This week at It’s a Drag Knock-out is all about the LOOK, and as such I will not be putting as much weight into my judgement of the performances. I’m going purely skin-deep as I bring you all the contestants’ visions, from the lamé to the lame.
And guiding us through this week’s runway was the ever-fashionable Meth, assisted by a ghillie-suited Bourgeoisie and Maxi More of the Family Fierce, and ever-present foil, Virgin Xtravaganzah, who has now taken on the rule of the Michelle Visage to Meth‘s RuPaul, the Louis Walsh to her Simon Cowell, the Norris to her Rita…
Setting the mood with a colour-coded look was the outrageously orange Maxi More. Wearing a gorgeously styled wig and matching orange housecoat, she told the modern gay love story about Grindr, before stripping down and pulling out a phone charger cord that shared more than a passing similarity with a tampon string. This lip-sync brought mundanity, melodrama and masquerade, and really set the tone for the evening.
The first contestant on the runway was Delirium, with a Harajuku space princess look. Clad in an all-White ensemble accented with long, multi-coloured dreads she seemed to have beamed down from Planet Princess. It’s a look I’d have expected to see on the streets of Neo-Tokyo in the middle of an android takeover not Bloc Bar on a Monday night. It was a strong look, and was pure runway, dahling. And what about that Violet Chachki waist?!?
Next was the chameleonic Veronica Green in a robot-themed outfit. This was THE Act One act to beat! Metallic gloves and a jacket, a long braid that’s plugged into the mains, a ham-covered skeleton. Veronica gave us life as well as electricity. And for a contest based on look, she also brought a story, vision and fantasy!
Kai Kai followed this electrifying performance with a sleek, alien, oily look, which managed to incorporate all of her given materials in a completely home-made jumpsuit, and a headdress made of an old wreath. Bringing net curtain glamour for ya nerves! My one critique of the look was the lack of hold on the… boob region. There was less positive support here than a Trump rally. (Look at me, being all topical and stuff!)
Tess Tickles enthralled the crowd with a fiery Phoenix-themed performance and outfit, starting with a sleek red Jessica-Rabbit-esque dress, before revealing a flame-designed bikini and a cape usually seen on Storm of the X-Men. A return form the ashes, and a return to form for Tess. And it IS a skill to still do feminine drag in revealing swimwear.
After the interval was the fairy prince Cherry Popper in a Prince Bubblegum meets Cupid meets Titania inspired look which included a frilled blouse, floral granny panties and a Lycra brain. The whole look was a story, and a deliverance to a place that could almost be seen in a storybook or cartoon. Also, it was interesting to see a boy in boy drag in a competition like this, but anything goes! Another highlight of the evening for me.
Sexy Six was Lick (Von Dyke. I was going for a rhyme there) in an outfit that was reminiscent of a Victorian straight laced spinster, complete with decrepit bridal veil, headscarf and the classic Lick make-up of gothic fading melodramatic beauty. But, this being Lick Von Dyke it was bound to go to other places, and those places were on Planet WhatTheFuck, as she stripped off the white dress to reveal… A purple Borat mankini, and, of course, an opportunity to take us from space to the gutter with a balloon phallus, which then had its own journey from her throat to… Well let’s just say the sun ain’t shining down there. Mind-boggling.
And from Mindboggling to eye popping with Georgia Tasda. Georgia never fails to scare me on a deep and primal level, it’s always like I’m trapped in the London Dungeon with a crazed Disney Imagineer. Anything Georgia thinks up, Georgia can create, and this day all eyes were on her. Literally. Georgia was COVERED in eyes, from eye to eye, to eye. To eye. To box of eyes… And that’s before we get to the creepy use of video cassettes (kudos to the judges for finding videotapes in 2016!)
Someone who could have done with some eyes was crowd favourite Gingzilla. The Red-Beard of Bloc Bar, she took inspiration from the pantheon of Greek gods to bring hermaphrodite to the stage. Of course, this interpretation wasn’t just a Halloween Grecian, no no no, She bought head-covered by a shroud-Realness, with all the blindness that comes with a lack of eyeholes. Simple, but mysterious and almost hypnotic, and yay for live vocals!
Bloc‘s favourite flower, Aimee Rose rounded off the acts with a simple green sequenced dress that evoked a lounge-singer-meets-Mother-Nature vibe. The sparkly gown was topped off with a majestic feathered mane of, well.. feathers, which bought a layer of surrealism to what could have been a very straightforward look. It was almost David Lynchean
You guys know what comes next, it’s the voting round, and as the acts collected their votes from the audience it was time to reflect on the masterpieces we’d been presented tonight. A feast for the eyes (all 50 in Georgia‘s case) and the reveal of next week’s challenge which looks to be a little ‘stripped back’. And by little, no holds will be barred, and the Monties will be full. Yes, it’s gonna be BURLESQUE week, mentored by Lolo (is it Lolo? Lola? Leeloo?)! Prepare for titties, bitches!
Bearing her all for the crowd was Family Fierce member Bourgeoisie, who began her spot in a puffy-sleeved sparkly dress, before taking it off to reveal a corset and little else. And then came the body art, courtesy of a few cans of aerosol body-paint. At least now I can tick ‘come eye-to-eye with a spray-painted rectum’ off my bucket list.
I’d like to take a minute here to look back at all of the various weird and wonderful ways the acts (and judges) have left their mark on the stage. We have: fake blood, cigarette ash, 50 ping pong ball eyes, ham, spray paint, newspaper rain, salt, glitter, cat food, and confetti.
And now, readers, is where you buckle up, strap yourself in and make the edge of your seat nice and ready, as shit is about to get real! First, we found out who the safe acts were, and who we’ll be seeing a lot more of next week before…. *drumroll please*
Veronica won, although she was up against some very stiff competition, and walked away with a voucher for 50% off a hair styling session with Hurrrland. And we saw Lip-Sync 1000 finalist Cherry Popper face off against Aimee in The New War of the Roses. Rose-petal pants vs Ms Rose, who would win? After taking my words from last week literally and almost tripping over in her lip-sync, Cherry hold her own against the sensual Aimee in a performance of Hi-Fashion‘s Amazing. But who would lose, and why is Gingzilla retaking the mic? An interrupted lip-sync result, news concerning a bearded queen? Could this be Willam 2.0? And then…
a roomful of hearts were broken as Gingzilla announced her withdrawal from the competition! Shock! Horror! A job in the Middle East! This sad news meant the loss of a great queen, but a saving grace for Aimee and Cherry, who both live to fight, and strip, another day.
Catch It’s a Drag Knock-out every Monday evening at Bloc Bar in Camden. Remember, every £5 at the bar gets more votes for your Faves, and next week prepare to get a little better acquainted when THE EROTIC EIGHT DO BURLESQUE!
Jason Gray's Writings 