Drive N Drag @ Soldier Field South Lot, Chicago, IL
Photos and review courtesy of Taylor Nettnin | August 09 2020
The Soldier Field parking lot was used for much more than parking on Sunday, August 9th in Chicago, IL! The Drive N Drag Tour rolled through Chicago for six shows Friday through Sunday and featured many fan favorite drag queens from recent seasons of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Season 12 top three Jaida Essence Hall, Crystal Methyd, and Gigi Goode were reunited on stage for the first time since their filming wrapped. Other queens that were performing were Season 11 winner Yvie Oddly, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, Plastique Tiara, and Asia O’Hara who also doubled as the emcee for the night.
It has been many months since Chicago has had a live event due to Covid-19 and safety guidelines, so this show was very different in the sense that fans had to wear their masks and stay around the vicinity of their cars. At a typical drag show you can go up to the stage and tip the queens, but everyone in attendance respected the safety of the queens and everyone around them and made sure to follow the rules, even when the queens came out into the crowd for their final number.
It was thrilling to be at a show once again. You could feel the genuine happiness of the performers to be in front of their fans again, as well as the excitement of the crowd to be watching a live performance. Each queen had their own time to wow the crowd, complete with costume changes and backup dancers. A highlight of the night was Yvie Oddly and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo performing their original song “Hype” together; their energies meshed well together, and their different styles complemented one another.
Utilizing Asia O’Hara as the emcee was an amazing move for this tour. In between acts Asia came out in the crowd to ask “Drag Race” trivia questions and generally interact with the crowd. She even found someone in the crowd who was willing to share their food with her, safely of course.
Although this show wasn’t like what we’ve grown accustomed to for live events, it was still uplifting to be around the distanced crowd and watch performers in front of a live crowd once again. If this is what shows are going to look like for the foreseeable future, it seems as though everyone is already well adapted to it and can’t wait for who they can see next!
