Mygazine

Last Night On Commercial Street

I've been talking about her for a couple days now. And Tuesday night we finally caught Lea Delaria's show here in P-town. The Vixen, the venue where her show is running, has a very comfortable front bar room with comfy couches, two pool tables, and a juke box with everything from Melissa Ethridge and Janet Jackson to Heart and  classic Dolly Parton. We chilled there for about an hour before the show. My friends that I am staying here with met two great women from Chicago, the city they all hail from too, one of whom is a member of Bound Stems, a cool Chicago-based band that you can catch at the Mercury Lounge in NYC on August 30.  We ended up spending the rest of the evening with them, but I digress.

The performance room, which doubles as a dance bar after the show each night, is very nicely outfitted with a bar that runs about half the length of the room and plenty of well-spaced seating whether you get one of the tables on the floor or a space on the banquettes that line the two walls. We settled in with some cocktails and waited for Lea to take the stage. Backed by a killer trio of musicians, she turned it on and gave a knock out performance. As Lea put it, she is part Broadway diva, part stand up and part jazz singer. And all of her talents were on display in her set. She shows how she really had total control of the stage and is able to do free form comedy as she plays off of the crowd's energy. After the show, Lea signed copies of the Grammy nominated CD of the Actor's Fund of America Benefit Recording of Hair and posed for photos with fans. If you are coming to P-town through Labor Day, I highly recommend it. It is $20 very well spent.

After the show we made our way around town and hit a couple of the local watering holes. Around 1:30 as we were finishing our slices outside Spiritus, the place to see and be seen after the bars, one of my favorite writer/monologist/performers, Mike Albo, walked by with a friend. Another brush with fame and the week isn't over yet.

Lance Officially Gets His Card

After weeks, no make that years, of speculation, Lance is out of the closet. Bass is quoted in People as saying, "The thing is, I’m not ashamed – that’s the one thing I want to say," he explains of his decision to come out. "I don't think it's wrong, I'm not devastated going through this. I'm more liberated and happy than I’ve been my whole life. I'm just happy."

Congrats Lance!

Seen in P-Town

While my celebrity sightings won't rival the lucky bloke who caught Lance Bass at the Atlantic House in P-town a few weeks ago, there are a few folks of note enjoying the sun and sand here this week.

• Last night, while dining alfresco at Bubala's, we saw Lea Delaria herself out drumming up buzz for her show at the Vixen (we're catching it tonight) and John Waters whizzed by on his bike.
• On several occasions this week (waiting in line for a table for dinner, strolling along Commercial Street, etc.) I've seen makeup artist and L'Oreal Paris spokesperson Collier Strong. Maybe you remember him from his guest appearances in the L'Oreal Paris Makeup Room on Project Runway?
• And later last night in the East End, author and longtime P-town regular Michael Cunningham buzzed by us on his bike.

The birds

The birds, originally uploaded by erichunter.

No more after effects of tropical storm Beryl. The view yesterday at Herring Cove Beach.

Ah Vacation!

You gotta love some time away! After weeks of hearing my friends talk about their weekend trips to the Hamptons or Fire Island, I am so ready for some vacation.  This week I am writing to you from Provincetown, the wonderful whitewashed summer getaway tucked all the way at the tip of Cape Cod. Still feeling the after effects of tropical storm Beryl, the weather isn't as ideal as usual, but there's just something about this town that gives you a rosy regardless of the weather forecast.

We are still putting the finishing touches on our plans for the week. But, so far we know we are going to catch a few shows. This years it is all about the ladies. This afternoon we took a ticket buying excursion and now are all set to see the dragtastic Varla Jean Merman's new show Varla Jean is Anatomically Incorrect!, comedienne extraordinaire Lea Delaria in her newest show, Dina Martina in her show Soft Palate, and the grande dame of sapphic comedienne's, Kate Clinton, who is currently on her 25th Anniversary Tour.

And You Thought You Knew Fort Greene

A few months back, there was quite a bit of talk about how Fort Greene ranked as the neighborhood in the city with the highest percentage increase in real estate costs in the past year (81.9%). From what I can tell, rents are increasing too but not quite at the same rate. One thing is sure, though, there are changes afoot here in what used to be our quiet little Brooklyn hamlet.

Habana Outpost is now enjoying its second season here in Fort Greene. In the past 6-12 months a few restaurants, Ici (which got rave reviews), SushiD, and most recently Red Bamboo have opened on Dekalb Avenue. And just today I noticed a new children's boutique, Beezu, has also opend on DeKalb. The number of strollers in the neighborhood seems to increase every day so someone made a smart choice opening that place. Looks like Park Slope isn't the only place in Brooklyn for families with babies.

There are two new spots in the works at the intersection of Lafayette Avenue and Fulton (which has been less than pretty for the four years I have lived in the area). Mullane's, some type of bar or pub is under construction at the northwest corner of Lafayette Avenue and South Elliot Place (next door to the La Bagel Delight that opened a month or two ago.) Just two doors south on Lafayette Avenue, next to neighborhood staple the Academy Diner, someone is working on a space that looks like it will be either a new restaurant or bar. They are intalling a steel and glass front with a garage-door-like front that rolls up into the ceiling. When you look inside, you can already see where the bar will be and that there may be a small garden out back.

All this is great and only making our neighborhood even more liveable. But what I want to know is when can we get a good grocery store? Whole Foods anyone?

Happy Bastille Day!

Here's a nod to all my French neighbors in Fort Greene. Check out this great Bastille Day banner hanging on the side of Chez Oskar at the corner of DeKalb Avenue and Adelphi Street.

Is There Such Thing As BFF Overload?

Back in my college days, my friends and I passed hours sitting in the Co-Op, our student center, playing a game we called “Death Is Not An Option.” As people would walk through the front door, one of us would toss out the names of three people and the other members of the group would each have to choose our preferred sexual partner—and death was not an option. The real fun came when all three choices were people that even an indiscriminate horndog would kick to the curb.

Jake, Matthew and Lance would be a dream round. There’s someone for everyone in that group. But how about Smithers from the Simpsons, the pirate Davy Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, and Professor Sherman Klump from the Nutty Professor? Remember...death is not an option.

With so much talk about the hot trio—Lance, Jake and Matthew—I thought I would suggest a few other interesting threesomes.

Young, Dark and Dangerous – Jared Leto, Adrien Grenier and Wilmer Valderrama

Seth Cohen Is A Stud – Samaire Armstrong (Anna Stern), Rachel Bilson (Summer Roberts) and Olivia Wilde (Alex Kelly)

The Ocean’s Twelve Reunion We Really Want to See – Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon

Soul Food – Jamie Foxx, Denzel Washington and Will Smith

Dark, Brooding Euro Threesome – Jude Law, Clive Owen and Ryan Phillipe

Three Teen Queens – Hilary Duff, Haylie Duff and Amanda Bynes

Indie Threesome – Chloe Sevigny, Scarlett Johansson and newbie Nikki Reed

We’ll Always Have Paris – Their film Head in the Clouds may have been forgettable, but the hot trio of Charlize Theron, Penélope Cruz and Stuart Townsend was not.

Only In My Dreams – Michael Pitt as a young American studying in Paris and strikes up a friendship with French eccentric French siblings played by Eva Green and Louis Garrel in Dreamers.

Vince’s Entourage Or Is It Harem? – Samaire Armstrong (Anna Stern), Emmanuelle Chriqui (Sloan) and Bai Ling (Li Leir)

Anyone got any great ideas on a threesome for a couple other favorites of mine T.R. Knight from Grey’s Anatomy and Jeremy “HIOB” Piven?

Adam Hanft: The Twisted Logic of Gay-Marriage Opponents | The Huffington Post

Don't miss some great commentary on the New York State Court of Appeals decision on gay marriage. "Opponents of gay marriage cherish the institution so much that they want to limit it to those who value it in the same way they do."

To Live and Die in LA

Oswald's campaign to take America continues. After mounting a successful catwalk show (as he calls it) at the V&A in London, Oswald takes off for LA to scout locations for his first US shop. After poking around Melrose and Robertson, a perfect location for him, he is starting to zero in on possible spaces for his store. He also takes a few minutes out to meet with potential new client, American Idol host, and Kathy Griffin nemesis, Ryan Seacrest.

Back across the pond, Oswald stops by his offices at Givenchy to put the finishing touches on his catwalk show for that brand before refocusing on his real estate hunt in the US. Will Oswald find a cool space in Meat Packing District or NoLita? We'll see next week.