The
District’s
fall
concert
schedule
is
packed
with
gay
artists
of
all
genres
and
genders.
A
few
straight
favorites
will
be
breezing
through
as
well.
Gay
girls
in
D.C.
have
some
of
the
most
diverse
concert
options.
Lesbian
veterans
the
Indigo
Girls
get
closer
to
fine,
and
farther
from
Washington,
when
they
play
Baltimore’s
Rams
Head
Live
on
Sept.
19
(www.ramsheadlive.com).
Another
reason
for
lesbians
to
move
to
the
suburbs
arrives
on
Oct.
30,
when
k.d.
lang
plays
Bethesda’s
the
Music
Center
at
Strathmore
on
Oct.
30.
(www.strathmore.org).
But
the
most
varied
array
of
queer
women
rockers
can
be
found
at
Phasefest,
Phase
1’s
annual
music
showcase
(www.phasefest.com).
More
than
30
performers
will
grace
the
bar’s
stage
between
Sept.
10
and
13,
including
lesbian
hip-hop
duo
Yo!
Majesty,
electric
violin
maestro
Bitch
and
memorably
named
Dykes
of
Hazzard.
The
Phase
maintains
a
policy
that
all
male
guests
must
have
a
female
escort,
but
transgender
rapper
Athens
Boys
Choir
(aka
Harvey
Katz,)
has
found
an
easy
way
to
skirt
it.
“I’m
my
own
woman
escort!”
Katz
says.
He
began
touring
as
Athens
Boys
Choir
in
2003.
While
some
queer
performers
like
to
downplay
their
sexual
orientation,
claiming
their
music
is
for
everyone,
Katz
makes
no
secret
of
what
he
likes.
His
song
“Fagette”
boasts
in
its
chorus
that
he’s
got
a
“V
to
the
A-G-I-N-A”
and
“no
P-E-N-I-S
en-vay.”
The
hook,
immediately
after,
brags,
“I
got
a
dildo
…
I
got
two
dildos
…
I
got
three
dildos!”
Paradoxically,
Katz
has
found
that
his
visibility
as
queer
has
lessoned
since
his
transition.
“I’ve
always
been
pretty
obviously
queer.
But
now
I
can
pass
in
the
straight
world,
which
is
really
bizarre
…
the
[song]writing
was
actually
therapy
about
gender
for
me.
It’s
always
been
out
there
on
the
forefront.
Queer
is
the
only
identity
I’m
secure
that
I
am,
and
I’m
pretty
comfortable
with
it.”
Katz’
shows
are
a
mix
of
hip-hop
and
spoken
word
performance.
Though
he
has
found
his
audience
to
be
sexually
diverse,
gays
still
come
to
his
shows
in
droves
to
show
support
for
their
own.
“We
[play
shows]
in
cities
that
have
all
these
queer
folks
saying
‘Hey,
we
have
this
thing
in
common.
Come
stay
on
our
couch.’
It’s
like
family
all
over
the
country.”
Gay
men
will
see
themselves
represented
on
our
stages
as
well.
The
Magnetic
Fields
bring
their
sardonic,
electronic
musings
on
love
and
sex
to
DAR
Constitution
Hall
on
Oct.
26.
Led
by
the
openly
gay
Stephin
Merritt
and
Claudia
Gonson,
the
group
will
play
the
fuzzy
music
off
their
newest
album
“Distortion”
and
mix
in
some
old
favorites
as
well.
“Washington
D.C.,”
off
their
1999
album
“69
Love
Songs,”
is
a
likely
candidate
for
an
encore.
Queer
musician
Bradford
Cox
makes
two
local
appearances.
First
at
the
9:30
club
on
Sept.
30,
opening
for
Stereolab
as
his
atmospheric
solo
project
Atlas
Sound.
He
brings
his
more
bombastic
band,
Deerhunter,
to
the
Black
Cat
on
Nov.
4.
(Clockwise
from
left)
Other
gay
and
gay-friendly
musicians
set
to
play
locally
include
ATHENS
BOY
CHOIR,
k.d.
lang,
the
Presets
and
HOT
CHIP.
(Athens
Boys
Choir
photo
by
Ali
Cotterill;
k.d.
lang
photo
by
Jeri
Heiden
Presets
photo
by
Jordan
Graham
and
Hot
Chip
photo
by
Bevis
Martin
and
Charlie
Youle) |
|
Fans
of
ambiguity
have
many
chances
to
wonder
“hmm…
is
he?”
at
the
9:30
club
in
the
coming
months.
Glam
poseur
Courtney
Taylor-Taylor
brings
his
band
the
Dandy
Warhols
there
on
Sept.
22.
Homoerotic
electronic
duo
the
Presets
won’t
say
what
they
sleep
with
but
their
co-headlining
tour
with
Australian
synth-poppers
Cut
Copy
will
leave
fans
too
busy
dancing
to
worry
about
it.
Atlanta
band
Of
Montreal,
playing
on
Oct.
9,specializes
in
trippy,
upbeat
pop
and
overly
clever,
English
major
lyrics.
Their
flamboyant
front
man
Kevin
Barnes
is
fond
of
wearing
makeup
and
has
been
known
to
strip
onstage.
The
day
before,
Hot
Chip
return
to
the
club
after
selling
it
out
in
April.
They
are
likely
to
raise
eyebrows
with
their
furious,
intelligent
dance
music
and
lyrics
like
“You’re
my
number
one
guy.”
For
old
school
queens,
a
trio
of
divas
will
remove
any
lingering
resentment
over
Madonna’s
decision
to
bypass
D.C.
on
her
upcoming
“Sticky
&
Sweet
Tour.”
Each
month
of
this
fall,
a
different
pillar
of
grandeur
will
play
the
Verizon
Center
(www.verizoncenter.com).
Celine
Dion,
the
oft-mocked
“greatest
singer
in
the
world,”
will
play
on
Sept.
8,
Janet
Jackson
brings
her
“Rock
Witchu
Tour,”
her
first
in
seven
years,
on
Oct.
15
and
Tina
Turner,
despite
no
new
album
to
promote,
rounds
out
the
awesomeness
on
Nov.
23
with
her
“Tina:
Live
in
Concert
Tour,”
her
first
since
supposedly
“retiring”
from
touring
eight
years
ago.
Several
lower-key
female
artists
might
not
become
the
divas
of
tomorrow,
but
are
worth
checking
out
today.
Rufus
...
