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Archive: December, 2011
A leather and fetish party might not be the first place you think to look for holiday spirit, but the Diabolique Ball, a 15-year-old community event, is all about giving back and giving thanks. A mecca for the local leather and fetish community, the ball is a chance for the community to come together, celebrate the lifestyle and meet and mingle with like-minded — and clothed — others. This year, the party profits are going to several local organizations, including the GALAEI (Gay and Lesbian Latino AIDS Education Initiative) Youth Food Cupboard.
“One of the things you may not know about the Fetish/BDSM community, especially here in Philly, is they really come out and support each other,” says Aphrodite Gallery booking agent Eric Zonk. “They support each other's causes, and do a lot of charity/fundraising for the communities.” Aphrodite is currently hosting fetish and bondage works by Hugh Meade, a shoe and furniture woodworker from Oklahoma City who has been creating intricate wooden shoes and a slew of bondage furniture for the fetish communities for some time. (His Aphrodite show, “Artifacts of Desire,” runs through the end of the year). The show explores the eroticism of objects and how we sexualize the things around us. “From the fetishizing of shoes to furniture designed for bondage, the pieces are not explicit depictions of sex,” notes Meade. “Yet each piece is unmistakably sexual in nature.” While the Diabolique Ball might not be everyone’s cup of tea, Hugh Meade’s show can offer a tame, and beautiful, glimpse into that world.
For those who are interested in attending the ball, celebrity guest Domina Irene Boss will be selling and signing copies of her award winning Fem-Dom DVDs, and the popular Leather Clubs: Parade of Colors award ceremony will be back for another year. This year’s music will be provided by Philadelphia Freedom Band, an LGBT-supportive group of musicians. Other highlights include “play stations” in “the brig,” dungeon parlors and charity booths. While the Diabolique Ball is an open and inviting event, there is a very strict dress code. The sky’s the limit on your costuming, but all guests must have some type of costume — no streetwear allowed! So grab your hottest leather, your tightest corset, or your best military-style costume and get into that charitable holiday spirit.
Sat, Dec. 3, 9 p.m.-2 a.m., $50, Shampoo Nightclub, 417 N. Eighth St., phillyfetishball.com
The folks at William Way Community Center have quickly become known for organizing rich, fulfilling 
“Way Gay U” workshops for an affordable cost or, as is the case here, free of charge with registration. The center’s latest offering, an artsy-fartsy zine-making workshop co-facilitated by seasoned graphic artists and zine fanatics Coco Riot (pictured) and 100 Butches author Elisha Lim, looks to be one of the its raddest forums yet.
The workshop promises a comfortable discussion and working environment for aspiring graphic artists on all ends of the spectrum, with zero experience being required to attend and draw from the afternoon’s activities. Riot and Lim will lead the class in pinpointing examples of good and bad work in the world of graphic design and offer attendees the opportunity to get in touch with their inner starving artist by applying lessons from the workshop to their own zine creations. All productions from the class are non-digital, instead focusing on hand drawings.
The instructors of the workshop, who will teach in both English and Spanish, aim for participants to walk away with inspiration to express desires for social change and embolden passions for LGBTQ issues by illustrating a content-packed mini mag. Still, workshop facilitator Coco Riot says no one – gay or straight - should shy away from the opportunity.
“You don’t need to be queer or LGBT to come to this workshop,” says Riot. “We are all able to produce cultural pieces that we can share with other people who have had similar experiences to us.”
Sat., Dec. 4, 1-3 p.m., free, William Way Community Center, 1315 Spruce St., 215-545-4078, leeway.org.
Every Friday, Philebrity Award-nominee Ryan Carey reports on who and what's giving Philly the tee-hee-hees.
Last night I enjoyed a mixed show of pro-wrestling joke-slingers and local comedians at Connie's Ric 
Rac for Delaware County comedy-booker Thomas H. Robinson III's 42nd birthday. To all you wrestling fans who missed out because you preferred to get your laughs from the Eagles, allow me to invoke a classic Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) chant: "YOU F*CKED UP! YOU F*CKED UP!"
In true style of independent Philly comedy, attendance was low but spirits were high. The show was hosted by ECW favorite — the lyrical miracle and the sexual intellectual — Joel [insert dirty limerick here] Gertner. Off-stage, Gertner was quieter, more laid back and — for what it's worth — way younger looking than I expected. On-stage, he was inappropriate, loud and hilarious as ever.
215 comedy favorites Benny Michaels and Jim Grammond ranted about their shortcomings in marriage, getting laughs for about ten minutes each. After that, the king of old-school and former ECW heavyweight champ Steve Corino amused us with tales of his, uh, exploits during his wrestling tours through Japan. Note: Stay away from any pay-for-companionship situations in that country.
Finally, we got to see hilarious local headliner Pat Barker (pictured). Barker, recently back from touring the West Coast, is hands down one of the funniest comedians we have in town. He gets big laughs with stories about how playing slots makes him a lame, degenerate gambler and how his Dad exaggerates when he reports on a McDonalds employee screwing up his order. Barker's consistently been one of the best Philly headliners for years now. Some comedians have more talent than skill, others vice versa. Pat Barker has that ideal combination of inner spark and outer polish that makes him a legit standout piercing through Philly's increasingly energetic comedy community.
(ryan.carey@citypaper.net) (@slackerDIYtoday)
Photo by Ryan Carey
Our resident DJ on his most boogie-worthy pick of the week.
WHO: Kyle, Darren, Big 8 and Manny
WHAT: Some years back, the Intensified boys rocked a regular ruckus at the Khyber and now they're resurrecting the classic party for a one-off throwdown that’s sure to be chock full of rough 'n’ tough ska reggae and soul vibes. Dust off them dance moves and loosen up your belt; its time to get epic!
WHEN & WHERE: Sat., Dec. 3, 9:30 p.m.-2 a.m., free, Khyber Upstairs, 56 S. Second St., 215- 238-5888, khyberpasspub.com.
WHY: You’ve only got five more weekends to party before the year's over. Make wise choices.
Devoted poet/avid concert-goer/nerd-grrrl extraordinaire Jane Cassady's weekly horoscopes run in this space every Friday morning.
Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 22): For those of us who fall toward the middle of the Muppet/human spectrum, asking ourselves “Am I a man, or a Muppet?” can be kind of tricky. This week, be adorably grateful for all the things at which you are in-between.
Capricorn (Dec. 23-Jan. 20): And speaking of in-between, courtesy of my wife’s Scrabble dictionary, I present to you the word ambivert, which means a person who is both an introvert and an extrovert. This week, take time to be a social butterfly, yes, but also time to cocoon. (Even though, sorry, cocoons are mainly for moths.)
Aquarius (Jan. 21-Feb. 19): This week, catch up on girl talk, the activity, and Girl Talk, the dude who makes excellent mashups out of pop songs. On a related note, raveling and unraveling have the same definition.
View galleryThe gays of the region have been especially blessed with pageantry as of late, first being graced by the 
nation’s most alluringly beautiful men at the U.S. Mr. Gay Pageant, and now being treated to the most fresh and fabulous collection of young drag divas in the area with the Miss Gay Pennsylvania USofA Pageant, scheduled for this Saturday.
The pageant will be celebrating its 20th year by the time the weekend’s spectacle of dazzling divas kick-starts, serving as a preliminary round to the national Miss Gay USofA Pageant held in (of all places) Dallas, Texas next year. The event will feature a total of three categories intended to measure contestants’ qualifications as Pennsylvania’s ultimate drag queen, including a talent portion of inevitable Streisand and Bette Midler impersonations, a personal interview section held alone with judges and — as is the case with every good pageant — an evening wear competition that will evaluate the queens’ ability to strike a pose.
This year’s pageant is estimated to draw in an impressive number of 400 or more attendees and boast performances by local drag celebrities and former winners Karen Covergirl, Daesha Richards, Victoria Lace and more. The divalicious event will be hosted by funny gal Angel Sheridan with a lineup of judges that include drag-experts from the surrounding tri-state region in addition to Pennsylvania representatives Berrie Lyndon and Rick Crosby of New Hope, Troy Schrantz of Allentown and Dana Matthews of Warrington.
Those looking to get some face-to-face time with this year’s contestants should watch out for a special meet-and-greet party held at The Raven on Friday at 9 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 3, 6-11 p.m., $55-$77, New Hope Eagle Firehouse Ballroom, 46 N. Sugan Road, New Hope, 215-862-2588, missgaypausofa.com.
(brandon.baker@citypaper.net) (@brotherlylover)
Photo: Last year's winner, Empress Vizcaya Lord
The Comics Issue came out today, and for the first time ever we had a celebrity judge in Art Baxter and a "top comic" selection. Congratulations to Mike Sgier! Check out his and all the comics here. But who is this Sgier guy?
City Paper: What’s your day job?
Mike Sgier: I work at the library for an art school in downtown Philly. Though I have the late closing shift, so ‘day’ is more like ‘night.’
CP: How long have you been making comics?
MS: I started drawing comics in 2002, but didn’t start making them seriously until 2006.
Care to celebrate the maximum sentence given to Conrad Murray for killing Michael Jackson? Buy the straight-outta-Philly Mad Decent label Moombahton Remixes EP complete with a new “Thriller” remix courtesy DJ Sabo as well a few fresh mixes on Jay-Z & Kanye West, Dev and Adele. The boss of Mad Decent, Wes “Diplo” Pentz isn’t just letting his crew have all the fun. Dip and Dutch producer Oliver Twizt dropped a new digital EP GO with plenty of remixes from the likes of Swarms and PeaceTreaty. Here.
Did you know that National Mechanics has been around for five years? Did you send co-owner/manager Paul Brown a card? I stopped in at its anniversary celebration — so packed I couldn’t hardly make my way to fake fire place. Kisses.
When the Trocadero’s Ned Gaudette departed his post after 15 years this month for destinations north 
(NYC), a question stuck out where the Chinatown venue was concerned: Who the hell would book the films for the burlesque theater’s screen, Movie Mondays? The ones with a free snack and beer for $3 admission so that you could watch '80s flicks with several buzzes going at once?
Philadelphia Film Society to the rescue. While Die Hard and The Hangover II play out on Mondays through December (PFM doesn’t take over Movie Mondays until Jan 2, 2012), Tuesdays at the Troc will be a Christmas Bloody Christmas of sorts throughout the month of December, with Human Centipede 2 (Dec. 6), Hobo with a Shotgun (Dec. 13) and a series of oddball holiday shorts (Dec. 20). And Santa quakes in fear.
The Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-8666, thetroc.com.
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