Miss Manhattan Hangs Out...at Low Life 8

Somehow, in my 30 years of loving, devouring, and being nostalgic for (despite having never actually lived in) East Village history, I had never been to the Pyramid Club. The Pyramid, the renowned incubator for great drag performers and artists for nearly 40 years, had eluded me for the last eight or so years, and perhaps not by chance. If I’m honest, I was worried I’d arrive at the legendary venue at some point and for whatever reason not fall in love with it as I was supposed to. But then Low Life came along, and I knew I had to go.

Low Life is a variety showcase inspired by the book Low Life: The Lures and Snares of Old New York by Luc Sante. Assembled by Chi Chi Valenti and Johnny Dynell, nightlife legends and creators of the iconic Jackie 60 party, the show was first held in 2007 at Tompkins Square Park to close out the annual Howl! Festival saluting East Village culture. But the show was on hiatus for several years, returning last week for its eighth edition, celebrating legendary East Village dives from The Slide to the Pyramid itself. Hosts Chi Chi Valenti and Paul Alexander (a former Jackie 60 MC) introduced acts inspired by both 1880s-1920s Bowery life and the 1980s Pyramid life, performed by a bevy of New York nightlife stars. Drag queen Sherry Vine, in a wig of blonde curls and a cascading robe of black feathers, sang the 1920s classic “After You’re Gone in a deep purr. Burlesque performer Dirty Martini sauntered onto the stage, cigarette dangling from a long holder, drenched in a velvet robe and glittery eyeshadow. John Kelly transitioned in song from suit and dress shoes to scarf and corset and heels. Heather Litteer performed a monologue after arriving onstage in a trash bag. Poison Eve performed as Tanya Ransom performing Nina Hagen, a teased purple wig on her head, a dress covered in buttons over her torso.

In between acts, Johnny Dynell, in a Klaus Nomi t-shirt and suspenders, spun ABBA and Grace Jones and people danced, toes tap-tap-tapping on the linoleum floor. Later, I shed my coat and scarf and even participated myself. I walked under the crepe paper decorations and Christmas lights and lanterns. I watched as drag queens in towering wigs and heels tiptoed to the bar.

It’s funny, making my way to Low Life that night I was tired almost to the point of tears. Why am I doing this? Shouldn’t I be home sleeping? What is it all FOR? What does it all MEAN? And all this typical tired nonsense I usually dream up for myself when my brain cells are just about to keel over. And yet, arriving at the Pyramid, seeing the show, I forgot all that. I wondered if maybe that’s how everyone felt when they walked in the door, if that’s what kept people coming back all these years. And I wondered why I had stayed away so long.

Follow on Instagram: The Pyramid Club, Johnny Dynell, The Jackie Factory, Sherry Vine, Dirty Martini, Heather Litteer, John Kelly, Poison Eve

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter.
Subscribe to Miss Manhattan Hangs Out.

The Drag Explosion

There are several eras in New York for which I consistently have the sinking feeling, "I missed out on this. I should have been there!" Damn late-eighties birthdays. I've written about my penchant for 1970s New York before, but another that constantly makes me shake my fists toward the sky in frustration is the drag club scene of the '80s and '90s, specifically that out of which the divine Ms. RuPaul, Lady Bunny, and infinite others arose. "Noooooo!" I think to myself whenever I see pictures of them pre-fame at the Pyramid Club. "I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE WITH YOU!!!"

Since that is not humanly possible, as of this writing anyway, the next best thing is to immerse myself in a world of photographs where at the very least it feels like I'm there. This has been made possible by the fantastic Linda Simpson, who has been doing drag in New York, and documenting her travels along the way, since the late eighties. She has been called "A worldly wit… A kind of mother superior of the New York drag scene," by The New York Times and "The thinking woman's drag queen," by Paper Magazine, and has made countless national television appearances. She currently hosts drag bingo and performs all over New York and surrounding areas.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Linda for the website FeatureShoot.com about some images in the series, those taken of her friend Page in the downtown clubs, and found at my fingertips an entire world Linda had documented in a live presentation she called The Drag Explosion. When could I go??

Well, the truth is there are several times I could have gone, but things like Fashion Week and traveling kept getting in the way. Finally, though, last weekend, I was able to see the final cut of Linda's slideshow--she has been workshopping and reworking the stories she tells and pictures she shows for a while--at The Wild Project, an arts space in the East Village (195 3rd Street between Avenue A and B). It was a perfect venue: not only is it dedicated to developing an inspired community around arts, it's also not too far from where many of the images where taken, the Pyramid Club at 101 Avenue A at 7th Street, which is the venue that first brought drag into the spotlight during the time.

I brought TDS with me, who was visiting from Philly, and we found ourselves a fabulous pair of seats in the center of the theatre. We were two of a few ladies in the audience, surrounded by men--many of whom, we'd discover, had either been there the nights the photographs were taken, were in the photographs themselves, or knew so many people in the photographs they'd clap and giggle with delight upon seeing them, happy little gasps emerging from their lips. It's like seeing a slideshow of photographs of your parents before they got married--everyone has a story about what they're seeing, and you want to hear all of them to learn everything you can about what their life was like before you existed.

All of Linda's photographs, snapped with a simple point-and-shoot camera, capture the bright, bold colors of unbelievable glamour--faces painted stark white, bodysuits in electric purple, colorful eyelashes spilling forth onto faces, bold red lips, bright green eyeshadow and any other color in the rainbow you could possibly imagine plastered onto a human being. It's like my childhood fantasy coloring book exploded onto the screen (I know I've mentioned several times how I was raised on drag, so please forgive me for saying it again. But in case you'd like to remind yourself, here is an essay I wrote about it a few years ago), and was punctuated with stories I could appreciate as an adult. Wild nights at the Pyramid and other nightclubs (and their bathrooms) like Limelight and Palladium, the rough East Village pre-Giuliani, an affordable apartment on 13th Street. The slideshow documents Linda's first forays into drag in New York, all the way through the end of the first spotlighted drag era in the late 1990s.

When presenting The Drag Explosion, Linda also invites active scene performers from the time to tell stories about different photographs in which they appear. The evening I attended, Michael Formika Jones, previously known as Mistress Formika, was Linda's guest. He told wild stories about the fabulous, inventive Jackie 60 parties, his Wigstock performance on the Christopher Street piers, and so much more. I felt like I was there, but was also horribly envious that I wasn't. It was perfect.

If you're interested in a night of wonderful drag history and images, I urge you to check out Linda's Drag Explosion! Check here to see where you can find it next. That is, if you think you can handle the fabulousness.