Happy Valentine’s Day, here’s something sweet with some Candi for you!
Tonight my plans involve a little self love (a yoga class, pervs) and then in bed early with my partner recovering from the best foursome I experienced in a while, at least since the “Unladylike Tour” of 2024. My Valentine’s Eve was spent in Stamford, CT in The Palace’s Upstage (a chill space in the theater’s upper lobby) checking out the “Calling All Lifeforms…Is That All There Is To A Tour?” show. Its the tour’s tail end and they have a few lesser known places left to go like New York City, Boston, Montreal and Toronto.
The show is a tight three-hours of back-to-back performances with two backing musicians. They are a well-oiled machine and there’s just enough time between sets to use the bathroom or get drinks. I’d never heard of the performers before but won’t soon forget them. In my gay opinion, it’s a smaller version of The Lilith Fair (for those of us old enough to remember) but more queer…who knew that was possible.
First up was Jenna DeVries, a “cuntry” singer for folks who hate country music. Her writing style is very countryesque but her sound is more rocking than a strumming guitar. She stomped her way across the stage and I knew if this was the opener, it was going to be a memorable night because openers don’t usually sound this good.
A quick break and then Kalie Shorr was up in her multicolored hair, booty shorts with a message (women’s bodies have more regulations than guns) and full-on rock/punk persona. She shared her rage and heartbreak in a way that had me banging my head and wanting more.
Third was the eye candy of the night, Zee Machine. As he explained, he’s the diversity hire because he’s the only one on the bill who hasn’t suffered religious trauma. His musical style is fun dance as he swiveled in his ripped jeans and kicked his way into everyone’s hearts with his chunky high platform shoes. Zee’s talent to work the mic is more than just vocally, props for almost fitting the head in his mouth and working the stand like a stripper pole.
The main act, Candi Carpenter, had their work cut out for them after these three performers. They came out in garters, an “Autism Powered F**K Machine” t-shirt and doing a cheer performance (someone has seen the Bring It franchise) with stuffed strawberries instead of pom-poms. Yeah, I was buying whatever Candi was selling. It was such an intimate show that Candi had “floor time”, drawing the majority of the crowd down on the carpet in a circle for campfire-like acoustic versions of a few of the tracks off their album Demonology.
Since I love me a good stalking opportunity, I was thrilled when all the performers came out to mingle, take pics and give autographs after the show. I didn’t see Jenna and regret not being able to thank her for such an incredible time, but otherwise it was a perfect much-needed, queercentric night. Definitely go check them out if you’re in one of the cities left on the tour, you won’t be disappointed.
