Last Friday, one of my good friends moved 45 minutes away to Kolín, a smaller town in the Czech Republic, to teach at a preschool. This is pretty great and somewhat ironic, as she lived further away from me on Long Island, where we grew up, and now we're 45 minutes (one stop on the train, $4) away from each other in the Czech Republic of all places. In any case, I'd been lamenting that I hadn't seen one queer person since I've been living here and that they had to be hiding somewhere. Thus, a plan was put into action to find The Gay.
Our night started at The Saints Bar, a small but cozy pub close to where I live. As there were only a few people there, the situation looked dire. Luckily, the people next to me happened to ask if I had any painkillers (in Czech) and when I sputtered something back using the little Czech I know (the ever-important "Nemluvim česky dobře" or "I don't speak Czech well"), one of them ended up speaking English and we got to talking. After we mentioned we were lesbians (well, that I'm mostly a lesbian? Who knows these days, really.), they took us around to a couple places and showed us where the lesbians reside. Our first stop was a big gay club, Valentino, where one of them worked. This place was pretty massive and had 3 floors and "dark rooms" (where the sexin' happens) a la Queer As Folk. I was mostly excited because it was the first time I heard me some pop music in a club. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my share of techno, but sometimes I just need a little B. Spears in my life.
After Valentinos, we were clued in to where all the lesbians have been hiding this whole time, and that is Jampa Dampa. A small bar with a dance floor downstairs (very Candy Bar-esque for my readers in Brighton), this place was pop-music lesbian heaven. Finally. While I've sort of failed at being gay lately, it was a) nice to know where the lesbians are and be around other queer people again and b) amazing to get my dance on to some Rihanna, Michael Jackson, J.T., etc. All I have to really say about that night is "Mission Accomplished". Though my night would've been better if I didn't burn a cigarette hole in my new shirt. The thing about Prague is that you can smoke inside, so while I occasionally smoked when I was drunk in the States, I never really want to here because I'm basically forced to smoke everyone elses nasty-ass second-hand smoke every time I'm in a bar. Of course one of the times I'm drunk enough to partake, I decide it's a good time to deposit my hot ash onto my clothing. Fail.
I should get to the most important part of the weekend, however. And that was Peaches. A few days before my friend Jess mentioned they were coming to play in Prague, so I jumped on and reserved tickets right away. This show was kick-ass. Not only did she play all the songs I wanted to hear (Boys Wanna Be Her, Kick It, Fuck the Pain Away), she crowd-surfed (during which Colleen cupped her ass, score), she climbed up to the fucking balcony from the stage, she performed two encores of multiple songs each and was generally badass. The energy was great, the audience was great, it was Peaches first time in Prague and they seemed to be pretty impressed with their turn-out and they rocked. To put it into perspective, I ended the night with no shirt on, covered in fake blood spit out of Peaches' mouth...in a mosh pit. Good night? I think so. Here are some pictures stolen from Colleen's camera (unfortunately I lost my battery charger somewhere...thanks Colleen!):
Our night started at The Saints Bar, a small but cozy pub close to where I live. As there were only a few people there, the situation looked dire. Luckily, the people next to me happened to ask if I had any painkillers (in Czech) and when I sputtered something back using the little Czech I know (the ever-important "Nemluvim česky dobře" or "I don't speak Czech well"), one of them ended up speaking English and we got to talking. After we mentioned we were lesbians (well, that I'm mostly a lesbian? Who knows these days, really.), they took us around to a couple places and showed us where the lesbians reside. Our first stop was a big gay club, Valentino, where one of them worked. This place was pretty massive and had 3 floors and "dark rooms" (where the sexin' happens) a la Queer As Folk. I was mostly excited because it was the first time I heard me some pop music in a club. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my share of techno, but sometimes I just need a little B. Spears in my life.
After Valentinos, we were clued in to where all the lesbians have been hiding this whole time, and that is Jampa Dampa. A small bar with a dance floor downstairs (very Candy Bar-esque for my readers in Brighton), this place was pop-music lesbian heaven. Finally. While I've sort of failed at being gay lately, it was a) nice to know where the lesbians are and be around other queer people again and b) amazing to get my dance on to some Rihanna, Michael Jackson, J.T., etc. All I have to really say about that night is "Mission Accomplished". Though my night would've been better if I didn't burn a cigarette hole in my new shirt. The thing about Prague is that you can smoke inside, so while I occasionally smoked when I was drunk in the States, I never really want to here because I'm basically forced to smoke everyone elses nasty-ass second-hand smoke every time I'm in a bar. Of course one of the times I'm drunk enough to partake, I decide it's a good time to deposit my hot ash onto my clothing. Fail.
I should get to the most important part of the weekend, however. And that was Peaches. A few days before my friend Jess mentioned they were coming to play in Prague, so I jumped on and reserved tickets right away. This show was kick-ass. Not only did she play all the songs I wanted to hear (Boys Wanna Be Her, Kick It, Fuck the Pain Away), she crowd-surfed (during which Colleen cupped her ass, score), she climbed up to the fucking balcony from the stage, she performed two encores of multiple songs each and was generally badass. The energy was great, the audience was great, it was Peaches first time in Prague and they seemed to be pretty impressed with their turn-out and they rocked. To put it into perspective, I ended the night with no shirt on, covered in fake blood spit out of Peaches' mouth...in a mosh pit. Good night? I think so. Here are some pictures stolen from Colleen's camera (unfortunately I lost my battery charger somewhere...thanks Colleen!):
Me, Colleen (with her little beer) and Jess.
Peaches singing to a sheet with this projected on it, pretty cool.
The beginnings of the crowd-surfing.
Rockin' out (or shall we say, good hair day?)
Shirts back on, covered in blood.
Giant metro escalator on the way home.Now for that lesson-planning...
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