Justin Bond, iconic drag performer, returned to San Francisco for an evening of original material she termed "songs for the neo-pagan revolution." Formerly one half of the wildly popular cabaret-performance New York City art scene duo Kiki and Herb, the talented Bond is not so much redefining him/herself as finding his/her own solo persona. Before an adoring eclectic San Francisco crowd, many of whom might never have set foot in the sparkling new Rrazz Room, Bond moved seamlessly through a set of mostly original material written since May—songs of social misfits, gay waifs, unrequited love and the failing economy. Bond's lyrics are often witty, always socially edgy and delivered in a grand performance style honed during the last 15 years of success.

Opening with a haunting a cappella "Lustre and Shine," Bond rocked hard on the fertility ritual "May Queen" written at a recent faerie gathering.Ballads ("Salome" and "Stars") are delivered slow and deliberate in Bond's husky, smoky alto. There's performance art drama to the whole evening, enhanced by the choice of flute and cello as instrumentation. Bond moves well physically, as high art drag performers must, and is a great story teller evidenced by her humorous in-between song banter. Two excellent numbers were written by SF drag legend Bambi Lake, "Viking Dan" and "Golden Age of Hustlers," songs that illuminate the vagaries of gay life and reminded me of Rufus Wainwright material. The set ended with a song from 1963's unusual musical Marat Sade and "In the End," the song Bond sang in the film Shortbus. Bond's style is part John Cameron Mitchell's Hedwig, part Marianne Faithfull and a little Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill. It'll be interesting to see Bond develop the songwriting to match his eclectic lyrics. Combine that with his strong character and performance skills and Justin Bond could be a force to reckon with.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
November 22, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org