Having been to a number of Klub Kids events at varying venues, cities, lineups and degrees of quality, I went into the Cardiff stopoff of MODE – the launch event for promoter spinoff Haus of Klub Kids, and apparently the UK’s first drag runway show – with cautious optimism. For one thing, the roster of RuPaul’s Drag Race talent was immense: Season 12 finalist Gigi Goode; Season 13 winner Symone and Drag Race UK Season 2 favourites Bimini Bon Boulash, A’Whora and Wales’ own Tayce. All five make for logical and exciting picks for a fashion-oriented tour, either for leaving their mark on the franchise as avant-garde wardrobe wearers, commanding runway presences, or an enviable mix of the two.
Still, a big television personality and sizeable talent doesn’t always translate to a flawless live experience: I was left amused but disappointed by Vanessa Vanjie Mateo’s chaotic one-woman show at the Glee Club two years ago, for instance (though two women rowdily drinking their body weight in vodka next to me likely didn’t help). The energy and feel of the setting, crowd and performers can make or break shows like these that straddle the line between precision-planned and improvised, and luckily, Klub Kids’ fashion experiment paid off in spades at Cardiff’s Tramshed last night.
The contents of MODE was portioned into runway segments, during which the top-billed acts – fleshed out by a selection of lesser-known but still mightily talented queens, kings and other performers – paraded across the stage in various designer collections, lip-sync and dance numbers, and sparingly used video interludes to allow for outfit changes (and a catching of breath on either side of the stage). Though Gigi, Symone and A’Whora were adoringly received by the crowd for their individual routines and face-to-face serves, it was Bimini and Tayce who were the most greedily lapped up.
It’s hard not to be entranced by a queen like Bimini, who lit up a cigarette while sauntering towards the audience, inserted a lollipop into an eager woman’s mouth, set off a mini rave to The Prodigy and finished the whole thing with an anti-Tory tirade. Cheeky, sharp and just the right balance of intimidating yet approachable. But, this being close to a homecoming gig, it was Tayce’s night to own – and own it she did, sometimes with a single, over the shoulder look to the comparatively unwashed, sweaty masses and a whip of her cherry red, waist-long Cher hair. Her Janet Jackson-themed dance number popped and dropped in all the right places, reminding us why she clawed her way to the top of her Drag Race season on lip syncs alone. The night is polished off by the Valleys icon leading the other four in a round of shot-downing (much to A’Whora’s hungover distaste), before suggesting moving things to Pulse for the afterparty.
From theatre to panto to comedy, Cardiff is currently experiencing a seasonal dragsplosion of options for queer culture participants and fans to sink their money into. Whether or not Drag Race is losing its edge due to a similar oversaturation of the market is one debate, but the evening of glamazonian entertainment that was MODE was, in the words of Mother Ru, a shot of adrenalin; one I sincerely hope Klub Kids repeats.
Tramshed, Cardiff, Thurs 9 Dec
words HANNAH COLLINS
