Recap: Reading For Filth

Last night's Reading For Filth show was moving, hilarious, historic. I read something from the JMG archives, Tripping Over The Tubs, and that went over pretty well, but then my former co-worker, the dynamic one-woman circus called Robbyne Kaamil (above, before the show) blew me off the stage with a rousing part-poetry, part gospel, sex-positive performance that had the audience shouting her mantra, "Fucking is a GOOD thing!" I really needed that, because prior to taking the stage, I (and most of the audience) was completely verklempt from Eric Leven's moving story about meeting an HIV+ man and his own later close call with the virus.

But more tears would come immediately after Robbyne's performance as the surprise special guest we'd been promised turned out to be an actual (and legal) transgender wedding. Rapture Books owner Joe Birdsong called the wedding party over from a nearby restaurant and the room was suddenly flooded with 50 new people, including the happy couple and the reverend. And suddenly a room that moments earlier had been raucous with talking and house music became pin-drop silent and reverent. It was beautiful, just lovely, and I had to use my touk to dab my eyes.After the wedding, we schlepped over to Eastern Bloc where Eric was co-hosting a Hanukkah party. Eric handed out the yarmulkes (mine said "Bat Mitzvah of Meridith Haley Spiegel") and thanks in part to the Ginch Gonch-clad Manischewitz shot boy, we were soon rocking out to some Klezmer-techno. My yarmulke kept falling off my giant head, but Wayne Hoffman (below, with Eric) sort of screwed it on so it would stay. Next year, I'll bring a bobby pin. What a great night! And this time, I actually got to bed by 1am.