Nightlife Highlights: Red Bear’s Drag Extravaganza, Peach Pit, Uproar’s Beer Bust, and more!
Our picks of the best LGBTQ nightlife in the D.C. area this week!
BEYONCÉ VS. RIHANNA SUMMER DANCE PARTY
An import from Baltimore that styles itself as “an epic artist-for-artist, track-for-track dance party battle.” It says something that organizers had to stretch to come up with enough nicknames for RiRi to match the many established ones for Bey. So it’s Sasha Fierce vs. the Barbados Babe. Queen B vs. the Caribbean Queen. On one side is the “Drunk In Love” Bey Hive, with music spun by DJ Mills to get the bois bodied and the ladies in formation. On the other side is the “Drunk On Love” Rihanna Navy, imploring Craig Boarman, owner of Baltimore’s Ottobar, please don’t stop the music pon de replay. If it ultimately doesn’t sound like much of a contest, at least it’s a fun night out for contemporary pop diva lovers — whether they’re single ladies or those who found love (however hopeless). Friday, July 19, starting at 9 p.m. at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $15. Call 202-265-0930 or visit www.930.com.
RED BEAR BREWING’s DRAG SHOW EXTRAVAGANZA
Self-billed as “D.C.’s Own Blowup Doll,” the drag doll Desiree Dik has been blowing up alright: Dik has quickly become one the most prolific queens on the D.C. scene. She even helped break in the stage at the city’s newest venue for drag and related LGBTQ-popular entertainment, with Dik styled as the resident queen at this fully gay-owned nanobrewery, which opened in late March in the refurbished, historic Uline Arena building in NoMa. Every second and fourth Tuesday of the month — including next Tuesday, July 23 — the venue presents several rounds of Drag Bingo co-hosted by Dik with another young and rising local queen, Bombalicious Eklaver. But first, this Saturday, July 20, starting at 9 p.m., the pair will take the Red Bear stage for an extravaganza hosted by Dik and featuring performances by Leronica Vargas, Nadia Cole, CAKE, and of course Eklaver. The experience will be enhanced by the bar’s new drink menu featuring creative cocktails. So no fear if you don’t like beer — even you can have fun here. Red Bear Brewing is at 209 M St. NE. Call 202-849-6130 or visit www.redbear.beer.
PEACH PIT
Matt Bailer first got the notion to throw a monthly party with a ’90s pop music theme roughly nine years ago — which means the veteran D.C. DJ has now almost spent an entire decade celebrating a different decade from the past. Named after the diner on Beverly Hills, 90210, Peach Pit remains a popular draw — so much so that patrons are encouraged, this Saturday, July 20, and any other, to arrive as close to the 10:30 p.m. start time as possible if they don’t want to wait in a long line and risk missing out on any of the many jock jams in the offing. Bailer characterizes the scene on any given episode as: “A kind of sweaty mosh pit of guys and girls, straights and gays, black people and white people, old people and young people — all just dancing and singing at the top of their lungs.” But before you go and request a particular jam — even, say, “Pump Up The Jam” — be advised: Peach Pit is very strictly ’90s, with Bailer only playing and taking requests for singles released between Jan. 1, 1990, and Dec. 31, 1999. DC9 is at 1940 9th St. NW. Cover is $5, or $8 after midnight. Call 202-483-5000 or visit www.dcnine.com.
ROAR: ROOFTOP BEER BUST
Talk about ending your weekend with a bang — for your buck, at the very least. Every Sunday, including this Sunday, July 21, starting at 4 p.m., Uproar offers a boozy, bottomless experience where $17 will get you endless pours of Shock Top and Bud Light over the course of four hours up on the roof. Also a free Captain Morgan rum shot for those who shuck their shirt. All that plus complimentary “food bites” from the kitchen, and the great, happy, poppy, housy music from the venue’s great, happy, papi, woofy DJ Mike Babbitt on the decks. Uproar is at 639 Florida Ave NW. Call 202-462-4464 or visit www.facebook.com/uproarloungedc.
THE LEGWARMERS AT THE STATE THEATRE
It’s been over 17 years now since Gordon Gartrell and Cru Jones started what has long been heralded as D.C.’s “premier ’80s tribute band,” performing the guilty pleasure hits of the decade. The group, whose members also include Chet Reno, Lavaar Huxtable, Roxanne Rio, Capt. Morgan Pondo, and Clarence McFly, has performed at concert halls throughout the region and beyond. Yet its home base is Virginia’s State Theatre, where the band returns once a month, and at every show audience members dress the part — think shellacked big hair, lacy ankle socks, stirrup and parachute pants. Saturday, July 20, starting at 7:30 p.m. The State Theatre is at 220 North Washington St., Falls Church. Tickets are $20. Call 703-237-0300 or visit www.thestatetheatre.com.
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