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Janet Jackson opens her ‘Rock Witchu Tour,’ her first in seven years,
next month. She plays Washington in mid October. The singer said her
set list will cover a wide swath of material touching on more than 40
songs total, probably many in medleys as she’s done on past tours. (Janet photo by Evan Agostini/AP)
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HOME > OUT IN DC > LOCAL LIFE
By: ZACK ROSEN COMMENTS
 
 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 includetrong> ATHENS BOY CHOIR, trong>k.d. lang, trong>the Presets and trong>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) |
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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.” ...
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