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MondoHomos Meet at Mary’s

MondoHomo Dirty South ‘08 got off to a great start last night. The Homo-a-rama Dance Party at Mary’s in East Atlanta immediately followed the art opening at the Tilt Gallery downtown. Many of the artists and musicians performing at the event appeared at Mary’s for some social time with the MondoHomo team, other artists and the rest of us. When I woke up this morning still feeling a little tipsy, I knew MondoHomo was definitely underway.

I asked Kiki, one of the organizers of the alterna-queer arts and music festival, about her expectations for MondoHomo v. 2. Kiki says she anticipates an increase in attendance this year, and hopes it will continue to grow in popularity, scope and impact every year.

The first MondoHomo last year was held the weekend after Atlanta Pride. But with the drought-induced re-arranging of Atlanta events this summer, I suppose it doesn’t make much sense to tie another event on Pride’s coattails. Besides, MondoHomo deserves its own time and attention. It’s focused on queer art and music just to the left of the mainstream. Okay, make that way, far left of the mainstream. A lot of Pride’s purpose has always been inclusion and acceptance. MondoHomo is more about celebrating our differences–including the many differences within the queer community itself. The MondoHomo’s moved the festival to Memorial Day weekend, where it will stay for future festivals, according to Kiki.

The music starts tonight at 8:00 p.m. at Lenny’s Bar with MondoHomo HipHop.  See you there.

Homos Hit Hotlanta Again

Take your vitamins and eat your Wheaties. You’ll need your strength for MondoHomo Dirty South 2008, hitting Atlanta this weekend for its second year. MondoHomo is not your “average” queer event. You could say it’s a festival for queers who are too mondo to be called simply homo.

MondoHomo is not your sugar daddy’s gay festival. Event organizer Kiki describes it as “one BADASS Culture-Fest full of queer rock, homo HipHop, visual art, film fests, burlesque, drag kings and queens, carnival sideshows, Indie workshops, fag football, Big Gay Dance Parties, and a whole b*ttload more!”

Based on my experience last year, I’d say that about covers it. The four-day music, arts and crafts event starts tomorrow night with an art opening at the Tilt Gallery, followed by Homo-a-rama, a free dance party at Mary’s in East Atlanta. A dance party at Mary’s is always interesting, with so little space to move. I swear that bar could triple in size and still be crowded. But it’s one of the friendliest, happiest little homo bars in the city. Last time I was there, the bartender came out from behind the bar, maneuvered through the crowd, tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I wanted another drink. Now that’s service! Not bad treatment for a lezzie in a boy-dominated establishment. Look around the next time you’re at Mary’s, and you’ll notice that everybody is smiling. It’s one happy homo watering hole.

I attended all four days of MondoHomo last year, and haven’t had as much fun since. Certainly I have not had the opportunity to hear better music across so many genres–most of it queer, a lot of it edgy, and all if it big fun. That’s why you’re likely to see me, beer in hand, dancing around East Atlanta, Cabbagetown and points in between this weekend.

It’s going to be one Mondo Memorial Day. Many events are free, some others are individually priced, or you can buy a pass for the whole MondoHomo enchilada for $50–cheaper than a tank of gas!

MondoHomo Dirty South 2008 Schedule

Mondo Art Opening
Thursday, May 22, 7-10pm | FREE, all ages, at Tilt Gallery | 274 Walker Street in Atlanta’s Castleberry gallery district. 20+ artists, mixed media.
Homo-a-rama Dance Party (free)
Mary’s in East Atlanta, 1287 Glenwood Ave SE, 30316
MondoHomo HipHop
Friday May 23rd, 8pm Lenny’s Bar, $15 | 486 Decatur St SE (at Boulevard), 30312
MC Tim’m West. HomoHop Artists: Nicky Click, Athens Boys Choir, Cateyez, Pam Jones, Foxx Jazell, BadKat, KIN (NYC), Las Krudas (Austin, TX), DJ Vicki Powell of Flux

Mondo Chock Full O’ Nuts!
Saturday May 24th, 7pm, Lenny’s Bar, $15
MC: Gina Bling (Seattle), Making Friendz (Brooklyn), The Dead Betties (NYC), Pariah Piranha, 8 Inch Betsy (Chicago), BIGG NUGG (Cleveland), Unecc, DaLyrical (ATL), DJ Kit (Philly)

Mondo Carnivale!
Saturday May 24th, noon-7pm | FREE, all ages, outdoors in Lenny’s parking lot. MC: Ms. Coyote of Idapalooza, the Fly Girls Aerialists, Anatural, Jeremy Gloff, The Bangers, Shitty Candy, Atlanta Sedition Orchestra, Plus: circus performers, graffitti demo by ATL’s own favorite graffiti son, Totem, skateboard demo by Skate Like a Girl (Seattle), bounce house, BBQ and queer midway games!
Mondo Day Camp
Sunday May 25th, noon-7pm | FREE, all ages, Tye Street Park at Kirkwood
DJ Gina Bling (Seattle), DJ Chuck Jones, Medea the Play, Funk/Punk Poetry Slam, Radical Workshops & Gay Games like Fag Football and other outdoor sports, Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship? (New Orleans)

Mondo Fagsploitation!
Sunday May 25th, 8pm at Eyedrum Gallery, $8 | 290 Martin Luther King Jr Dr S at Hill St, 30312
Indie films presented by Pink Eye: Featuring the new Pansy Division documentary Pansy Division: Life in a Gay Rock Band, plus Fagotronic shorts, and Ukelele by Ben Lerman (NYC)

Mondo Speakeasy Brunch & Closing Party
Monday May 26th, 11am-3pm, Ria’s Bluebird, $15 | 421 Memorial Dr. SE at Cherokee, 30316

Hurray for the Riff Raff (New Orleans), Vagina Jenkins, Darlinda Just Darlinda, Miss Mary Wanna, K.E.V.I.N., Ms. Stewart, Noah Redd, Heywood Wakefield (Boston), DJ Hawg-Tied

MondoHomo a Big Hit

Performers and spectators alike raved about the MondoHomo Dirty South 2007 festival, wrapping up today with a Mondo Mondo Revolution at the Eyedrum Gallery in Grant Park. Progressive queer artists and musicians from as far away as Seattle, New York City and Tampa descended on Atlanta for performances stretched over four nights and more than eight venues.  (Check out Life on Q’s photo album, chock full of MondoHomo candids.)

Team Gina helped kick off the event last Wednesday at The Earl in East Atlanta, with crowd-pleasing 80’s retro/rap/electro songs like “I Like Butch Dykes” and “Straight Boys love us (but we like the girls).” Gina Bling celebrated her birthday at the festival on Friday night, serenaded with that birthday song at The Drunken Unicorn. Gina Bling and Gina Genius then rounded out their Atlanta appearance with a final set in the oppressive Hotlanta weather in the parking lot at Lenny’s on Saturday afternoon. Both Gina’s reactions to MondoHomo was “awesome,” which you can hear for yourself in a Life on Q podcast coming soon. (Stay tuned for our exclusive interview.)

An art show at My Sister’s Room on Wednesday showcased a diverse mix of photography, sculpture, the abstract and the avante garde. On Thursday, driving rain couldn’t stop progressive queer poets at the Tower II, where local favorites from Cliterati, Theresa Davis and Athens, Ga.-based MC Bad Kat rhymed with acts from Florida to Canada.

Can Can gave MondoHomo an early gift of a pre-album-release-party album release, fast-forwarding their CD debut just for the Dirty South crowd. How to get the crowd on their feet and at the stage quickly? Try Can Can’s trick: Rolling out duct tape on the floor, the band invited all who support President Bush to stand behind the duct tape line and all opposed to get in front.

Saturday’s Mondo Circus in and outside Lenny’s bar was hot, both in terms of weather, arts & crafts, music and half-pipe skateboard action by Skate Like a Girl. Even Gina Genius got on a board for a spin. As the sun mercifully set, the circus moved indoors and got even hotter.

Asheville, North Carolina’s Rishing Appalachia started some knee-slapping with their unique homo-hillbilly-rock sound, featuring banjo, fiddle and washboard. Katz of Athens Boys Choir continued the country kitsch with her popular “Waffle House” performance. The evening then turned hip-hop with rousing performances by Katastrophe, Big Nugg and others. The Shondes got political with a punk pleaser about freeing Palestine.

The Mondo finale at Lenny’s came from the Ex-Members, the Durham, North Carolina trio of former members of the Butchies, Gerty!, Liquor Bike and Womyn of Destruction.

MondoHomo Dirty South 2007 will wind down this afternoon and evening with films screened at the Eyedrum, followed by a dance revolution by DJ Dr. Katz, DJ Duck and others. For those still hungering for more MondoHomo, local dining Diva Ria of Ria’s Bluebird will cater at the Eyedrum. Ria and her partner are among the visionaries behind the festival, and deserving of accolades for this first festival effort.

Overall, the event was well-organized, varied in the art and music presented, and a celebration of all things progressive and queer.

Homos To Get Dirty in Atlanta

Scheduled on the high heels of the Atlanta Pride Festival, the MondoHomo Dirty South 2007 Festival will bring over 69 (who decided on that number?) indie queer musicians and artists to perform in Atlanta over the next five days. Planned to coincide with the U.S. Social Forum, the Dirty South Festival is billing itself as a revolution you can dance to in a fun Queer-centric party atmosphere for Southern locals, US Social Forum participants, and indie Queers from across the country. Although not officially affiliated with the US Social Forum, the MondoHomo festival intends to complement the event with everything queer, artistic, and progressive.

The U.S. Social Forum is America’s plunge into the global progressive community in hopes of helping to set a world agenda that puts people and social concerns above profit and national borders. It’s the activist’s answer to the World Economic Forum that multinational corporations use to set national and global policies.

MondoHomo Dirty South kicks off tonight with a triple threat in East Atlanta Village. There’s with a free Mondo Art Opening at the new location of lesbian favorite My Sister’s Room at 7 p.m. A couple of doors down at Mary’s, the Log Jam will surely help the guys get Dirty South. Across the street (and down the block) at The Earl, an artist meet-and-greet will get underway at 7:30 p.m. Team Gina, KIN, One Hand Love the Other, Akil and DJ Va Jay Jay are the lineup later. The Mary’s and Earl events require a $5 and $10 cover charge, respectively. Many events are free, but most come with a cover of $5 or $10. Or, you can buy a festival pass for $50. Festival passes will be on sale at The Earl tonight, or at Criminal Records on Moreland Avenue.

More information on the MondoHomo performers is available on their Website, along with a detailed schedule and ticket information. All MondoHomo events will be smoke-free, handicap accessible and gender neutral.

MondoHomo promises to shine with music and art with a progressive message. Stay tuned to Life On Q for updates and interviews from the festival.