Like a gayer, more magical Brigadoon, every Monday night—the wee hours of Tuesday, technically—Chicago’s drag community, closing-shift bartenders, and after-afterparty seekers congregate for one of the best queer celebrations in the city. For the past ten or so years, the Jackhammer Complex in Rogers Park on the city’s far north side (6406 N. Clark) has hosted the lovingly titled “Chicago’s Best Worst Drag Show” at the beginning of each week from 2 to 4 AM.
Alongside prime-time amateur nights like T Rex’s “Crash Landing” at Berlin and Frida Lay’s “Drag Race” at Roscoe’s, “Best Worst” is one of the sign-up gigs that gives new queens the opportunity to brush shoulders with more established names in a supportive, risk-encouraging environment. And for veterans of RuPaul’s Drag Race, it’s a popular destination to mingle with the audience and watch colleagues. “They just like to come and be incognito,” says Dauti.
Up a few stairs from the main stage, the dozen or so performing queens set up a row of mirrors on the upstairs bars which becomes a makeshift dressing room, a better lit, calmer, unofficial staging area for queens to give each other pointers and grab a bite (in recent weeks, food has been provided by sponsor and next-door neighbor Leather64Ten). As Shalita Cake, who works the door for “Best Worst,” puts it, “We literally break bread together.” While she doesn’t want to give the impression that all drag queens are starving artists, the reality for many of the girls who compete is that they’ll have spent their last dollar for the week on that night’s look, then use tip cash to get home, so a hot bite at three in the morning goes a long way.
And as details trickle out about the upcoming Drag Race All Stars season four, it’s worth remembering an observation former contestant Kim Chi made on Twitter last year: “If you can name every single drag race queen but can’t name ten local queens in your hometown, you’re a drag race fan, not a drag fan.” Luckily for Chicagoans, there’s no shortage here of opportunities to see fabulous queens do their thing live—no matter how late it gets. v
