Monica Beverly Hillz, who directs the late-night show “Babes in Boyland” at Jackhammer on Thursdays, discovered Jackhammer’s late-late scene at the suggestion of one of her girlfriends shortly after her run on the fifth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. “They just like to come and be incognito,” says Dauti. And for veterans of RuPaul’s Drag Race, it’s a popular destination to mingle with the audience and watch colleagues. ”Īlongside prime-time amateur nights like T Rex’s “Crash Landing” at Berlin and Frida Lay’s “Drag Race” at Roscoe’s, “Best Worst” is one of the sign-up gigs that gives new queens the opportunity to brush shoulders with more established names in a supportive, risk-encouraging environment. Slowly but surely, we became like one of the longest-running. “He would go around and be like, ‘Hey, do you want to do a number?’ So these weren’t really performers in the beginning. there were like four, five racks,” says Arben Dauti, who has hosted “Best Worst” for the past seven years. Delmar Medina, who created the show with another bartender at the time, “would bring in wigs, shoes. Publicizing a sanctuary for LGBTQ nightlife-industry folks who are looking to unwind might normally be considered gauche, but the more-the-merrier, come-as-you-are vibe in the air at “Best Worst” has been part of its attraction since its inception. Clark) has hosted the lovingly titled “Chicago’s Best Worst Drag Show” at the beginning of each week from 2 to 4 AM.
For the past ten or so years, the Jackhammer Complex in Rogers Park on the city’s far north side (6406 N. Like a gayer, more magical Brigadoon, every Monday night-the wee hours of Tuesday, technically-Chicago’s drag community, closing-shift bartenders, and after-afterparty seekers congregate for one of the best queer celebrations in the city.
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