It's the holiday season and Marie Kondo, the militant queen of joyful minimalism, is on my mind. I think it's because I'm playing a lot of Nintendo's mega-hit game Animal Crossing again, and I can hear Kondo asking, "Does it spark joy?" every time I hoard another virtual object inside my virtual mansion. (Yes, it sparks joy; yes, I want one in every color.) With the merry onslaught of events that bubbles up this time of year, I'm using that Kondo-ism to decide how to divvy up my evenings. SANTACON? Does not spark joy. Kitten N' Lou? Always the joyfullest.
The burlesque power couple's Homo for the Holidays show was a longtime December tradition in Seattle, and a few years ago the show got a rebranding called Jingle All the Gay that fucking sleighed. Featuring local performance favorites like Cherdonna Shinatra and Markeith Wiley against top-shelf national acts—all dressed in their holiday best—this cheery, tits-and-ass-filled bop at Oddfellows' West Hall continues to spark joy every season. Thank ilvs strauss' Jesus that it does, because we need some joy this year—it's been a mighty slog. Highlights from this year's cast include Red Bone, Tito Bonito, Kylie Mooncakes, and, well, all of them. CHASE BURNS
The show runs two more weekends at the Oddfellows Building's West Hall. Some of the shows are sold out, so don't wait. Proof of vaccination and masks are required for entry.
It's not an accident that Harris's masterpiece Chameleon Street has been restored and is being reevaluated in the presence of 2021. This film, which is based on the life of a Detroit man, William Douglas Street, Jr., known as the "Chameleon" "The Great Impersonator" (he convincingly impersonated doctors, lawyers, reporters, and so on), is radically independent. Though the film didn't come out of a vacuum (there was before it Orson Welles's F for Fake and Woody Allen's Zelig), it certainly redirected the previous experiments of the chameleon character to a future that we only now can recognize in the experimental and super-real and culture-scrambling works of Terence Nance (An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, and HBO's Random Acts of Flyness), Donald Glover (Atlanta), and Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You). But these new and hip black filmmakers have yet to go as far into blackness as Chameleon Street, and here is why. CHARLES MUDEDE
Wendell B. Harris Jr.'s Chameleon Street is playing in-person at Northwest Film Forum until Sunday, December 12. Tickets are $13. Masks and proof of vaccination are required for entry.
On every second Thursday of the month, Seattle drag divas and best friends Issa Man and Kylie Mooncakes host KICKBACK, a "super chill, super lit" evening of drag, music, and dance performances with a killer rotating lineup of artists. Originally, Issa and Kylie were set to debut the monthly back in March 2020, which was—you know—the same week the very first COVID lockdown went into effect. More than a year and a half later, the queens finally got to premiere KICKBACK in October with an all-trans lineup, and they are still going strong. For their third installment, the bill looks just as sickening: Pupusa Queen, Macy Marcs, Old Witch, and reigning Ms. Gay Seattle Skarlet Dior Black are all set to turn the party this Thursday. Ms. Mooncakes will unfortunately not be in attendance (but you can catch her at Jingle All the Gay!), so Seattle cool girl Hoochie Papa will take on her co-hosting duties alongside Issa. Get your pre-weekend started on a chill and sexy foot. JAS KEIMIG
Issa Man and Kylie Mooncakes' Kickback is this Thursday, December 9 at Kremwerk. Doors are at 7 pm and pre-sale tickets will run you $12. Masks and proof of vaccination (or a recent negative COVID test) are required for entry. And tip your queens!
Thursday’s MOMMIE DEAREST screening starts at 7 pm at the Egyptian Theater and runs until 10 pm.
SANTACON is this Saturday (the 11th) and next (the 18th) from noon until late, late, late at night.
Nirvana - Live at the Paramount Theatre goes down Sunday, December 12 at...Paramount Theatre. Tickets start at $20.75 and doors are at 6 pm. Masks and proof of vaccination are required for entry.