when the music stopped

Many of  my beloved holiday drag shows are moving online this year and I'm buying tickets and coordinating with friends and it reminds me, suddenly and achingly, of how I miss going to live shows. 

Miss isn't a strong enough word.

I long to see a show.

I can't wait to see a show again.

I feel desperate sometimes for the whole experience: to pre-funk with friends at a nearby bar, to walk into the dark club, show ID and get my  hand stamped, hear the opening band already killing it onstage, shoulder through the crowd to the bar, sip on whiskey and talk loudly into a friend's ear, dance a little, close my eyes and feel the sounds. 

I walked by Nectar in Fremont today and you can see from the posters when the music stopped. March, 2020. 

I cannot wait for it to start again.

*

In the meantime, shows abound. Support performers and musicians! Follow friends on Soundcloud.

• Jingle all the Gay (Kitten 'n' Lou, Cherdonna Sinatra, Randy Baby and more)
• Our beloved Dina Martina
• Shoemaker's War on Christmas