Slowly however certainly, because the viewers started to fill out, folks realized the DJ was actually on one. Ickarus, a fixture of New York’s Bushwig drag collective, flew via Sizzling 100 belters (“365,” “Pink Pony Membership,” “Physique”), splicing in misty synths, open hats, and sweaty drums with finesse. A mixture of “NUEVAYoL” and Benny Bennasi’s “Satisfaction” acquired issues much more heated. To shut their set, Ickarus ushered in a mini–drag present with La Zavaleta, a queen with bandages wrapped round her head and torso like After Hours–period Weeknd (till she theatrically peeled them off, in fact). After trotting and thrusting to Kim Petras onstage, La Zavaleta christened the celebration with some variety phrases: “Please, please, please respect each other,” she implored. “Love one another. And never only for Pleasure! Each single month.”
Knockdown Middle was effervescent by now, its open-aired inside rife with tipsy, bass-hungry revelers. Of all of the acts, although, Sudanese American vocalist Dua Saleh was essentially the most subdued, swaying between heart-fluttering falsettos and crafty raps. “Does anyone love hip-hop?” Saleh requested earlier than ripping into the subterranean lurch of “cat scratch.” Clad in a black, flowy gown with chains swinging round their waist, Dua Saleh’s whispery cadence gave her a fascinating presence over the room.
