John Cameron Mitchell (center) in the DJ booth at Mattachine in NYC with PJ DeBoy and Amber Martin. Here this Saturday at Mississippi Studios. Photo by Mark Tusk.
Thursday
Monthly QPOC social – It’s hard being a person of color in Portland, Oregon, so much more even as a queer POC. I have my own inner-ish with the whole idea, but I’m down to meet others in a summer filled patio session. Perfect beginning to your evening and weekend.
I still haven’t been to the ST Johns queer monthly Sweet Tea at the Fixin’ To but I hear such good things about it. I haven’t been to one of my faves, Dirtbag!, either, and damn if I don’t have a gay ol’ time at that neighborhood party when I do. So if I manage to drag myself out, it’s gonna be a tough call.
Friday
GenderFucking Takeover benefit bar bash – Genderfuckers have been busting it out on the wild PDX streets for several months already, but now they’re really ready to throw down with a fundraiser they say only one bar could even handle. Proceeds from the dragged out party go to Esther’s Pantry and Q Patrol. And you’ll get to see the evil twins of ChiChi and Chonga, the sweet scariness of Georgia Ray Babycakes, the wigged out weirdness of the Tampon Troupe and so much more. It’s worth trudging that far west for.
Saturday
Q&A with John Cameron Mitchell – Most well-known for the weird and wonderful Hedwig and the Angry Inch, John Cameron Mitchell is a small but fearsome filmmaker who hails from NYC. And though qPDX talked with him long ago on the eve of the release of Shortbus, now it’s your turn to dig deeper into the man behind the wig.
Mattachine Social with JMC – So after you’re done grilling John Cameron Mitchell, Amber Martin, PJ Deboy and Paul Dawson you can chill with them when they bring their infamous east coast dance party Mattachine to our shores. In an interview with Just Out they describe the party:
Three years ago, Mitchell teamed up with Justin Bond, PJ DeBoy and Paul Dawson to start Mattachine as an underground, unadvertised party at the nation’s oldest gay bar, Julius in New York City. The party quickly gained a devout following for its distinctively creative vibe, unlike anything else in the scene at the time. “We at Mattachine have an old-school style—we play a lot of old music, kind of keep it mostly pre-1984 with a little new stuff too, but we avoid club music,” he explains. “It’s a Madonna-free and Gaga-free zone. We play a lot of old soul and country and classic rock, New Wave. We’ll even play LCD Soundsystem once in a while, but we avoid the clichés of gay bardom.”
In celebration of the pre-Stonewall struggle the crew has been packing the same New York bar where the Mattachine Social conducted sip-ins. Now let’s drag our privileged post-Stonewall asses out to celebrate the freedoms we have won alongside the glitterati.
Crush 10th anniversary block party – Crush has always been one of my favorite flexible gay spots. Sometimes its full of men, sometimes women. Sometimes it’s crazy, sometimes laid back. But the food and drink is always good and the bar staff surprisingly friendly. So an outdoor party taking advantage of the sunshine that has finally descended upon is sounds like the perfect summer soiree to celebrate Crush’s birth.
Tag–A–Fag – Red Cap’s occasional black light special darkens faces, which may make your beer goggles even worse, but it also highlights stains, making it easier to avoid the sloppy. It’s also a great way to indulge your inner child who loves to scribble while making the adult inside happy to have an excuse for us all to touch each other. It’s a win win.
