Fashion. Art. Drag. These are terms which have died an insufferable death in the new millennium yet find themselves reborn at the hands of Ash Baroque.
Baroque, who has dragged himself up from the bar stools and stages of Perth to perform in London and at Glastonbury, is no stranger to shaking up the way his hometown perceives performance art.
And this Pride Baroque offers a breath of fresh air with his latest incarnation of outrageousness, Bar Bitch Chew Art.
‘It’s a pop-up bar focussing more on music and offering an alternative – not presenting itself as an alternative – to what’s on offer in Perth as far as queer culture is concerned,’ Baroque burbled down the phone.
‘So you’ll be getting music from the early 1900’s right up until now. It’s accompanied by performance but the focus will definitely be atmosphere, so there will be broken spoken word and drag on drip and some surgical sounds’.
The night, taking place at Bar 459 at The Rosemount, will feature poet Scott-Patrick Mitchell, living legend Strykermeyer, fashion icon Giselle, couturier Anne-Marie Therese, original punk girl Pussy, Crimson plus others.
Brought to fruition by Baroque and partner in crime Stryker, the night is a response to the lack of queer bars Perth has to offer and the seemingly flawed education of Gen Y kids fed on Twitter and social networking.
‘There are some great bars open in Perth, but this is just another option. A better option,’ according to Baroque.
‘And while it seems a lot of the youth have grown up considering Madonna to be a grandmother and everything to be quite Gaga mad, this is a musical education of everything from Paris in the ’20s and ’30s right through to The Sex Pistols and Malcolm McLaren in the ’80s and everything in between and now.’
The performances are being stripped right down, becoming more a visual accompaniment to the sound of the evening. There will be a pop-up hair salon plus a lashes bar, where you’ll be able to stick on emergency lashes and lipstick. For emergencies.
‘For the drag performances I want people to push the ideas of what drag is really about,’ Baroque concluded.
‘We love a lip sync, don’t get me wrong, but this will not be in the vein of that drag. It’ll be much more experimental.’
Bar Bitch Chew Art happens at Bar 459 on Saturday October 16, 7pm – 1am, with free entry to Connections Nightclub afterwards.
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