Q - L i V I N G
Charlotte comedy troupe announces gay shows
Two nights at The Perch to help
fund PRIDE Charlotte
by David Stout . Q-Notes staff
An argument between two redneck
Nascar fans has sparked a war of insults and
the jibes are becoming increasingly inflam
matory. Without warning, one clod uses the
nuclear option: “Well, you’re a faggot.”Visibly
stunned, his hayseed opponent scrambles for
a topper. After a few beats he replies with dis
tinct self-satisfaction, “No,/on’re a faggot!”
The audience howls at the razor-sharp satire.
It’s another riotous night at The Perch.
For the uninitiated, catching a show at
The Perch is like sitting in the studio gallery
during a broadcast of “Saturday Night Live”
or “Mad TV’ The cast of 11, working in vari
ous configurations, presents around a dozen
sketches at each 9 and 11 p.m. performance
Fridays and Saturdays. House band Space
Monkey spices the show with between-scene
blasts of chunky rock and funk.
After a two-year hiatus this comedy tem
pest now rages in a new home at 1212 Central
Avenue. The exterior of the stand-alone brick
building, which is only a couple blocks from
the original location, is nondescript, save for a
single lighted sign. Inside, the decor is hipster
DIY down to the seating — a Bohemian
assortment of thrift store sofas, loveseats and
easy chairs that accommodate about 110.
The Perch’s motto is “Cheerfully offending
since 1994.” The cast does its best to live up to
the billing.
At a recent performance there were bits
about having sex with “mongoloid” girls,
zombies who prefer eating genitals to eating
brains and a scathing parody song called
“Gastonia” (sung to the tune of “Rocky Top”)
that was gut-busting. The show opened with
selected audience members being coaxed
into revealing their first names, cities of ori
gin and favorite sexual positions.
The Perch isn’t “gay” in the strict, rainbow
flag sense, but over the years they’ve present
ed scores of gay-themed sketches and a queer
sensibility infuses nearly all of their comedy.
(Plus, as the male cast members are proud to
announce, they love “dick jokes.”) To show
just how much they support the local LGBT
community, the troupe is partnering with
PRIDE Charlotte for a pair of upcoming ben
efit shows.
The special performances are set for
Thursday, Aug. 10, and Thursday, Aug. 24,
starting at 8 p.m. both nights. The shows will
be a greatest homo hits kind of thing, as the
cast resurrects its best gay material from over
the years. Admission is $12 per person.
Proceeds from the shows will help fund
PRIDE Charlotte 2006, to be held Aug. 26 at
The Perch cast have been ‘cheerfully
offending since 1994.’
Gateway Village (corner of W. Trade and
Cedar) from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Pride festival will feature entertain
ment and speakers on the main stage, a
dance tent, kids’ area, retail and food ven
dors and information tables for local LGBT
organizations. I
info: PRIDE Charlotte benefit shows at The Perch,
1212 Central Ave., Aug. 10 and 24 at 8 p.m.
Admission is $12.
DJ visits home
from pcTge 39
phase of his career.
He explains, “I’d accomplished everything
I’d set out to do at the P-House, and that’s great,
but I need to feel challenged. I didn’t want to get
complacent and start coasting. It was important
to me to go out while I was still at my best.
Tackling new projects, like coming home to
North Carolina and turning out PRIDE
Charlotte, is where my head is these days.”
Anthony’s headlining turn at the Dance Tent
(from 1:30-4:30 p.m.) wfll be augmented with
sets from local DJs Lin Benfield (Disco from
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.). Bob Shaffer (Deep
House from 12:30-1:30 p.m.), DJ Foxxy (Top 40
House from 4:30-5:30 p.m.) and DJ Logic
(European Breaks from 5:30-6 p.m.). Later that
night DJ Anthony will spin in the Vision Lounge
at Velocity as part of the official Pride afterparty.
As a special commemorative, Anthony has
created an exclusive hour-long PRIDE Charlotte
2006 Dance Mix that can be downloaded for
free at www.pridecharlotte.org. “I thought it
would make a cool keepsake,” he says. “Long
after Pride is over, you can pop in your burned
CD or play the MP3 on your computer or iPod
and remember the fun and energy of the day” >
info: DJ Anthony at PRIDE Charlotte 2006 Dance Tent,
1:30-4:30 p.m. Official afterparty at Velocity, 10 p.m. until.
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42 JULY 29.2006 • Q-NOTES