I used to imagine the VIP section was filled with all the glamorous people I never saw at a party. Now that I get invited to that exclusive, roped-off area, I know the truth: if the glamorous people aren’t on the dance floor, they’re not at the party. The VIP section hides only insecure people with a little wealth or a little fame who like to flash their money around, buying bottles of booze at inflated prices without having to interact with other human beings. More than anything, VIP is a way of making everyone else think an event is more exciting than it actually is–it gives people something to want. People want to want.
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Last Tuesday night at Funky Buddha was a little different, but not much. JD Samson of Le Tigre fame–more recently in the spotlight for her “Lesbian Utopia” RV tour, in which she and five friends drove around the south for ten days looking for a queer haven–was DJing, and the place was packed elbow to ass. I jostled my way through a thicket of drag queens and androgynes, wishing I was wearing a mouth guard to protect my teeth from stray limbs and cocktail glasses, and sought solace in the roped-off section next to the bar, kitty-corner from the DJ booth, where I could enjoy my drink without worrying it’d spill all over me.
The difference between this and any other VIP section was that none of us was rich, and our conversations were a little more lowbrow. Erica Corniel, drummer and singer for Office, talked about her band’s success at South by Southwest (yawn), taking Paxil (slightly interesting), and dingleberries (gross).
In 2001 he holed himself up in his room and worked on music, very rarely going to parties or shows unless he was performing with his band the Flying Luttenbachers. Now in Oakland he mostly does the same, hanging out at home with his smart, hot girlfriend and their two cats.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photos/Andrea Bauer.
