But wait...there's more.
Best Sign of Gender Equality
Trannyshack, the long-running Tuesday drag night at the Stud, is more than just a sexy, hilarious, fun, offensive, and often messy party. It's also far ahead of the curve in terms of drag gender equality. The entertainment, and the crowd, has come a long way from boys in dresses lip-synching torch songs. Drag kings have been sharing the stage with the queens for a while now. But the past couple years have also seen a flowering of faux kings and faux queens, dressed to overblown archetypal excess in the trappings of their own assigned and more or less accepted gender. And the symbolic ringing-in of the new era came last summer with the crowning of Fauxnique as Miss Trannyshack 2003, the first faux queen ever to take the title. This could be the beginning of a new view of gender equality, in which given and expressed gender become completely uncoupled. Because what matters most at Trannyshack isn't how you were born or what form you take on any other given night, but how fabulous (or freaky) you get while working it onstage. Stud, 399 Ninth St., S.F. (415) 252-STUD, www.heklina.com.
Best Drag Queen Limousine
You could go into macho hyperspeed and rent that 20-person SUV for a night of clubbing, or you could arrive in style in Pink Lady Limousine's hot-pink stretch Lincoln Town Car, with a pink, fluffy, shag interior, seating for six, and a fabulous drag queen tour guide along for the ride. Like it's even a choice? For the standard rate the Pink Lady comes equipped with a full bar and a stereo system. And for those interested in the deluxe treatment, owner Freetah B. (hostess of the S.F. public-access show Freetah B. in the City) or one of her charming acquaintances will take you on a drag-club tour of San Francisco, VIP-access privileges included. The business has been up and running for a year, and Freetah says it's especially popular with bachelorette parties, teenage girls, and gay men who act like them. She expects to add a second car to the fleet this summer to accommodate the high demand for fabulous transportation. (415) 859-0843, www.pinkladylimo.com.
when Erin or Fay comes to town we'll have to do this
Best Alternaqueer Club Night Promoters
Glam couple Adrian and the Mysterious D throw three parties, and each is its own special freak show. At the monthly Bootie, for example, drag queens dress like pirates from outer space, and the soundtrack is entirely driven by bootleg mash-ups (e.g., the unholy union of Madonna and Deep Purple). The Guilty crowd Fridays at the Stud is met with danceable rock and more bootlegs, everybody dances, and half of everybody has taken his or her clothes off by night's end. The Cinch's Saturday-night bar party, Smashed, is a mellower affair whose (ir)regulars are a fifty-fifty mix of dirty gay trendoids and older men from the era when Polk was the hot gay part of town. There, Adrian and the Mysterious D play whatever they frickin' feel like between joining the crowd for shots at the bar. Whatever party the two are promoting, however, is a sure bet for a strange crowd and a good time. Bootie, second Wednesdays, Cherry Bar and Lounge, 917 Folsom, S.F. www.bootiesf.com; Guilty, Fridays, Stud, 399 Ninth St., S.F. www.guiltysf.com; Smashed, Saturdays, Cinch, 1723 Polk, S.F. www.thecinch.com.
Man, we really need to go to Bootie.