The return of Traniwreck, Milky Way, October 14, 2007
By MEGAN BELL | October 15, 2007
![insidemirror_01[1]](http://thephoenix.com/secure/uploadedImages/The_Phoenix/Music/Live_Review/insidemirror_01[1].jpg "insidemirror_01[1]")
TRANIWRECK: Primped... but not punctual. |
TraniWreck’s “Send a King to Kanada Benefit” was supposed to begin at 9:30 on Sunday night, but when 10 pm rolled around with no start in sight, I wasn’t that surprised — as I’d been told multiple times, “We’re dealing with drag queens here.” Although TraniWreck is rounding out its first year of quarterly shows at the Milky Way, the night doubled as a fundraiser to help drag king and MC extraordinaire Heywood Wakefield get to the International Drag King Extravaganza in Vancouver this weekend — a series of events with titles ranging from “Identifying Femme Performing Across Gender Spectrum” to “How To Dance like a Boy Band.” Shortly after 10, Heywood emerged from the Milky Way’s makeshift backstage, and after a short introduction, all hell was ready to break loose. Enter Becca d’Bus, the most fabulous queen of the night, who not only blew the show open with an over-the-top theatrical Shirley Bassey cover of Pink’s “Get the Party Started” but later donned a monstrous multi-colored wig, psychedelic polyester floral dress, and vinyl knee-highs for her rendition of — brace yourselves — Radiohead’s “Creep.” (Becca has brought new meaning to my subsequent listens to In Rainbows.) Also spectacular: “Miss Gay Massachusetts” Katia, who did two highly sexed lip-synched songs in Russian; erotic dancer Johnny Blazes, who, after removing “his” shirt, provoked Heywood’s comment “I like having Johnny on board to confuse us all”; multi-talented baton twirler and tap dancer Hazel Nutz; “Drag King Idol” Ryan Stone, who looked like a straighter version of ’70s David Cassidy (and wearing looser jeans) performing “I Think I Love You”; and Frieda Fries, clad in a one-piece black jumpsuit and black permed wig reminiscent of Tim Curry’s in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, who closed the show with a painful-looking split while rocking out to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin.’ ” Sigh . . . four times a year is simply not enough. Next Milky Way show: December 9.
Topics:
Live Reviews
, Radiohead, Pink (Singer), David Cassidy, More 
, Radiohead, Pink (Singer), David Cassidy, Frieda Fries, Heywood Wakefield, Johnny Blazes, Tim Curry, Less 
