Every year we age. Views of a birthday is usually the combined product of experiences, perspective, and (of course) the person's age. For this Gemini, 2024 is a milestone year. Not getting to far into specifics, it's a milestone birthday warranting a night in a 4.7 star hotel. How did I get here?
It started with a weekly karaoke event at a bar in Jamaica Plain, MA. The morning after I saw one friend's set at the Midway Cafe, a co-worker mentioned the weekly "Queeraoke" theme nights. While there a few Boston clubs and bars with a predominantly cisgender male clientele, Queeraoke is much more for (but not exclusive to) all kinds of women from the local LGBTQ+ community. Karaoke is almost as much a part of the draw as the ability to be present in the community. Back in college. I would take part in karaoke contests and open mic nights. Like a medium channeling a spirit, I would lock in on a song in celebration of the music. With or without backing music I would let my body be a vessel allowing the song to be expressed.
After college, I fell out of practice from singing on stage. I still sang, but usually in private. It could be to practice operatic vigor in songs like Judas Priest's "Screaming for Vengeance". With just as much respect and appreciation, I could sing Celine Dion's "I'm Alive", feeling my heart figuratively sing. On the MBTA, people could see me unapologetically lipsynching to Britney Spears, Bon Scott, and Clopin from Disney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame".
Having not attended Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour, it was seeing Paramore's Hayley Williams and Depeche Mode's David Gahan that showed me another significant layer of a performance. All three of those artists perform with an authentic drive to get every attendee celebrating the songs with them. Gahan has a legendary charisma that one must see to believe, and then try to fully comprehend.
I made it a goal to be bold, proud, celebratory, and exuding some level of that T-Swift/Hayley Williams connection with the audience. As a trans woman, Pride Month gave me a personal deadline. I started rehearsing several songs whenever I had some time alone. I would sing a Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know" and substitute in some words honoring Witney's secret bisexuality. I would rehearse vocal exercises of the Sherman Brothers' "Scales and Arpeggios" from 1970's "Aristocats". Another Disney favorite happened to be on Autostraddle's list of karaoke favorites for the Pride season. It was for all intents and purposes a sign that my Disney geekdom had a valid outlet on stage. I was going to perform "Go the Distance" on the first Thursday of June, when I learned that June 13th was the 27th anniversary of the "Hercules" premiere date. By 1997, Alan Menken had lost his songwriting partner Howard Ashman, but the composer still had some Disney soundtracks left in him. Scheduling Hercules's "I Want" song for week #2, I chose INXS for my reintroduction to the stage.
Unfortunately, the audience didn't know who INXS was. The DJ thought that I must be an Aussie to select "Beautiful Girl". Frankly, I'm just a fan of everything related to the "Kick" album, and wonder what it would be like to see a lesbian rock star with Michael Hutchence's level of alluring magnetism. Like a cruel twist of fate (more like a minor snag), the Karaoke equipment wasn't ready for INXS. The microphone was uncontrollably cutting in and out. Started singing unplugged, but my voice alone couldn't be heard over the backing track. I remembered my intentions about trying to be more bold, and I sang into the mic right to the end, with a goal to at least commit my effort. A woman in the crowd told me "That took balls!". It's an awkward compliment to hear that as a transwoman, but I saw the meaning in her just being impressed by my dedication. Through the next week, I'm running through the Hercules lyrics. I am Googling exactly how to better use a handheld wireless microphone. Come Thursday night, there's not even that big a queue ahead of me to reach the stage. The mic is working. I'm hitting my marks, and then I notice something going wrong. It's the "mid-movie" version! Rather than some full length, full-lyric version of the song which may additionally appear during the end credits, this is THE only version by Tony Award winner Roger Bart. When this karaoke track breaks for a whole verse replaced by the orchestra, "I'm thinking "Oh, for the love of Menken!". Someone in the front of the audience was looking to see if the monitor was working, and it was. The monitor was explaining this expansive instrumental interlude. ... Movie magic aside, I should've just picked the Michael Bolton version. At the end of my performance, the DJ asked if the crowd knew which movie this was from, and everyone shouts "Hercules!". People were telling me how much they ;pve that movie. And even better, I think that I inspired someone else singing "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from "Mulan" later that night. Thinking about the onstage connectivity and geekiness that Hayley Williams and Taylor Swift exude onstage has been empowering when I perform. Even a wrinkle in last Thursday's plan, I'm finding it so fulfilling to encourage others to proudly embrace their Disney love. While, I have some non-Disney songs planned for Queeraoke performances, there is another 90's Disney song that I have my sights on. This time, specifically eyeing the Phil Collins version.
Planning out my big birthday weekend, I had scheduled a day off from my day job so that I would have ample to time to prepare for a big night. I packed an overnight bag, and got a fresh haircut. My hotel isn't too far from the Orange Line, and is right next to the Wilbur Theater. It's a Marriott location called "Moxy" and has this great aesthetic combining modern design with vintage. All with a swanky Theater District star power. Polished concrete, rotary phones, a gourmet menu, toiletries from Muk, and a rooftop lounge. After the staff members at the check-in desk explained how the meal stipend coupon worked, I was planning more of my schedule. All throughout the day, Boston was enduring off-and-on thunderstorms, and I didn't want to get caught in the rain on my way from the nearby Whole Foods. Since Saturday morning was going to have several hours of clear skies, I decided on having a dinner from the hotel's restaurant. I brought down a can of Liquid Death sparkling water with lime, and ordered a short rib steak & cheese sandwich with a brownie sundae. The dinner was elevated in all the best ways. What little pieces of steak fell from my sandwich I picked up from my plate using the end of my roll. A side of potato chips complimented the casual nature of steak & cheese sandwiches. I ate everything but the toothpicks, and pushed the plate to the side of the counter as a signal for whenever the waitress passed by. She had already offered to bring the two dishes together, and I told her that they would be better one at a time. She returned with a sundae so delectable that I dug my spoon in before I could remember to document its beauty for the blog (so I turned it around for the photo). Oh my goodness. I can't remember a sundae that was ever so satisfying. The brownie was distinguishably an edge piece, and was fresh from the oven. It was warm, chocolatey, and giving the best of both worlds. The moist tenderness of a middle piece, and the firmness off the corners. The brownie was juxtaposed to the ice cream not just in texture and flavor, but temperature. Then, the whole dish was adorned with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup, Like dipping a piece of bread into a spaghetti dinner, I sloshed spoonfuls of ice cream around in the chocolate syrup. I thanked the waitstaff and the crew from the kitchen. I asked them (as well as the staff at the check-in desk) exactly how high up (in feet) the roof top lounge is. 24 floors is pretty impressive. Nobody was quite sure. One clerk asked if I wanted to check with a building engineer, but I declined and checked to see if Google Play had an altimeter app. After downloading one, I tested it's reliability on a few different floors before finding out that Moxy's rooftop lounge is 265 feet up. It was absolutely amazing. While there weren't eastern facing windows that would allow a view of the sun rising over the Atlantic, I could see everything from the harbor, to the Charles River, to places beyond Cambridge. All from one room! As the thunderstorm cleared up, sunlight started piercing out from behind clouds just before the sunset. I captured the moment with photos that simultaneously captured both the MIT and Longfellow bridges.
The tipoff for the Celtics/Mavericks Game #4 was about to occur, so I went down to my room. I had the game playing quietly in the background while I began writing this blog entry. It's hard to describe how significantly calm it is to just chill in a hotel room writing for a few hours before going off to another event. With confidence in the Celtics, I was considering an option to miss an hour or two of the DJ's opening act at the concert. That way I could race up to the 24th floor to see all of Boston erupt with jubilation. The C's eventually fell far behind. By halftime. I decided that they'd likely take the series back to Boston Monday night, and I could check in on the score from the middle of the club. This particular venue is something that I've heard described as a ballroom. A spiral staircase, chandeliers, and grandeur remain of this former opera house that's experienced several phases of reinvention. Formerly known as the Roxy, the Royale continues the hall's rich history of concerts and house music. I quickly got ready for the show, and checked with the security guard on how I can get back into the hotel after 2 in the morning. The line was long, and some passersby were asking what performer was big enough to draw such a crowd late on a Friday night. I had previously seen Cascada's Natalie Horler in concert last winter at the Royale. Between the strobe lights, lasers, smoke machines, and Horler's prestigious reputation as the queen of EDM (electronic dance music), last winter's concert was like being on Mount Olympus in Disney's Hercules. World famous icons just feet away from you, and the whole venue is awash in vibrant technicolor tones.
For this show, it was one DJ (David Fraioli) warming up the crowd for three hours with house music that ranged from the modern hits to older material like Corona's "The Rhythm of the Night" from 1994. With each hour, the dance beats were becoming more pronounced as the crowd got more into the moment. As someone who drinks very infrequently, the only thing that unnerved me all weekend was when some groups of people were getting beyond rude with each drink. Alcohol was (in these select examples) becoming like a Cerce of behavioral health, turning humans, into asses, and then into pigs. Unlike the effects of the ancient Greek sorceress, the metamorphosis was more figurative than literal. As groups of people pulled their friends into crowded spaces and then expanded their amount of negative space to allow for more over the top dancing, I initially stood my ground. Coolly facing bullies with pacifist defiance. After about an hour and a half I did start making my way away from that part of the room. Less because of their behavior and more because of spilt cocktails getting on the legs of my jeans.
Conceding my initial place at the Royale that night was a blessing in disguise, because that brought me closer to the stage. Not even at the winter show had I been close enough to Horler. While Aqua tours as a three person principle group with additional tour performers, I'm not sure if DJ Manian and Yanou ever join their bandmate on tour so that they can perform the music in realtime like Aqua's Soren Hasted or Mix Master Mike's live work with the Beastie Boys. Nonetheless, it is amazing to see Natalie Horler bring her all onstage, and even return to songs at the end of the night so that the crowd can join her in singing the lyrics, The fact that Natalie can (in her young 40's) work the crowd and sing in a formfitting black and gold outfit with a metallic gold corset was a very inspiring message for my birthday. I think that she and I even made eye contact a few times. After the concert, I quickly walked up Tremont back to my hotel, I and returned to my room. It took about 40 minutes to calm down. I set an alarm for a moment in the morning when the light rain was supposed to stop, and went to sleep.
I surprised myself with how rested I was at 8:30 that morning. I grabbed a tee shirt, a pair of socks, and some jeans, and was quickly on my way through the Tufts Medical Center campus. Making my way to the Whole Foods "Ink Block" location was reminding me of college days when I'd be crossing back and forth between studios, auditoriums, dorms, and dining halls. I surveyed the spread, and got some pancakes, broccoli quiche, sausage, bacon, tomatoes, berries, cantaloupe, oatmeal, and yogurt to go with some Mama Chia tea. I toted it back up to the rooftop viewing of the area, had breakfast while looking out over the whole city. With a learned from Shannon Beveridge, I was able to additionally watch a sped up Trooping of the Colour ceremony. With the time difference, I wasn't watching in real time, but sped it up "2x", so that I could watch it, and still have plenty of time to get ready for checkout. I was enjoying every last hour in that hotel stay. Next up was a shower with the Muk products. It was so luxurious, and the gardenia scent had the room smelling like a high class hair salon. Normally, I follow the advice of a Caroline de Maigret book, and let hair air dry (sometimes fluffing to allow air to pass through). With these fancy hair products, I went the full nine yards, and used a blowdryer to how see much volume I could get.
Now, I adventure on further into music. More concerts on my itinerary. More karaoke performances. And more r0ck bl0gster.
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