of made me forget that we were in a “gay bar.” To me, it just seemed like a lot of people having a great time and a lot of laughs together so it never crossed my mind that we’d been ogling somebody with the same… parts. Consider me properly gobsmacked.
Once the shock and confusion had worn off, we were able to relax, laugh at ourselves and enjoy the rest of the show. It really was a great time and lots of fun. We had such a good time in fact that our group went back every week for the next couple of years. It was our regular Thursday night outing. We would all gather together, hang out with our DJ-friend, have a few drinks and go enjoy the show. We got to know the drag queens well over the ensuing months and they were absolutely fantastic. Or as they like to describe themselves, “really fabulous bitches.” They were a lot of fun, hilarious, seemed to enjoy the hell out of life and were just really good people.
Though I’ve always been a very open-minded person, they helped break down some stereotypes and preconceived notions in my head that I didn’t even know I had. And for that, I’m very, very thankful. Even if that shift in perception did come about because I was ogling some dude’s ass.
This has been my entry for
therealljidol Season 8, Topic 30(A): "Gobsmacked". As always, thank you so much for your support over these very long weeks of competition. We're starting to wind things down so the heat is really ratcheting up and your support means more than ever. Thank you guys so much for reading (and continuing to read) all of this stuff I'm pouring out. It is very much appreciated, folks. Seriously. Who knows if there is going to be a poll but if there is, don't forget to swing on by, read some of the other fantastic pieces and spread a little voting-love around!
