Speaking From the Diaphragm
The Vaginal Davis Blog
. . .From the Counsel of Inter-Continental Balistic Principalities
Friday, December 05, 2008
WO IST KLAUS STORTEBEKER
The great folk singer Odetta died Tuesday. I based my 80s accapella performance art group the Afro Sisters vaguelly on Odetta and Sweet Honey in the Rock. Odetta sang one of Stephin Merritt's songs on one of his other projects i think its called The 6ths.
Was thinking about Kelly Roundtree yesterday. Kelly is the daughter of Richard Roundtree of Shaft fame. Kelly went to UC Santa Barbara with Miss Dora and the Ventura gang. i don't know why her name just popped up suddenly, i haven't seen her in ages.
.: posted by Vaginal Davis 4:44 AM
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
DAS EINGESTƒNDNIS
Death becomes her . . .handsome Baby Diaper Joel Gibb of the Hidden Cameras has created a curatorial granada with the latest exhibit at Exile Gallery "Ad Memoriam". The Friday night winter opening was resplendid with flattering candlelight.
Christophe Chemin delighted with his fragile assemblege study. Our Gallic hero, the muscular Mr. Chemin knows how to appropriately use humour and whimsy in his work and complemented the exquisite drawings of the great G.B. Jones. Miss Jones is a genius and the art world needs to recognize that fact.
Mr. Gibb´s demure craft pieces and objects were also included in the show, some visitors plopped right down on one of his chairs not realizing it was a ject d’art. Those tired Mitte galleries could learn some valuable lessons from This is Exile.
The glamour contingent was heavy with Val & Sebastiane, the love and music duo of Noblesse Oblige turning many heads. A resplendid Peaches in Cameo meets The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire drag had jaws agape. Escorting Miss Peaches was Little Alexander the Great, the Macedonia opera kingpin with everyones favorite girl-about-town Anna M¸elter of the HAU. The Reichenberger rock steady crew of Kreuzberg featuring Miss Montreal Chloe & Julian Binet, and pals added to the events charms. Seen flitting about: Daniel Hendrickson, the translator to the stars, Enrico! The new humpy east German lover of Joel Gibb, Travis Jeppeson and beau Mario with their Porkys entourage, Matthew Goode the star of new British film Brideshead Revisited, which i saw at a screening a while back and can only say this version of the Evelyn Waugh novel is simply dreadful. You're better off renting the old Masterpiece Theatre mini series starring Jeremy Irons. Young blondine DJ and Ms. Davis’ latest protege Acme Singt had all the gay blades drueling plus a who slew Aunt Roo of visiting frostbacks. Yes Berlina those ice nigs are taking over the town.
SIE HABEN RECHT. ‹BER SEXUALITƒT KANN JEDER REDEN
Those my age or older might remember Janice DeSoto’s club Bar DeLux that use to be every Wednesday at the old Japanese Restaurant Imperial Gardens on the Sunset Strip in the 80s. The place later became the celebrity hangout The Roxbury, but was much more interesting when it was a Japanese Restaurant. Henry Peck of Vinyl Fetish fame was the DJ. Henry is one of the best DJ¥s to come out of the post punk era, and highly underrated. One night at Bar DeLux i made out with dorky Bruce Springstein. He was really sweet and a good kisser, not sticking his tongue down through to my tounsils which so many white boys think is the way to do a soul kiss and impress a black girl. Mr. Springstein had a rock hard body. Didn¥t put on any rock star airs. I didn¥t know who he was until after our makeout session and someone told me. I just thought he was a dimuntive dweeby Jewish guy which is one of my favorite types being a havanagila queen. That same evening I threw a drink in the face of writer Brett Easton Ellis. This was before he became famous with his novel Less Then Zero. He said something snotty to me and I was drunk and not featuring him. My companion for the evening was Denise Crosby the granddaughter of Bing Crosby. Denise was one of the stars of the sci-fi TV show Star Trek, The Next Generation. Her brother Dennis Crosby was also with us. Dennis was a big junky during this time, and he and Craig Lee the music editor of the LA Weekly were busy in the lavatory embibing. I always had a great time hanging out with Denise and Dennis Crosby and also Nicky Corvette of Nicky and the Corvettes. She was a waitress at Barney¥s Beanery and the lead singer of the popular power pop band. I think Nicky still works at the Beanery. She had a handsome father who had been an actor when he was younger, and hung out with a bunch of old queens, who he sometimes let suck his big Hollywood dick. Thats exactly how Nicky would put it.
ICH WƒRE GERN ROMANSHRIFTSTELLERIN GEWORDEN
Tea and dainties with Koen Claerhout, the sweet Belgium boy who was the CHEAP intern back in 2005 for the Poker Im Osten Festival. Koen is super smart and talented designing a lovely gown for me, and costumes for my art band Ruth Fischer when we played the CHEAP Silvester Party. He recently worked on the first Bienale in Brussels, but is back in Berlin till the Spring.
Later went to the compound of Piero Bonnehomme of the Piero Kolleczione for a scrumpteous Italian style din din. Piero is the lover of Daniel Hendrickson the Scandanavian Muslim. Piero also has his own design firm which not only does fashion but housewares and furnishings like Georgio Armani. Piero gave me some lovely bedding from his winter kollection. I also have some Piero classic sweaters, scarves, hats and tops all with that classic Italian cut and feel.
WIDERSTAND GEGEN DIE MASSENKULTUR?
Sexy little Alexander the Great of Macedonia spent 24 hours cooking a Greek style Thanksgiving feast at his Mitte compound for me an Anna Müelter of the HAU. The delicious food consisting of special Greek delicacies never stopped flowing and the desert was heavenly. Alex is so sweet, talented and dreamy. Besides having trained in opera he is an expert, award winning ballroom dancer. After supper he spinned me around the living room dance floor. Lil Alex is the perfect boy next door.
ROSENB‹SCHEL KEINE
Invited to the HAU 2 by Anna M¸elter to see H3 (O U Fre¥Do Sao Raund) by Brazilian choreographer Bruno Beltrao of Grupo de Rua de Niteroi. This piece is an encore performance from the HAU Brazilian festival in May. And all i can say is i wish i could have seen it back in the Spring. 9 tiny lovesexy Brazilian pud boys built like Sherman tanks doing hip hop moves ala modern dance ritual. One of the most masculine, homo erotic pieces I¥ve seen this year. I left a giant puddle on the floor below my theatre seat---i was that wet. Plaintive and beautifully charged from the bare set to the inventive lighting,sound and brilliant musical score. So complete in tone and shape. My only complaint is that the Kostume designer Marcelo Sommer had the boys wearing way too much in the layered baggie b-boy tradition. They should have been wearing nothing but man panties to properly show off those bubble butts. Or done those hallowed moves completely in the buff. The HAU 2 was packed to the rafters as it should be for something this good. If the dancers: Bruno Duarte, Bruno Williams, Kieberson Goncalves, Danilo Pereira, Eduardo Hermanson, Filipi de Moraes, Kristiano Goncalves, Lucas Gadelha and Thiago Almeida aren¥t busy filming for Kristan Bjorn i sure would love to have them all pull a love train on me. Chupa mi verga!!!!
DIE POETISCHE METHODE
Rising Stars, Falling Stars at Arsenal Institute of Film and Video Art and my animation salute to Felix The Cat was packed to the rafters. I wasn¥t so sure it would be appropriate for the first program with the Arsenal Re-Launch to be one of animation, but i wanted something different, and striking. Well my instincts paid off. The Blue Bros Tim & Kjohnny performed a live score that was rolicking, inventive, and that was so in the spirit of Felix, the first queer anthropomorphic film shtar.
Two sweet older women from Dublin Ireland came and thanked me during the reception after the screening. They had a million questions about the program and where the films i choose come from. The Arsenal archive is vast.
There were so many newcomers Saturday. Karim Ainouz the director of the hit film Madame Sata and his Brazilian posse. Mr. Ainouz just moved to Berlin so i hope to be seeing more of him and his gang. Was surprised to see Malcolm McLaren at Rising Stars. Mr. McLaren is in Berlin for some video art project and stopped by to steal ideas. Those of you in your 20s probably don¥t know who Malcolm McLaren is, and i don¥t have the energy to explain. I¥ve known him since the days of Sex & Seditionaries in London with Vivienne Westwood, but we haven¥t seen each other since his Buffalo Gals/Madame Butterfly period. I told him about my new music project Tenderloin, and he jokingly said he wants to manage me. At least i hope it is a joke, as i don¥t want Malcolm McLaren managing me. Also at RSFS the sexy black LA fashion designer Cornell Collins who brought a big gang of juicy Swedes and bright young things with him. One charming blondine from Mississippi just moved to Berlin, and i hope he and his pals become RS regulars. On the literary front was the dazzling young writer Benedict Wells who wrote the recent tome Becks Letzter Sommer. I sure would love to chow down on this beautiful boys mushroom headed knob, but he was busy macking on the lead singer of that Las Vegas based rock band The Killers, and flirting with my projectionist Guillaume who is leaving Berlin for the enchantment that is Manhattan. We will all miss him and his lusty Gallic charms. But of course i still have Ullrich Ziemon, who is the best looking dude in Germany and who helps me every month as my personal escort to the kino. Making everyone feel at home was lovely program director Stefanie Schulte Strathaus, with right hand girl Nanna Heidenreich, who provided the gorgeous Felix decor for the reception in the intimate Rote Foyer Lounge. Film historian Marc Siegel chatted with BMW heiress Susanne Klatten while translator to the stars Daniel Hendrickson, the Scandanavian Muslim with his handsome Italian/German beau Pierro Bonnehomme of the Piero Kolleczione & Designworks were laughing and telling Sophie Tucker jokes to delicious Aastin Brooks, who is the great niece of silent screen legend Louise Brooks. I met Miss Aastin at the Babylonia punk rock Language School in Kreuzburg. Kjohnny Blue's pretty roommate Nasale and his cute girlfriend Nadine were rubbing shoulders with Anna M¸elter, Little Alexander The Great,Catherine Sullivan dancer Aasof Hochman who is now dancing with another troupe and so many shiny new faces. It is really wonderful being a part of the Arsenal¥s November Re-launch. The Re-Launch also included a salute to Hollywood star Clint Eastwood. I was glad to see that they were showing some of his speghetti westerns directed by Sergio Leone along with Play Misty For Me and his directorial effort Bird, but if i was programming i woudn¥t have included his most recent films like The Unforgiven,Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Flags of our Fathers or Letters from Iwo Jima. I would have stuck to some of his more obscure films that he starred in like the haunting anti-bellum drama The Beguiled(1971) or his only musical performance in Paint Your Wagon(1969) directed by Joshua Logan that co-starred Jean Seberg. And what about Two Mules for Sister Sarah (1970) with Shirley McClaine.
For December i am anxious to see the Japanese film series and the classic Turkish films. Though probably a more cutting edge program would have been showing 1970s style sexploitation Turkish cinema. There i threw in my two cents criticism.
Sunday i went to Theater an der Parkaue for the premiere of Rotk‰ppchen by Joel Pommerat which is a version of the famed French re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood starring my CHEAP collegue Susanne Sachsse in the lead role. Ms. Sachsse is quite a powerful theatrical presence with a hypnotic commanding voice.
Usually when a mature woman plays a child it winds up turning into burlesque, but in this case Frau Sachsse as the little girl gave her an inner intelligence, vulnerability and inquisitiveness that was quite allluring. It would have been typical to perform the role with precociousness, and a lesser actress would have gone this route, but Frau Sachsee was playful without being sachrine and inbued the role with the natural sexual curiosity that is inherent in children.
After the performance there was a discussion with the chidren and parents with the performers and dramaturge Amelie Mallmann who did a magnificent job facilitating. With my limited German and bad hearing i gathered that this production stimulated the young ones some who had quite a bit to say that was interesting and showed how well they comprehended the more esoteric aspects of the piece. The parents comments weren¥t as insightful.
DIE WIEDERBELEBUNG DES HANDWERKS
My Flemish wonderboy Koen Claerhout invited me over for a yummy dinner at the gorgeous flat he shares with the beautiful Ms. Katrin Dodd of the Hebbel Theatre. The three of us feasted and drank copious amounts of German sect, then retired to their screening room to watch Milos Foreman´s film musical version of the Broadway hit Hair.
Katrin had seen it before but Koen wasnt even born when the film first came out. It was wonderous seeing his young eyes light up. Katrin and i were singing and dancing to all the songs, and having a general hoot of a time. We also watched together the first hour of Bob Fosse´s All That Jazz a film that neither of them had seen. The famously sensual "Take Off With Us" production number still packs a wallup.
.: posted by Vaginal Davis 5:50 AM
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