Issa Israel broke down for me the vision of Dirty Triff: “It was a term I coined while making music with B-Banga. I wanted to use a word to describe the lifestyle that I felt that the young artists of the city were going through while trying to get their art out there.” Issa continued, “I didn’t want to use cliché words like club kids or other words that are used to describe that lifestyle. I used Dirty 'cause when you think of dirty, you think of raw. I chose trifling because it's the same thing but even nastier. Something that society looks at as the bottom. It's the lifestyle of any medium whether it's models, promoters or graffiti artists. That whole lifestyle of just wanting to put your artwork out.” Saturday’s Dirty Triff installment dubbed “Cometh Thy Children of the Night” will include some friends Issa has made since moving to New York City. Dirty Triff is bringing in WestGay party promoter B. Ames. Issa describes B. Ames as “a phenomenal, voguey drag-artist.” B. Ames has made mixes for RuPaul’s Drag Race and has also done remixes for Alyssa Edwards from the aforementioned reality show. Previous Dirty Triffs had interesting names like “Basquiat's Hair” and “the Vagina Abstracta.” However, I don’t recall anyone affiliated with the world’s most famous drag queen, RuPaul, being present. A Columbus queen, named Lisa Wu, will perform as well. In addition to the queens, a performance artist named Krystal Something-Something will make an entrance at Dirty Triff as well. “I don’t categorize him as a drag performer,” says Issa. “He might give you fish. He might give you girl. He might wear a ponytail. And the next day he might have on a beard. He is definitely look oriented.” While this entire spectacle is going down, Gerard Garvey of the New York alt-gay blog, Gayletter, will be there to take everyone’s picture for Dirty Triff to be documented on the blog. Issa quipped on what Gerard’s presence means to the party, “"He has the leverage to take a picture of you and put it somewhere.” Columbus deejays Noelsferatu and DJ Andy from Phase Two Studios will also provide entertainment at Triff. Valentine Steaphan will host Dirty Triff with Issa. I asked Issa why he thought pockets of Columbus, and pockets of New York work so well together. He believes it's because Columbus has always had a vibrancy. “We have culture from Punk to Funk and all that other stuff. People don’t even realize. The King’s Art District, the Aminah Robinsons, all of those different people. We’ve always had culture. Walt Neil’s African-American pop art has always been here.” Dirty Triff presents Cometh Thy Children of the Night featuring B. Ames, Krystal Something-Something, Lisa Wu, Gerard Garvey, Noelsferatu, Valentine Steaphan, and Issa Israel will be at the Summit, 2210 Summit Street. Free before 10pm/ 10$ after. Performances start at 11pm. Perfect Pussy keeps it basement length Syracuse New York buzz band Perfect Pussy played next store to the Summit at Café Bourbon Street Sunday, December 29th. The place was in full bustle, in anticipation to see the female-fronted band with a strong demo, “I Have Lost All Desire For Feeling,” and the somewhat magnetic name. As they have become the go-to band for most hyped touring acts, Columbus's Nervosas opened. Nervosas blistered through a formidable set of goth rock that set the room’s tone properly. Shortly thereafter, Perfect Pussy took the stage. Singer Meredith Graves addressed the crowd with a “I’ve-slept-on-people’s-couches” hardcore politeness, and also sung with a intense but minimal fury. At first the crowd stared because of the spectacle of seeing an internet mystery in the flesh but eventually thawed and responded with movement and excitement. Almost as soon as it started, it was over. Perfect Pussy played for about ten minutes and was out. Which is what you are supposed to do if you are in a hardcore band that doesn’t have 15 albums out, but it confused some in the crowd. It occurred to me that it is always interesting when a house show-type punk band hits the indie hype blog circuit and how different the methods of functioning are. Don’t get me wrong, Nervosas is also a house show band, albeit with a different sound. But the crowd that was there because of the Internet appeared to be startled by something that is protocol in hardcore. People were happy but confused by the short set. It was a moment of abrupt juxtapositions on different underground music circles and genres function. I’m sure Perfect Pussy will be fine. Fucked Up has proven this path can work.

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