Queer & Trans July Fireswamp Show Recap

“What do all the blue-haired teenage lesbians listen to now that Ani Difranco is like singing about breastfeeding?” was how Bananz, a.k.a. Jailbird Thunderheart (pictured) opened her set at last night’s house show at the Fireswamp, part of the Queer & Trans July month-long line-up.

She followed with a set of fairly angry yet charming songs about dealing with cops, being silenced by whiteness, male identity, and other themes all beat out on guitar, tambourine, hands, and floorboards. I’m neither blue-haired nor teenaged, but I wager the kids would be alright with this. One of my favorite songs, “land lease law blues”, about her father’s experiences growing up a sharecropper in the 1950s American South, kind of reminded me of a Heaven, Hell or Houston-era Naysayer.

JbTh shared the backyard / living room stages with Emily Bate, Jake, Jubilee, and Dave End. Despite some pretty emo song themes, there were enough jokes, tuning fuck-ups, and positive mental attitudes to keep things breezy. I felt like I was back living in Austin, where everyone bands together against the sweltering summer heat and turns porches and backyards into amphitheatres, with dogs and urban gardens filling in for furniture.

Besides first time performances by Emily on ukulele and Jake on strum stick, I was also psyched to catch Amy and Brian of Jubilee right before they light out for their Pacific Northwest tour. Jubilee demo TK--look out for the song about her also queer brother. It’s I’ve got your back sentiments and “Fuck their expectations!” chorus always choke me up.

Finally, there was Dave End, down from South Freeport, Maine. End on body image obsession (“Phat Camp”):

“When I was growing up, all you saw on TV were people in spandex telling you to dance, now it’s stern-faced women in power suits pushing some pharmaceuticals. The pills are made of all that leftover spandex.” “If you’re falling off a cliff and I’m shirtless nearby, I will save your life,” he added re: the benefits of love handles.

About his recently deceased gay dog Sophie who made it easier to grow up in his super conservative household ("Thank You for Being a Friend"):

“The vet said she had an excess of testosterone; she would hump all the boy dogs and only eat the girl underwear from the laundry.” And, “This song contains a fair amount of dog nostalgia, so if that’s a trigger for you . . .”

I should’ve known End would be awesome when he sang “Fabulous Artistic Guys Get Overly Traumatized Sometimes” or “FAGGOTS: The Musical”--a song about street harassment. “Because,” he quipped, “You know what homophobes hate? Musicals!”

Way to go QT July and Fireswamp kids for putting together a sweet evening of homo jams, totally for free. Tonight, they’ll be showing Brother to Brother at the AqueerIam group house at 1361 Monroe St., NW.