Scissor Sisters Have A REAL Kiki

Last night the Scissor Sisters played Terminal 5 in Hell's Kitchen where an already ecstatic (and virtually all-male) audience went nuts when during their current club smash, Let's Have A Kiki, the band brought out Justin Bond of the legendary cabaret act Kiki & Herb. We literally screamed in delight and later at the XL after party I got to chat with Justin who was thrilled with the reception she got. We didn't stay long at the after party, but my loyal companion Aaron and I left marveling at the Limelight Disco 2000-esque crowd of club kids, dragoons, and general wildness. We both had thought that scene was long gone and we simultaneously felt very old and very pleased.

RELATED: Terminal 5 is my favorite Manhattan concert venue in part because they usually manage to keep the place fairly cool no matter how jammed the room may be. But not last night, where it was murderously hot in the balconies. To put it in terms San Franciscans may relate to, it was 4am at Real Bad hot. It was holiday weekend Pleasuredome rear disco hot. That's how hot it was.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson As Kiki DuRane

Queerty tips us to Broadway performer and Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson channeling Justin "Kiki" Bond as he covers Lady Gaga at Joe's Pub in NYC. And that's Kenny "Herb" Mellman on piano and backing vocals. Damn sorry I missed this.

Special Swag Friday

Courtesy of the Karpel Group, we have a Special Swag Friday prize today of two tickets to see the fabulous and legendary Justin Bond at Manhattan's Highline Ballroom on Wednesday, July 22nd, where Bond will debut songs from his new EP Pink Slip.

You may know Bond from his eternal lounge combo Kiki & Herb, which longtime readers will know remains one of my all-time favorite acts. Kiki & Herb was hatched in San Francisco in the early 90's and went on to play all over NYC, including Carnegie Hall and a 2007 stint on Broadway that earned them a Tony nomination. Recently Bond has been performing solo. Go here to preview the tracks from his new EP Pink Slip.

Tickets to Justin Bond's Highline show are available here. Regular admission is $25. VIP admission is $50, includes a meet & greet with the artist, and is a donation to the Ali Forney Center, NYC's shelter for homeless LGBT youth.

Enter to win two tickets by commenting on this post. Only enter once and please remember to leave your email address in the text of your comment. Entries close at midnight Sunday, west coast time. If you cannot be in NYC on the day of the show, your winning entry is transferable to another party.

LUSTRE at P.S. 122

Last night Little David and I attended Lustre: A Midwinter Trans-Fest at P.S. 122, starring Tony nominee Justin Bond. I wasn't sure what to expect, having seen Bond in many strangely diverse venues (on Broadway, at The Cock, etc). The show turned out to be an interesting melange of spoken word, performance art, dance, and cabaret as Bond and a cast of gender-variants took us on a trans-journey that included references to Joan Didion (really), Jean Genet, Kate Bornstein, and Ethyl Eichelberger. I particularly enjoyed the performance of pianist Our Lady J, who read with me at a recent show at Rapture.

Debbie Harry was seated a few feet away from us and at the end of the show I think I showed remarkable restraint by merely nodding politely as she exited past us. Out on the sidewalk, I waited for a cab a few feet away from Ms. Harry and her party and wondered if she could hear Feel The Spin, which I'd hastily cued up on my iPod.

Lustre continues through this weekend. Get tickets here. If you've never seen Justin Bond perform, you are denying yourself something quite magical.

Sisters And Dragsters And Models, Oh My

Last night Aaron and I waded into the downtown hipster scene to attend a release party and screening of the new Scissor Sisters concert DVD, Hurrah - A Year Of Ta-Dah. We got to the party a little late and spent much of the rest of the night celeb-spotting all the Gotham bold names in the house: model/singer Amanda Lepore, party promoter and DList.com owner Daniel Nardicio, Kiki & Herb's Justin Bond, French Vogue cover model and Bruce Weber subject Andre J, and on and on.

After the party, we moved into the theater next door where the Scissor Sisters gave a brief Q & A session before settling into the seats with us for the movie. Part behind-the-scenes documentary, part performance, the movie was just terrific. The audience particularly seemed to dig the multiple opportunities Jake Shears takes to remove his clothes on the stage. Props to Fly Life PR guru Carmen Cacciatore for a great event. Here's the trailer from the movie:

After the movie, we moved across Houston Street to raunch institution The Cock for their 9th anniversary party, which around 1am hit the usual Cock tipping-point from regular bar night to full-out, naked drunken bacchanal. I chatted a bit with electro legend DJ Man Parrish and Rapture Books owner Joe Birdsong, discussed fake fur with an 11-foot tall tranny, and schooled some youngsters on the merits of Vanity vs. Apollonia. Good times.

Justin Bond took the stage around 2am with a couple of able bandmates and treated the very frisky crowd to a couple of songs which may or may not be a part of next week's Kiki & Herb holiday concert at Carnegie Hall. I got home at 3am on a school night and am really paying for it today. Grampa just can't play with the cool kids anymore.

BELOW: Justin Bond and band.
BELOW: Amanda Lepore, Andre J.