I've got a new obsession. And there's only one person to blame. This person. George.
Let me start at the beginning. I've had Netflix for a long time, and under the recommended titles one TV series keeps popping up, RuPaul's Drag Race. Yet I've never considered watching it. George recently got Netflix and insisted I watch Drag Race. So trusting in her amazing taste I accepted her guidance and now I can't stop. It's amazing. It's like America's Next Top Model, but with Drag Queens. It's easy to watch, addictive, and very entertaining. I'm currently on series 4 whilst George is lagging behind about to start series 3. During series 2 we both agreed that the best Queen was Pandora Boxx. I thought she was funny, glamorous and interesting. Now series 2 was on TV about 5 years ago, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that Pandora was going to do a couple of appearances in the UK, and what's more, she would be in London in December. I quickly decided that I had to get tickets as a Christmas present for George. What's more, 'Attending a Drag Show' was added to my list of '52 New Things'.
I had never been to the club that Pandora would be appearing at, but as it was advertised as a club I figured we'd have to dress up (it's been a long time since I've been to a club, and thought it would be a whole 'no trainers' thing). So in heels and our most sparkly dresses George and I headed to West Five. On the tickets it said 'doors open at 8pm, show starts at 9pm', so, as any sensible person would, we arrived for 8.30pm. And we were the first people there. Seriously the place was deserted.
Not to be put off we grabbed a couple of drinks, found the best seats in the house, and waited for the show. The place was so empty that I decided I should be the first person to walk the stage that night.
9pm came and went, and we were still the only people present. More drinks were had. 9.30pm and a few people arrived. 10pm and whilst George and I were definitely starting to get a bit merry the place wasn't exactly jumping.
We had no idea what time the show would start so we did the only thing we could. We brought out the shots.
Now we were ready for a dance, and luckily they were playing some good tunes. Some time in the last half hour quite a few people had also begun to arrive. Joining the now pretty busy dance floor we broke out our well rehearsed dance routine and finally the compare, Rose Garden, announced Pandora would take the stage soon.
By now, we had been in the pub/club for over 3 hours and we were ready to be entertained. We headed to the front of the stage to welcome Pandora Boxx.
I've never been to a drag show before (hence it being one of my new things to try) so I only had 'Drag Race' and 'Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert' to go on, and unfortunately, overall I was a little disappointed. Pandora pretty much stood on the same spot the whole time, staying close to her notes. She did sing her own songs, but just as I was getting into one of the songs (Everyone Loves Dick) it was over! I think she was on stage for about 15 minutes and after waiting so long I was expecting more. She did look fabulous though.
As Pandora left, Rose Garden returned, got everyone dancing and generally pumped things up. Now I'm probably biased as Rose Garden was both more what I was expecting from a Drag Show, and also because I was the first one she pulled onto the stage to dance, but I enjoyed her comparing more than Pandora's show. She was loud, confident and demanded attention.
I think if I've learnt one thing from the show, it's that is there are many different drag performers with many different styles. And also don't worry about wearing heels to a club. You'll never compete with the Queens and sore feet will just cut away your dancing time. Because, after returning to the dance floor and hearing a dance version of Adele's 'Hello' we were spent. I guess that will happen if you arrive at 8.30pm but everyone else turns up at 10.30pm! I did have a fantastic, if somewhat bizarre, evening, it's been a long time since I've been dancing, and I had great company. I would like to go to another drag show to compare and see more performers - and when I do go I'll remember to get there a bit later. Merry Christmas George.
Let me start at the beginning. I've had Netflix for a long time, and under the recommended titles one TV series keeps popping up, RuPaul's Drag Race. Yet I've never considered watching it. George recently got Netflix and insisted I watch Drag Race. So trusting in her amazing taste I accepted her guidance and now I can't stop. It's amazing. It's like America's Next Top Model, but with Drag Queens. It's easy to watch, addictive, and very entertaining. I'm currently on series 4 whilst George is lagging behind about to start series 3. During series 2 we both agreed that the best Queen was Pandora Boxx. I thought she was funny, glamorous and interesting. Now series 2 was on TV about 5 years ago, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that Pandora was going to do a couple of appearances in the UK, and what's more, she would be in London in December. I quickly decided that I had to get tickets as a Christmas present for George. What's more, 'Attending a Drag Show' was added to my list of '52 New Things'.
I had never been to the club that Pandora would be appearing at, but as it was advertised as a club I figured we'd have to dress up (it's been a long time since I've been to a club, and thought it would be a whole 'no trainers' thing). So in heels and our most sparkly dresses George and I headed to West Five. On the tickets it said 'doors open at 8pm, show starts at 9pm', so, as any sensible person would, we arrived for 8.30pm. And we were the first people there. Seriously the place was deserted.
Not to be put off we grabbed a couple of drinks, found the best seats in the house, and waited for the show. The place was so empty that I decided I should be the first person to walk the stage that night.
9pm came and went, and we were still the only people present. More drinks were had. 9.30pm and a few people arrived. 10pm and whilst George and I were definitely starting to get a bit merry the place wasn't exactly jumping.
We had no idea what time the show would start so we did the only thing we could. We brought out the shots.
Now we were ready for a dance, and luckily they were playing some good tunes. Some time in the last half hour quite a few people had also begun to arrive. Joining the now pretty busy dance floor we broke out our well rehearsed dance routine and finally the compare, Rose Garden, announced Pandora would take the stage soon.
By now, we had been in the pub/club for over 3 hours and we were ready to be entertained. We headed to the front of the stage to welcome Pandora Boxx.
I've never been to a drag show before (hence it being one of my new things to try) so I only had 'Drag Race' and 'Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert' to go on, and unfortunately, overall I was a little disappointed. Pandora pretty much stood on the same spot the whole time, staying close to her notes. She did sing her own songs, but just as I was getting into one of the songs (Everyone Loves Dick) it was over! I think she was on stage for about 15 minutes and after waiting so long I was expecting more. She did look fabulous though.
As Pandora left, Rose Garden returned, got everyone dancing and generally pumped things up. Now I'm probably biased as Rose Garden was both more what I was expecting from a Drag Show, and also because I was the first one she pulled onto the stage to dance, but I enjoyed her comparing more than Pandora's show. She was loud, confident and demanded attention.
I think if I've learnt one thing from the show, it's that is there are many different drag performers with many different styles. And also don't worry about wearing heels to a club. You'll never compete with the Queens and sore feet will just cut away your dancing time. Because, after returning to the dance floor and hearing a dance version of Adele's 'Hello' we were spent. I guess that will happen if you arrive at 8.30pm but everyone else turns up at 10.30pm! I did have a fantastic, if somewhat bizarre, evening, it's been a long time since I've been dancing, and I had great company. I would like to go to another drag show to compare and see more performers - and when I do go I'll remember to get there a bit later. Merry Christmas George.
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