Vancouver's Next Drag Showdown! Week 2 Recap

Frequently the music scene and the arts scene overlap, and one of the more spectacular examples of that are drag performances. This year TFD Presents is back to host the 12th year of Vancouver's Next Drag Superstar! Support the Scene was given the opportunity to come out and shoot the show on February 6th, and we decided to give you a recap of what went down during week 2's performances. 

This years competition is taking place once again at Celebrities Nightclub. Every week they have a different guest judge to help decide who will continue from that week's performances. This week's guest judge was the incredible Tiffany Ann Co, one of the incredibly contestants from Season 5 of Canada's Drag Race. Alongside Tiffany was last year's winner, Androgynass, and Tommy of TFD Presents. The show was hosted by the lovely Genesis, the winner of the 10th year of VNDS.

The winners have an incredible prize package, that includes a photoshoot, cash, and of course a very shiny crown and jewels. 

This week there was no messing around as the show proceeded quite quickly. The judges reminded us of the things they would be judged on, and let us know that this week the contestants had a bit of a different challenge: They were to present a mix of multiple songs that was between 5 and 8 minutes long, and included an intense 45 second dance break! Yep, you read that right, that's not a short performance by any means. We realized quite quickly that this was why the judges were quick to push the evening forward. 

In addition to this extensive performance, there was a slight difference from this week to last week. Unlike last week, where only 2 had to lip sync, this week there would be 4, making the stakes much higher. 

Before we knew it, Genesis took to the stage in a delightful outfit of reds, blues, and yellows; an outfit that screamed French runway, with an adorable red beret, gloves and thigh high stilleto boots. She was eager to move the night ahead, and so were we, as she began to introduce the individual acts.

♪ ♫ ♪ 

Performance: Jurassic Jill // @thejurassicjill

For a first time competitor, and being very new to drag, Jill made one hell of an impression. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't absolutely delighted by this performance. She came out from the crowd, rather than the side stage, and she was feathered, sequined, and out to make an impression. A white blouse, black mini best overtop, and black glitter mini glitter started out the look; a feather and silver sequined jacket overtop, which was quickly removed during the performance. She danced to songs that swapped from slow to fast, lip syncing along to various songs, including Rim Job. After a moment or two of this dancing, and a well timed jump off the stage, she disappeared out of sight to bring out one of the greatest things I've ever seen at a drag show; an inflated dino in thigh high heels, covered in glitter and with a collar and leash around it's neck. They bobbed their way over to a chair in the center, and was spanked and punished by Jill. As a volcano is mentioned on the soundtrack, the dino disappeared off stage in fear. Meanwhile, Jill stripped down to a white rhinestone bodysuit to end the performance. The judges were delighted, to say the least. They did note that the timing was a bit off at the beginning of the show, but that it was a great performance overall, with a very clear and concise brand and character. They complimented her choice of entering via the crowd instead of the side stage, and commented that for a Baby Queen, her makeup was on point. A couple points of constructive criticism included a mention of keeping the mic up during her lip sync, and to truly own the stage, and not just the crowd. 

 

Performance: Burna Dart // @burna_dart 

Burna made the lineup last year, and took a shot at the elusive VNDS title again this year. With a cute skit to open up her performance, she rocked the look in a white corset and bra with rhinestones, a white long sleeved underneath. A white wedding-dress styled bussel, loaded with glitter, and a layered ruffled style mini skirt. She had white fishnets over white nylons, and black boots. As she performed, she paused at one minute to grab a prop off stage, and reappeared with a white frame in hand. She held it up in front of her, singing "I wanna love you forever" to the frame, until she turned to show the crowd an image of Luigi Mangione on the canvas. On the projector in behind her, various different images of Luigi passed as the crowd cheered loudly in favor of this true love. Eventually she pulled a Luigi plushie out from under her skirt, and continued to sing various love songs to it. Finally she transitioned into Teenage Dream for the dance break, taking fake shots and having some fun with extra floorwork as she rolled backwards onto the stage. As her performance came to a close, "in memory of Dee Monstrative" crossed the board. The judges were overall happy with the performance, commenting on excellent lip syncing and fantastic music choices. There was a comment regarding losing interest part way through, and they almost missed the dance break. There was also the same criticsm we heard last week; black shoes with the white outfit just doesn't work. Overall, everyone was pleased with the performance.

 

Performance: Son of a Butch // @son.of.a.butchxo

Before the performance, Genesis was kind enough to warn us of a strobe light that would be used towards the end of the performance. She should have warned us about the sheer talent we were going to see instead, so we didn't have to pick our jaws up off the floor afterwards. As she stepped off stage and the music started, Son of a Butch stepped out in full black coverage, head to toe, facing away. He then turned to reveal black latex pants, a long sheer black skirt overtop, and bright red hair peaking out from under a hood.  With slow, sensual, intentional movements, he dropped his cape, revealing the later top and black corset underneath. Peaking through you could spot black rhinestoned pasties and lines of red glitter across his chest. He crawled and climbed, humped and grinded the floor and stage, enthralling the audience. The music was intense, going from Jesus to Closer, working the stage and floor and taking the breath away of everyone he encountered. The song transitioned into Thunderstruck as he worked his way to the judges table, like a gothic incubus in his movements, until he was up close and personal with the judges. As he leaned over the table, we couldn't quite spot what happened, but mentions of fake blood later tells me there was a cup filled with it on the table by the time he left them and headed back to the stage. The judges were beyond impressed, with compliments on the character development from last year, the smooth transition between songs and dancing, and the power in the stillness and slow movements they embodied. Words like flawless, clean, dramatic, and intense were used. The phrase "the Satanic temple of Butchifer" was mentioned, and this reviewer is wondering how she can sign up. 

Performance: Addi Pose // @addi.pose

As Genesis introduced Addi to the crowd, she mentioned that she was pushing through an ankle that had been broken just the month prior. The crowd was very quick to forget that, as her performance had everyone going; what injury? In a gold bodysuit and a high pony with loads of gold tinsel in it, she was incredibly eye catching on stage. As her performance started, the audience quickly became aware of how much comedy we could expect. As the song continued, a whip sound would crack across the speakers, and she would whip her pony tail to the delight of the crowd. There were tons of bleeps and cut ins through this performance, ones that had the crowd howling as she fake fingered the air, licked her hands, and thrusted. At one point, the skit switched over to one known from Canada's Drag Race, and she targeted the judges with her lip synced yells. Eventually she brought a backup dancer out with her, and they ripped over her skirt leaving just a bodysuit and tassels. They transitioned back and forth between slow and fast tempos, dancing together beautifully. Very show tunes at times, very ballroom at others, it was a fantastic performance. The crowd at the end gave her a full standing ovation, a solid 20 seconds of cheering filled the room. As they settled down, the judges were ecstatic to share how happy they were with the performance, calling it "pretty perfect", loving the comedy, the confidence, and the incredible choreography. At one point, Tommy commented that Addi is "the ponytail of Vancouver", and it was safe to say the crowd agreed. 

Performance: Carl Leatherz // @carlleatherz

We were very excited to see Carl get on stage, as he came with an amp and a beautiful singing voice. He had an incredible bass-filled voice that sung along to everyone's favorite Fat Bottom Girls, transitioning to Proud Mary and eventually into Green Day. He work a black cop cap, leather jacket and blue jeans, but the jacket was shed quickly into the performance, revealing a black and silver chest strap. He eventually stepped off stage to bring out an electric guitar as Green Day played. Unfortunately, the amp was never turned on, so we never got to hear how incredible his performance truly was. He eventually tore off his jeans to reveal wide holed fishnets and a black glittered jock strap. Completing the look with black combat boots, the crowd was delightful. He even jumped off the stage for his transition into Ken, and the crowd adored it. The judges were quick with their review, commenting on his great voice and how much sparkle he had, though they had wished he had kept the jacket on longer, and he had played more with makeup. Overall, an excellent performance. 

 

Performance: Carrie Oki Doki // @carrie_oki_doki

This was an absolutely delightful performance, as she came out on stage in a grey office style suit that had been tailed into chaps and a cute little mini dress. She held a phone in her hand, one that she sung into as she lip sync'd through the song. A bright yellow scarf wrapped around her neck. At one point, the music cuts off with a ring, and she answers the phone. "Canadian Tax Revenue Agency..." She was quick to hang up (I think we all would have been). The song transitions from Telephone Line to Call me, and as the beat of the song picked up, she would beat her faux phone against the receiver. Again and again the music is interrupted by a phone call. "Hi, I'd like to order a pepperoni pizza....", "If you have any questions, for English, press 1....", "Carrie, you said you'd be here 3 hours ago, where are you?"... The music transitions between phone songs, one by one, with delightful floor drops and crowd work, with a cute little shuffle dance, ending in a floor pose. The crowd ate her up, and were absolutely delighted. The judges were just as impressed, and were quick to advise the crowd that she had only joined the lineup two days earlier, right before the rules were sent out. They commented that there was nobody else like her in the competition, that she was incredibly smart in her drag, and that she was definitely an over achiever.

 

Performance: Sis Gender // @xsisgenderx

Another fantastic performance that was beyond entertaining. Everyone was uncertain initially as someone in a full white coverall with short sleeves came out, wearing ear muffs, sunglasses and a ball cap, carrying a large checkered flag. The music kicked in, and a countdown started, before they waved the flag. As they stepped off stage, Sis stepped on in a black full leather jacket, thigh high black leather boots, a black bodysuit with rhinestone belt underneath, and a glittered motorbike helmet tuckered under their arm. As they lip synced, they worked faux steering moves and even some light pole work into the dancing. They had backups step on stage with them, wearing short legged and sleeved checkered bodysuits, unbuttoned to expose their bras. They did a fantastic choreographed performance together, before ending the performance with the waving of the checkered flag again. The crowd loved the performance, and the judges seemed entertained, commenting on the strong visuals and accessories being on point. They did have some like criticism regarding being out danced by one of the backup dancers, advising them to get a weaker dancer, or dance stronger.   

♪ ♫ ♪

 

 After a spectacular set of performances, the audience was given 5 minutes to vote on their favorite performance of the evening. Once the results were tallied, there would be a lip sync battle at the end of the bottom 4 contestants, with only one advancing. Once voting closed and the tally was counted, first place in this weeks performance was handed to Addi Pose, which resulted in the crowd going haywire for several long seconds. Afterwards, Son of a Butch and Carrie Oki Doki were marked as safe. This left Jurassic Jill, Burna Dart, Carl Leatherz and Sis Gender to have a 4-way lip sync battle that we were lucky enough to catch a recording of. Check it out below!

 

Part 1:

Part 2:

The winner of the lip sync battle was the incredible Sis Gender. 

BONUS FOOTAGE:

I took a little bonus video, which was waaaay too amusing not to share with you. Check out Jurrasic Jill's assistant below! 

♪ ♫ ♪ 

Stay tuned for next weeks performance at Celebrities Nightclub on Thursday,  Feb. 13th!