Last Saturday, Emerald City Lounge had its very first Talent Show. The room was packed, DJ Dreea was spinning, and most of the acts were Drag. Emerald City will be hosting a talent night on a monthly basis, so — as enjoyable as this event was for me — I do hope that the performances will be more varied for future shows. I spoke with Emerald City’s Show Director Amy Myers (picture below, with fiance Elizabeth Ramirez), and she agrees:
Myers: Tonight we have drag kings and queens. We have a male lead, a dancer. So he’s going to come out and show off some dance moves. And we have a female vocalist. We originally had a magician, but that was a cancellation. The same with a stand-up comedian — that was a cancellation. But I’m open to anything: juggling, spoken word…
Smile Politely: And none of the the contestants are professionals, right?
Myers: No, when I decided to open up a talent night, I wanted it to be a space in which amateurs can feel safe. That way they can compete for cash and get their names out there, and hopefully generate some bookings.
The prizes for First, Second, and Third place are $75, $50, and $25, respectively. These talent shows will be held monthly, and the first place winner will return the following month as that night’s Special Entertainment. It’ll be his or her first paid booking.
When asked if we could anticipate some drag performances from her in future talent shows, Myers pointed me to a video of her performance at Emerald City’s last Drag King night:
Yes, I think I’ll do more shows. I’m a completely different kind of drag artist. I do a lot of comedy and elaborate costume changes. I mix them up. It’s a little offbeat. I try to go above and beyond. I knew it [her performance] was good when my 90-year-old Grandma saw the video and called me and said it was amazing. And my future mother-in-law also said it was great.
Last Saturday’s contestants were fun, outrageous, yes, talented. I have my favorites, but I’m keeping them to myself. I took a lot of photos, but only three videos. Current reigning Miss Bistro, Leiloni Stars was a Special Entertainer for the evening, and she opened the show.
Kitty Klaus was our first contestant. I love her glasses. Just so effing cute, it’s ridiculous. Kitty performed “Fuckin’ Perfect,” by Pink. She was so graceful, almost ethereal.
Kitty was followed by McSwagga Carrington. I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t know the title of his song. But he was adorable, and I want him to teach me how to dance.
Then Miss Peaches came on stage and blew us the hell away. She performed Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”
I had a crush on Lori Moon as soon as she stepped onto the stage. There’s just this thing about belly buttons … Lori performed her own vocals. She sang a song from a musical, but I’ll be damned if my uncultured self can tell you what it is. I’m sorry, Lori!
Blurry because of shaky hand due to crush.
The next performance was by another of the night’s Special Entertainers, Holden Ryder Gently. Holden is the current reigning Mr. Bistro, and his performance showed why. When he brought Leiloni on stage and sang “Nebraska” to her, the crowd when crazy.
Here he is performing “Heart Skips a Beat,” by Olly Murs.
Kelasia Karmikal was the third Special Entertainer of the night. I don’t believe that Kelasia has performed at Emerald City before, but Amy assured me that “we’ll be seeing Kelasia Karmikal a lot more.” I hope so! She is fierce! Check her out!
Returning to our contestants: Mr. Jack Kazz, ladies and gentlemen. I loved his performance. He really expressed the lyrics of the song. Lots of passion.
As soon as I saw his guitar, I knew I had to take video of Bret Dykeals’ performance. Bret’s performance was (for me) one of the most enjoyable of the night.
And finally, dear readers, I present to you the night’s winners. Third place went to dancer, Nysean Luv. I’m sorry to say that I have no photos of Nysean’s performance. But he was good. Very good. Sexy, limber, all the right moves. And when a girl jumped on the stage and joined him in a raw, suggestive grind, he never missed a beat.
Nysean’s performance is in this article’s opening video, and if you check that out, you’ll understand why he won third place.
The prize for second place went to Lola X’Carrera Dupree. It’s a damned travesty that I didn’t film Lola’s performance. She was amazing, and these pictures don’t do her justice. Not even close. Lola performed the Spanish version of Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie.” It makes me mad that I couldn’t get video of this, so I’m just going to move on.
As luck would have it, I did get video of the first place winner of Emerald City Lounge’s first Talent Night. When Brooklyn Styles took to the stage, she was an instant crowd pleaser. She had everyone on their feet. She was fun, and funny, and it was clear that she loved being up there, and that made us love watching her.
My thanks to all of the contestants, and congratulations to all of the winners! Emerald City is looking for contestants for future shows (the next show is Friday, Sept. 21), so if you’ve got talent that you’d like to show off, email Amy Myers, or call her at 398-8661.
And check out more photos here.