TUESDAY JULY 31

After karaoke the night before with Salatta T, I was told of another drag show that was going to be held in Northeast Philly. The name of the club is Lyrics. The show starts at 11. I meet up with Sal about an hour before hand, cause he tells me he wants to go see the show too. Sal and I talk for a little outside the club, mostly about karaoke. Sal is still so friendly. I'm feeling more comfortable around him, especially since he's the only one I know at this point. I have no idea what to expect when i walk through the doors of Lyrics so Sal, in my mind, is going to be my "body guard."

10:45 comes around and we walk into the club. There is a little dark entrance way we had to walk down before actually getting into the bar. It smells of hair spray, mixed with liquor and cigarettes. I'm guessing the drag queens must be around, but i don't see any of them.

The club has a dance floor sandwhiched between two long bars. Only the bar on the left is being used. There might be about 10 people here including Sal and I. There are no attractive people anywhere, just older men who's skin show's the years of partying they did when they were younger. The bartender is a female. She is leaning over the bar trying to flirt with two guys for some extra tips. I question her motives. It's a gay bar and the two gentlemen that she's flirting with are more into each other than her. Whatever. I glance over at Sal, he catches my eye. We sort of do the eyebrow raise and the eye roll. I can tell he thinks this place is as sketchy as I do. I'm not looking forward to seeing the show.

They begin sound check. I go to the bar to get a beer. The bartender takes my order and tries flirting with me. I just want my beer. I need it to calm me down a little. She won't lay off, and wants to know all about my life. I notice a tattoo on her arm. It's flabby and discolored, makes me never want one. i get my beer and set up the camera. The show begins. It's a lip-synch show. They introduce the host, and she comes out lip syncing and dancing to her song. The 8 people in the crowd start cheering. She starts dancing in the crowd, as men start handing her some dollars. The way they give the dollars reminds me of a strip club. I guess they have to make money somehow. She comes closer to me, and I get my first glimpse of her face. She gives a big toothless smile. It's hideous. It just fits my stereotypical idea of this bar and show. She doesn't stop dancing around me. I'm hoping it's because of the camera and not because I'm the only young one in the bar who's skin is still intact. I give an uneasy smile and pray she leaves me alone. It's going to be a long night I fear.

The show finally ends. It's around 12:30. There was nothing that impressed me about the show. All the queens looked like they were fresh out of construction jobs or prison. One queen even did a number with a dildo. I still don't know how I feel about it. All I know is that A.) I want to get out of the bar and B.) I want to get out of the bar! Sal doesn't let me leave. He knows about my project and wants us to meet up with the queens. I'm amazed that he's into my project as much as he is. I can't say "no". So I agree to go talk to some of them.

Surprisingly they were totally cool. All of them were so excited that I was doing a project about their culture. They all have stories that I would like to share, but that's what my video is for. The unfortunate thing though was the lighting in the bar was so low that I couldn't possibly have given an interview, but they told me that they would all be more then willing to get on camera and speak to me. I'm looking forward to listening at what they have to say about this culture.