August Hall turned Pink Pony Club: Chappell Roan in San Francisco

Chappell Roan in her music video for “My Kink is Karma”

“It’s not fun. It’s not hot. It’s not interesting. It’s boring.”  These were the words that Chappell Roan used to describe her experience dating men during her queer awakening. Conversely, her first headliner tour, titled “Naked in North America” is anything but boring. Each city on the tour features local drag queens and has a show theme such as Drag & Disco or Homecoming Queen. The theme of her show on March 14th in San Francisco at August Hall shared a name with one of her songs: “My Kink is Karma.”

Roan is the first artist I’ve seen use local drag performers as openers and her concert was my first experience watching drag. Her openers, Hera Wynn, Cherry Cola, and Mudd, transformed the small venue into a pulsating, vibrant atmosphere.

Hera Wynn was the first to perform and immediately energized the crowd. Her performance to “Starships” by Nicki Minaj created an unlikely queer anthem as the crowd chanted along to the lyrics “Fuck who you want and fuck who you like.” As Hera Wynn strutted and vogued across the stage, I glanced into the crowd and saw audience members empathetically shouting “Mother! Mother!” Crumpled ones, fives, and tens thrown by the crowd fluttered toward the stage during and after the performance.

Entering the stage wearing white jester makeup and a spiky crown, Cherry Cola was next to perform. They told the crowd, “I’m here to represent non-binary drag.” Despite getting broken up with the previous weekend, they stunned the audience. With heart-shaped, reflective shards attached to their chest, they writhed and danced to “Heart of Glass” by Blondie. Mid-performance, they removed their long, black wig to reveal short, neon-pink hair.

The last opener was the drag king Mudd, who Hera Wynn introduced as their drag dad. Mudd, a two-spirit person, performed to “I Would Die 4 U” by Prince. From the crowd’s response, I wholly believe that the crowd would die for them. Hera Wynn, Cherry Cola, and Mudd gathered together at the end and jokingly described themselves as drag queen, drag non-binary, and drag king. They reminded the audience that drag isn’t going anywhere. While trans rights are being attacked across the United States through legislation restricting gender expression and banning drag, spaces that hold drag events create a place for trans people to feel supported and safe.

After the opening acts, Roan bounced onto stage to join an all-female band and launched into singing “Naked in Manhattan.” She was dressed according to the theme, sporting bedazzled red gloves, a red lingerie dress, red frilly socks, and white sneakers. Her fans were also on theme – the crowd was adorned with red devil horns and furry and bedazzled cowboy hats and painted jester faces gazed adoringly up at her.

Roan was full of energy and play. As she sang her setlist, she jumped from one foot to the other and her red, curly hair jumped with her. She smiled her way through a costume mishap and momentarily stopped singing during “Love Me Anyway” to giggle with a guitarist. In between songs, she teased her audience. Before performing “Coffee,” an unreleased song, she asked the audience what they would say if she asked them to coffee. In response, some called out “maybe!”

Frustrated that her mostly white, gay audience wasn’t dancing enough, Roan told them that they had a chance at redemption with “Hot To Go.” She instructed the audience on choreography. The chorus of the song is “H-O-T T-O G-O / You can take me hot to go.” The accompanying dance includes spelling HOT TO GO with your arms. Roan’s cover of “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette was also a hit.

Although Roan leapt across stage during most of her songs, she insisted on silence for “Kaleidoscope,” another unreleased song. “Kaleidoscope” tells the story of falling in love with a best friend and the relationship not working out. Roan confessed to the San Francisco audience that from her new music, this is the only song she wrote entirely on her own. “Kaleidoscope” was slow and sad, with only a piano for accompaniment. It was a sharp contrast from the rest of the set. 

Instead of shouting “encore” at the end of the show, the audience screamed for “Pink Pony Club,” which is Roan’s most streamed song to date. “Pink Pony Club” is about a girl who leaves the South to work as a dancer in the drag scene. “Pink Pony Club” represents joyful, safe queer spaces. Although the song is set in West Hollywood, Roan dedicated it to San Francisco, saying that “Pink Pony Club is here tonight.” At the end, she threw her red cowboy hat into the crowd.

Even though Roan’s fanbase is predominantly queer, she was not immune to heckling. When she stopped singing “Hot To Go” to check on an audience member’s safety, one person broke the silence to catcall her. Additionally, when Roan addressed the audience between songs, she was occasionally interrupted by screams of “I love you!” When artists create music that accurately captures shared experiences, fans can feel close to an artist and entitled to expressing their affection, even if that affection oversteps personal boundaries. Roan has spoken about the disconnect between her on-stage persona and real personality and being uncomfortable with fans’ actions at times. 

Chappell Roan’s performance at August Hall was a celebration of queerness and a reminder of how important spaces that hold queer events are. In a time where trans rights are under attack, it is more important than ever to keep queer culture alive by supporting local drag artists and LGBTQ+ organizations.

     Articles and Photos by Sinead de Cleir