BPREVIEW: Opulence Presents: Mother’s Meeting – featuring Virgin Xtravaganzah, Mickey Taylor, Twiggy @ The Nightingale Club 20.07.18

Opulence Presents: Mother’s Meeting @ The Nightingale Club 20.07.18

Words by Eleanor Sutcliffe

On Friday 20th July, Opulence Presents: Mother’s Meeting – featuring Virgin XtravaganzahMickey Taylor, and Twiggy at The Nightingale Club in Birmingham. Doors are open from 9pm, and whilst all Early Bird tickets have sold out you can still get advance tickets for £6 – click here for online ticket sales.

N.B. A limited number of tickets will be also available on the door for £7, but these cannot be reserved and are expected to go early. For direct event information visit the Opulence Presents: Mother’s Meeting Facebook Event Page by clicking here.

Opulence are one of Birmingham’s leading drag collectives, who strive to host fun and safe events for Birmingham’s ever growing drag scene. Their debut Mother’s Meeting at Jesters Bar back in April was a rousing success, and this month’s event looks to be even bigger –with Opulence moving the event to the larger Nightingale Club, and three artists schedules to perform as well as Opulence’s resident drag queens.

First up is Virgin Xtravaganzah, a London based queen who has been coined the ‘Mother of Gawd’. Mixing high fashion imagery, comedy and witty song parodies, Xtravaganzah is no stranger to the stage having performed at The Underbelly Festival and can be found hosting London’s infamous Torture Garden fetish parties.

Not exactly where you’d expect to find the Holy Mother, however Xtravaganzah’s interpretation of the Virgin Mary couldn’t be further from what we’re used to – think latex, leather corsets and towering heels as opposed to linen robes and rosary beads.

Next is Mickey Taylor, a singer songwriter who to date has two solo albums and an international tour under his belt. His music is ethereal, dance type tracks – for fans of artists such as Halsey, Lana Del Ray and Troye Sivan.

Taylor has an impressive fan base, having built his reputation through the adult entertainment industry and scooping numerous awards at the British Prowler Porn Awards. His latest album, Midnight Palace, shows a much more refined style in comparison to his gay-pop debut, Puppets Lament, back in 2016.

Finally, Birmingham’s very own lip-sync darling, Twiggy, will also be featured at Mother’s Meeting; Twiggy is one of the Midlands’ best-known drag artists, having honed their craft as a performer back in the 1980s.

Describing their life as “one long fancy dress party”, Twiggy’s signature outrageous club kid style (and headdress) has made them a cult figure of the UK’s drag scene, whilst also becoming the glamorous face of many Birmingham clubs from Miss Moneypenny’s to S.L.A.G. and Sundissential. Having performed at Birmingham’s very first Pride back in 1982, Twiggy is seen as one of the founding mothers of Brum’s gay village and drag scene.

With three headliners plus Opulence’s very own drag entourage, expect to see the likes of Yshee Black, Nora Virus, Elliot Barnicle, and drag duo Cocktail Sausage (Petite and Pork Pie) also grace the stage throughout the night.

Opulence Presents: Mother’s Meeting at The Nightingale Club on Friday 20th July – featuring Virgin Xtravaganzah, Mickey Taylor, and Twiggy. For direct information, including links to online ticket sales, click here.

For more on Virgin Xtravaganzah, visit www.virginxtravaganzah.com

For more on Mickey Taylor, visit www.misfitarmy.com 

For more on Twiggy, visit www.instagram.com/twiggybirmingham

For more on Opulence, visit www.facebook.com/opulencebirmingham

For more from The Nightingale Club, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.nightingaleclub.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

BREVIEW: Opulence Presents Mother’s Meeting with Charity Kase @ Bar Jester 28.04.18

BREVIEW: Opulence Presents Mother's Meeting with Charity Kase @ Bar Jester 28.04.18

Words & illustrations by Emily Doyle

Opulence promised a brand new performance night with Mother’s Meeting and the people have turned out for it. Drag fans fill the basement of Bar Jester, staring expectantly at the mural of nude men that decorates the back of the stage.

Dahliah Rivers welcomes the crowd. She wears a gold floor length art deco style dress, and fiery red hair tumbles down her shoulders.

Dahliah Rivers - Mother's Meeting @ Bar Jester 28.04.18 / By Emily DoyleJenna Davinci is first to perform. She begins lip syncing to Hi Fashion’s ‘Amazing’, which is interrupted by Meryl Streep’s iconic ‘Cerulean’ monologue from The Devil Wears Prada. By the time Davinci is gesticulating along to Milk’s ‘Touch the Fashion’, a clear theme has emerged. Despite all this, she looks perfectly at home in horizontal stripes.

Jay Andre bounces on stage to the opening bars of Grimes’ electro-pop anthem ‘Kill V. Maim’ to the delight of the crowd. Her fishnet bodysuit is trimmed with a fringe of plastic spikes; they rustle as she dances, bristling like cheerleader pom poms. Andre‘s routine is excitable and high energy – a fitting tribute to Grimes herself.

Jenna Davinci - Mother's Meeting @ Bar Jester 28.04.18 / By Emily DoyleNora Virus wears a chintz bodysuit with a face hood, complete with a red collar and matching fishnet tights. Her melding of twee florals and skintight fetishwear results in a look that can only be described as Cath Clubkidston. Virus razzle-dazzles the audience with a routine to Victoria Wood’s ‘The Ballad of Barry and Freda’. During the week, Virus puzzled her online followers by asking around for a sturdy tea trolley. It all makes sense when, as Wood’s vocals surge over the PA, Virus comes careening across the stage on one:

This folly, is jolly,

Bend me over backwards on me hostess trolley.

Let’s do it, let’s do it tonight!

Jay Andre - Mother's Meeting @ Bar Jester 28.04.18 / By Emily DoyleI caught up with Virus after the show and asked what had inspired her inaugural Mother’s Meeting performance.

When we came up with the name, my first thoughts were of 1950’s housewives at a Tupperware party, enjoying afternoon tea. I’m a huge Victoria Wood fan, she’s an absolute legend, and I stumbled across ‘The Ballad of Barry and Freda’, which I hadn’t heard for years! I couldn’t stop laughing and instantly knew I wanted to perform this. The whole idea just seemed fucked up. I’d be lip syncing to something your mom and dad would be laughing at back in the day, but dressed like something they’d have nightmares about.

Closing the opening set of the night, Charity Kase makes her first appearance. In the advent of Ru Paul’s Drag Race the term ‘sickening’ has been thrown around to describe some drag looks. But in this instance it seems justified: Kase wears a floor length nun’s habit, but her face is a mess of grimy bandages.Charity Kase - Mother's Meeting @ Bar Jester 28.04.18 / By Emily Doyle

Followers of her work will have been expecting an element of horror tonight, but no one can have been ready for this. Makeup obscures her mouth and eyes, so they appear as gaping holes. To the sounds of ‘Stay’ by Shakespeare’s Sister she tears off her costume, revealing an inverted cross chained to her chest. Kase looms over the shrouded cadaver she wheeled on stage with her, and with a flash of red light tears into it with a sickle. When she steps back, she is holding a blood drenched appendage aloft. No prizes for guessing what appendage that might be…

After a much needed interval, hostess Dahliah Rivers treats the crowd to a glittering routine ‘Raise the Roof’ from Andrew Lippa’s 1997 musical The Wild Party. It seems a fitting choice to kick off the second set, and Rivers luxuriates in the glamour of it.Elliot Barnicle - Mother's Meeting @ Bar Jester 28.04.18 / By Emily Doyle

Elliott Barnicle emerges from the DJ booth to do a number. He struts across the stage in his trademark silver leotard to the sugar-sweet pop of Little Mix’s ‘Hair’. The performance continues on a theme, with snippets of Brooke Candy’s ‘Don’t Touch My Hair Hoe’, Alaska Thunderfuck’s ‘This Is My Hair’, and Willow Smith’s ‘Whip My Hair’. The last of these sees Barnicle, who is as usual sporting his boyish haircut, produce a handful of blonde extensions and whirl them around.

No mother’s meeting would be complete without an appearance from Birmingham’s own drag matriarch, Yshee Black. Although it’s a Saturday night, Black has graced us with her Sunday best for a gospel inspired number. She sets off her blue suit-dress with a matching eye shadow. Her rousing performance is the perfect penultimate act of the night.Yshee Black - Mother's Meeting @ Bar Jester 28.04.18 / By Emily Doyle

Returning to close the show, Charity Kase wears a pink satin nightgown and carries a Nestle Dairy Box aloft. The top half of her face is a disconcerting mask. Shanks & Bigfoot’s ‘Sweet Like Chocolate’ begins to play. She saunters through the crowd towards the stage, flipping her Barbie-blonde ringlets in the faces of audience members. She offers the box of chocolates around before stuffing them into her mouth by the handful.

Throughout the lip sync, Kase goes on to consume multiple bars of Galaxy. The majority of these are produced from the depths of her frilly white underwear, and spat out again at the audience. She manages not to miss a beat of the song. When the track finishes she is sprawled on the stage, covered in melted chocolate. The next morning I find a lump of partially chewed fudge on my shoe.Nora Virus - Mother's Meeting @ Bar Jester 28.04.18 / By Emily Doyle

The Mother’s Meeting crowd file out onto the Queensway. In true maternal fashion, Nora Virus is diligently checking that all the audience are either part of her flock heading to the The Nightingale or are getting home safely. Later, I get her thoughts on Charity Kase.

Charity blew me away. Both performances were so well thought out. I’m always here for the strange and unusual! I’m a queer kid in both meanings of the word and she is right up my alley…

Opulence have pulled it off tonight. I ask Virus what’s next for the group.

Opulence are a real diverse bunch of queens. We have theatre queens, comedy queens, deathdrop bitches, the lot. You want variety, we got it honey! No two Mother’s Meetings will ever be the same. We plan to showcase the best of U.K drag in Birmingham, as well as other styles of performance. You just wait to see who we have for Mother’s Meeting part two.

For more on Charity Kase, visit www.charitykase.co.uk

For more from Opulence, visit www.facebook.com/opulencebirmingham

For more from Bar Jester, visit www.barjester.co.uk

BPREVIEW: Opulence Presents Mother’s Meeting with Charity Kase @ Bar Jester 28.04.18

BPREVIEW: Opulence Presents Mother's Meeting with Charity Kase @ Bar Jester 28.04.18

Words by Emily Doyle

On Saturday 28th April, Birmingham’s party collective Opulence launch their brand new night, Mother’s Meeting. In honour of the inaugural event, Opulence are bringing avant garde queen and Instagram darling Charity Kase to Birmingham, for a night of performance at Bar Jester on the Queensway in Birmingham City Centre.

Doors open for Opulence Presents Mother’s Meeting at Bar Jester from 9pm, with performers scheduled to go on stage from 10pm. Tickets are priced at £4 (adv) and £4 (otd) – for direct event information and links to online ticket sales, click here.

BPREVIEW: Opulence Presents Mother's Meeting with Charity Kase @ Bar Jester 28.04.18London based artist Charity Kase gained recognition when they carried out the ‘365 Days of Drag’ challenge, a feat that won Kase the Queen of the U.K 2017 Award through WERRRK.COM. This saw the 21-year-old art student produce a new look every day for a year.

The completed gallery can be found on their website, where looks inspired by horror films and children’s toys nestle alongside the abstract and the political. Each character comes with their own snippet of a story, which could be a taste of what live audiences can expect at Mother’s Meeting. Kase’s art also spills over into their own DIY clothing label, Upperkase.

As part of their mission to showcase Birmingham’s diverse drag culture, Opulence have laid on an impressive line-up of support acts. Opulence’s own Jay Andre, Dahliah Rivers, Jenna Davinci, Yshee Black and Nora Virus will also be taking the stage, while Elliot Barnicle will be serving up his bold, graphic looks from the DJ booth. Altogether, the Mother’s Meeting crowd can expect another fresh addition to Birmingham’s burgeoning drag scene.

Opulence Presents Mother’s Meeting at Bar Jester on Saturday 28th April, with Charity Kase as the headline act – joined by a troupe of Opulence’s own performers. For direct event info and links to online ticket sales, click here

For more on Charity Kase, visit www.charitykase.co.uk

For more from Bar Jester, visit www.barjester.co.uk

For more from Opulence, visit www.facebook.com/opulencebirmingham

ED’S PICK: April ‘18

Words by Ed King

Easter Sunday, 1st April… There’s probably a joke in there somewhere. But with a basket of listings and entertainment based excel spreadsheets to plough through who has the time to be witty? Or hunt for Easter eggs, for that matter. Being an adult sucks.

However (…are you ready for this segue) it does allow me to enjoy all the delights of the Flatpack Film Festival without worrying about ID – actually, I’m not sure there’s too much on the programme with an age restriction but Dots & Loops are part of the festival and they brought us Lesley the Pony Has and A+ Day!, so…

Back for festival number 12, those glorious creatives at Flatpack have put on a nine day smorgasbord of celluloid, digital, and other audio/visual treats – running from 13th to 22nd April, in a variety of venue across the city. Too much to cram into this round up; look out for our more in-depth cherry pick in the days to come, or click here for more direct information on the full programme.

Elsewhere in the non-greenfield, Ebola flirting, footwear wrecking land of multi-stage events, we have the Birmingham Literature Festival – hop scotching from various corners of the REP to the Birmingham and Midland Institute from 27th to 29th April. Now old enough to drink beer in America, this year’s Birmingham Literature Festival has a focus on women in literature and publishing, alongside a weekend long programme of ‘inspiring conversations, writing and debate’. Again too much to adequately surmise, but click here for more direct info.

Following on with a female focus, Birmingham Jazz launches its Legends Festival on 27th April – running as a series of satellite events across the city until 20th May. This year’s linchpin is ‘Celebrating Women in Jazz’, with local artists such as Trish Clowes joining a myriad of talent from across the globe. Too much to fit into… you know the drill, click here.

Theatre comes in all shapes and sizes this month, including a couple of choice cuts on Hurst Street – with Wicked beginning its Birmingham run at the Hippodrome (4th-29th Apr) and The Twisted Tale of Hansel and Gretel at the Patrick Centre (4th– 8th Apr).

Across the duel carriageways and road works we have Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock coming to the Birmingham REP (10th – 14th) followed by the political see-saw of 1970’s Britain in This House (17th – 21st) – reminding us fear mongering comes from both sides of the aisle and a dash of vitriol isn’t a particular new idea. How times have changed… or not.

Music takes its usual fat belly slice of our monthly listings, with a few ‘big gigs’ of notE coming to the NEC portfolio – as the Genting Arena sees both Arcade Fire (15th Apr) and Dua Lipa (17th Apr), whilst Arena Birmingham welcomes the Manic Street Preachers (27th Apr) back to the city.

Playing across the non-arena rooms of our musical city, the Hare & Hounds has another eclectic mix – with Kushikatsu Records presenting Shonen Knife (15th Apr) followed Snowpoet (19th Apr) courtesy of Jazzlines. Whilst The Glee Club sees the very welcome return of Nerina Pallot (9th Apr) stopping off in Birmingham on the second date if her UK tour. Fingers crossed there’s a piano on stage.

The Sunflower Lounge sees Killer Wave and Outlander host their ‘Help the Homeless’ pay-as-you-feel charity fundraiser (8th Apr) – with all money raised going to Shelter and Tabor House. Then we have Lucy May Walker playing her first headline show in Birmingham (18th Apr) – both events well worth a stop, look and listen. And £5 of your hard earned cash, of course.

Our mobile branded venues see a bevy of acts this month too, with the O2 Academy presenting George Ezra (4th Apr), The Vaccines (7th Apr), Trivium (17th Apr), The Streets (19th Apr), Coasts (21st Apr) and Akala (24th Apr). Whilst the O2 Institute leads out with Walk the Moon (7th Apr), Little Comets (14th Apr), Aquilo (16th Apr), Of Mice and Men (25th Apr) and Sharon Needles: Battle Axe Tour (26th Apr).

A special mention also has to go to the Hummingbird-Menagerie-Indie-salad days-nostalgia trip coming to the O2 Academy with Love From Stourbridge – featuring The Wonder Stuff and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin (14th Apr). Someone pass me my German army shirt, skateboard and a can of Red Stripe, we’re going early 90’s feral…

And if you’re committed to your anti-corporate support of live music, never fear as mac welcomes Juice Aleem & Surge Orchestra (21st Apr) whilst Mama Roux’s serves two sides of the musical rainbow with The Herbaliser (19th Apr) and Mallory Knox (24th Apr)… probably not a good idea to get those dates mixed up in your diary.

Elsewhere in the city, comedy offers a relatively strong respite from those kids and their music – with The Glee Club presenting Tony Law (13th Apr), Alun Cochrane (15th Apr) and Craig Campbell (22nd Apr).

Or if you just want to stand and stare, you could waste a happy hour or two at Lewes Herriot: The Glass Arcana exhibition at Artefact in Stirchley (13th – 14th Apr). Or watching the flyers unfold with an exhibition from the seminal 90’s ambient electro club Oscillate, at Centrala (16th – 28th Apr) – bearing in mind there is an end of exhibition party with HIA and POLE (28th Apr) so you might want to do more than actually just stand and stare. Or not. Depends how you dance to Sun Electric, I suppose. Necking enough amphetamines to kill a small horse always worked for me, but vegetarian options are available.

But to end on the most glamorous of high notes (pun absolutely intended) Paul Alexsandr and Dragpunk present Candyland at The Nightingale (6th Apr) – a choc full celebration of ‘local and national UK drag of all genders, sexualities and abilities that you’ll adore.’ Then at the other end of the April rainbow, Opulence are launching Mother’s Meeting at Bar Jester (28th Apr) – a band spanking new ‘performance night dedicated to showing off a variety of drag and queer talent across Birmingham and the U.K.’, with special guest Charity Kase joined by a pageant of the Opulence crew on stage and Elliot Barnicle on the decks.

Birmingham can be proud for many reasons, but the cross over embrace of its drag community is one to really get those flags waving. We love covering it, and it seems the punters of Birmingham love supporting it. So, Vive la/le drag community of our fair/fairer city, alongside all who sail on these most wonderful of waters. Save some energy though, Birmingham Pride is a mere calendar page turn away.

And wait, I’ve just thought of one. A Jewish carpenter and a 6ft rabbit walk into Cadbury World…

For more on any of the events listed here, click on the highlighted hyperlinks. Ed King is Editor-in-Chief of Review Publishing, which issues both the Birmingham Review and Birmingham Preview. To follow Ed King on Twitter, click here.

BREVIEW: Sasha Velour @ The Nightingale Club 02.02.18

BREVIEW: Sasha Velour @ The Nightingale Club 02.02.18

Words & illustrations by Emily Doyle

In what feels like a first for Birmingham’s oldest gay club, it’s not even 11pm and the Nightingale is full of eager punters. Everyone is here to see Sasha Velour, international drag queen, designer, illustrator, and winner of Season 9 of cult hit RuPaul’s Drag Race.

On entry guests are greeted by stilt walkers. They dance in spiked latex cat suits that would make James St. James jealous. My accomplice, Sinead, remarks, “I love latex. But on my budget, I’m definitely more of a cling film girl.” We turn to the bar, where we see a woman ordering a drink wearing a hand painted denim jacket featuring a portrait of Sasha Velour. Set against a rainbow the painting depicts Velour in the black gown and opera gloves she wore in her very first appearance on Drag Race, complete with tinted glasses and signature crown. It bears the legend “LET’S CHANGE SHIT UP”.

Sasha Velour / Illustration by Emily DoyleLocal club kid, Elliot Barnicle, provides the music for the evening, tucked into an impossibly snug silver lamé bodysuit. Waiting for the acts to begin an impromptu dance off over a bottle of champagne sees partygoers show off their moves on stage, ranging from the dubious to the impressive. The winner high-kicks her way to victory while RuPaul’s 2014 single ‘Sissy That Walk’ plays, to the delight of the crowd.

Sasha Velour makes her first appearance on stage before the clock has struck midnight. With little warning, she walks on with a measured, stately air. She removes her sunglasses to a scream from the crowd. Then, as soon as she appeared, she’s gone again.

The evening proceeds with appearances from Velour’s co-hosts sandwiching her performances. Barnicle dominates the stage in his own gold crown. His name is in lights behind him, accompanied by a portrait by the scene’s resident illustrator, Jay Bailey. Then Sasha Velour returns, this time dressed as her idol (and recent Google Doodle muse) Marlene Dietrich.

“What makes queerness so amazing is that we stand on a platform of love and acceptance.”

Boo Sutcliffe / Illustration by Emily DoyleVelour performs an impeccable lip sync to Dietrich’s ‘Illusions’, which morphs into a full dance routine to Le Tigre’s dance-punk hit ‘Deceptacon’. Velour slipping off her top hat and tails to show a leopard print basque and Yolandi Visser-eque wig must surely be the reveal of the night.

Sets followed from the rhinestone-encrusted Tanja MacKenzie, who performed a flawless lip sync of Ella’s ‘Mamma Boy’ (for the unacquainted that was Norway’s official Eurovision selection for 2017, and a perfect slice of electro-pop at that). Birmingham’s self-styled ‘Queer Bratz doll from hell’ Boo Sutcliffe is up next, flouncing across the stage in her enormous backcombed yellow wig with every ounce of attitude that we’ve come to expect from her.

The hotly anticipated Hungry was next to take the spotlight. Bringing distorted drag all the way from Berlin, Hungry recently collaborated with Björk on the artwork for her 2017 release Utopia and it’s easy to see what drew them together. Combining otherworldly makeup, motoric vogueing, and a frighteningly cinched waist, her routine to a remix of Röyksopp’s ‘Monument’ is at the cutting edge of performance art. She takes a bow, standing surrounded by elements of her pink satin costume, clad in stiletto boots and peephole panties. If there’s anyone who can follow this, it’s Sasha Velour.

Hungry / Illustration by Emily DoyleThe strains of Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ fill The Nightingale. Velour is back on stage for her final performance of the night, this time in a classic red shirt-dress and fiery bob. You’d be forgiven for thinking this was a bit obvious, until she disappears behind a red umbrella and re-emerges as a bedazzled incarnation of Tolkien’s character Gollum. Flinging herself against the barriers, her pointed ears and single, heart shaped nipple pasty glint in the stage lights.

After the show I catch up with Elliot Barnicle and Boo Sutcliffe to get their take on how the night felt from the other side of the crowd barrier.

“I really didn’t expect anything less from an audience that was drawn in for Sasha Velour,” says Sutcliffe. “The energy in the room was electric. It was full of so much love and acceptance.”

Barnicle agrees. “The night was incredible, it’s inspiring to see such a talented performer on stage, pushing the boundaries of drag and to be received by such a wide audience. Sasha is such a kind queen and was really interested in seeing us other performers on stage!”

“I think Sasha’s comments on the never-ending changes and movements of what drag is and can be is what makes her such a queer icon and the deserving reigning queen,” continues Barnicle. “Everything she stands for and says goes towards a more loving and accepting future for drag queens and queer people everywhere. The general vibe I got from everything Sasha said is to never back down from what you believe in and to not let our voices be silenced. We are valid as queer people and we are valid as a community.”

For more on Sasha Velour, visit www.sashavelour.com

For more on Hungry, visit www.instagram.com/isshehungry 

For more on Boo Sutcliffe, visit www.instagram.com/boosutcliffe 

For more on Tanja Mckenzie, visit www.facebook.com/tanja.mckenzie 

For more on Elliot Barnicle, visit www.elliottbarnicle.co.uk

For more on Klub Kids, visit www.klubkids.co.uk 

For more from The Nightingale Club, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.nightingaleclub.co.uk