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It was a birthday bonanza weekend at Black Water Bar. Sunday, Nov. 10, capped the punk record label’s 25th anniversary celebration—not to mention the vegan bar’s 10th anniversary since opening near Lloyd Center, and the 34th birthday weekend of drag producer and host XO Skeleton—with a drag show inspired by rebellious music from the ‘70s through ‘90s, including punk, alternative and grunge. Trump’s election victory earlier in the week didn’t dampen the spirits of the 50-odd people who packed in for fried bites and drag delights. In fact, one performer christened Black Water as an official LGBTQ+ bar, seemingly with the owners’ blessing.
Highlights of the evening included the air-guitar punk band Lil’ Max Little and the Fags—comprising producer-performers Max Little and Mars, and drag king Given—and their Ramones parody “Rock ‘n’ Roll Queer Bar.” Sue From Corporate ripped an American flag in half and spat beer on its remnants in an anti-Nazi punk look, set to Dead Kennedys’ first-ever single, “California Über Alles.” Selene Latrine paid homage to the 1982 Diane Lane-Laura Dern punk comedy Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains. Skeleton, a retro fashionista by day, performed a striptease from an Italian racer look down to a vintage ‘80s red leather corset to Green Day’s “King for a Day,” affirming the band’s place in the queer punk canon. But it wouldn’t have been a punk party without a zine-and-button booth in the corner, dispensing information on Gaza and Lebanon.