It’s never a drag at Gladys: The Nosy Neighbor

Pearl Liaison makes an appearance in Denver

Located in the Santa Fe Arts District, Gladys: The Nosy Neighbor is a gay bar that offers Denverites a taste of what a real party is all about. The bar holds regular weekly drag performances. On the 26th, Gladys hosted the show, “Gladys Meets Pearl” drag performance, featuring iconic drag queen, Pearl Liaison, from the seventh season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Pearl performed alongside local Denver drag queens Izzy Dead, Daphene Decoteau, and Vivica Galactica.

Gladys is fairly new to the Santa Fe Arts District. “Gladys has only been open for about nine months,” Chris Newell, who owns the bar, said. “I own the bar, Trade, across the street. Glady’s has more glitz [than Trade] and focuses more on drag performances. We’re all excited that Pearl flew in from LA tonight to perform at Gladys.”

The crowd slowly filled up the 1950’s retro bar and waited for the queens to take the stage at 10 p.m. Lacey Fauxx Vanderpump was the host for the evening. She kept the crowd entertained, making jokes about how drag queens are never on time because they’re always on “drag queen” time. By 10:30, Lunette Cassette graced the stage with some upbeat electronic pop music as she strutted across the stage in a black, sparkly one-piece and a leather jacket. The crowd cheered and held up dollars for Lunette in support of her performance.

After Cassette’s performance, Daphene DeCoteau sang Jennifer Hudson’s powerhouse love song, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” for the crowd instead of lip-syncing. Dollars flew through the air as the crowd went wild for DeCoteau’s remarkable performance. Her outfit—an elegant, pink, sparkly cocktail dress—was just as powerful as her singing voice. Nine queens in total danced on stage, with the songs ranging from electronic house music to love song ballads, before Pearl took over the stage.

A heavy 80s electric beat filled the room. Dressed in a faux fur coat, flare pants, a feminine cowboy hat with the brim cocked up on one side—all leopard print—Pearl walked down the runway, where cheers began to ring louder than ever. She epitomized the meaning of fierce. All the queens took over the Gladys stage with Pearl, lip-syncing and dancing the night away.

Chris Newell is looking forward to what the future of Gladys holds. “We will be holding a one-year anniversary drag show in April,” Newell said. “It’s going to be quite a big show with