Palm Springs is home to a vibrant community of drag performers who use unhinged comedy and pop classics to entertain desert audiences. Meanwhile, a goth and alternative scene—featuring DJs, bands and emo-night performances—is growing, and it now includes a weekly alternative drag show.
Creatures of the Night is hosted at Bart Lounge every Wednesday, featuring a rotating cast of drag performers who trade the glitz and glamour of typical Palm Springs drag for heavier music, ghoulish costumes—and lots of blood.
During a recent phone interview with drag queen Natasha Backwards, she explained how Creatures of the Night began thanks to a collaboration with local DJ/promoter duo Luna Negra and their goth nights.
“The first one we originally threw was back in 2019, before COVID hit,” Backwards said. “This was when Luna Negra just started doing their shows at the Alibi in downtown Palm Springs, which is a venue that doesn’t exist anymore. We were supposed to have a second show, but then COVID hit, and they wanted us to go digital. When that was brought up to my attention, I was like, ‘I’m good for that one.’
“A year ago … we partnered up with Luna Negra’s goth night again to do a drag show, and that hit really well. We had more than 200 people in the room that night. Since then, we decided that we wanted to try to keep it going, being more of a weekly or even biweekly thing. We got in contact with the owners of Bart, and they let us have the space every Wednesday night.”
Backwards felt that creating this alternative drag show was important for many reasons—including bringing a younger generation into the world of drag.
“When I first started getting into the drag scene, I tried getting myself out into other places in Palm Springs,” Backwards said. “I’m not trying to say that they didn’t accept me; everyone’s super-sweet and very welcoming, but I never really got invited to do any of their shows, just because of my style. I felt like I didn’t really fit in with the other talented artists out here, so that kind of inspired me to round up more of these alternative girls and ghouls and creatures to just start doing our own thing. Since then, we’ve had other queens and monsters come out from the shadows who I’ve never seen before. It is a younger crowd at our shows, but I really like it, because the younger generation is going to be the future one day.”
Backwards said the shows go beyond just being darker and bloodier than typical drag.
“The alternative factor is that we’re not really the super-polished drag artists who you normally see on RuPaul’s Drag Race or whatever,” Backwards said. “Some of us are still starting off fresh, and we are here helping give that platform in Palm Springs. There are not really many places out here that help the newer, younger artists grow.”
That said, Creatures of the Night does specialize in gruesome makeup, piercings and leather.
“We’re different in the style that we have with our hair and makeup, down to the way we dress, and even our music choices that we choose to lip sync to and the way we perform,” Backwards said. “There’ll be a bit more fake blood … whereas normally, that’s something you think of just for October.”
Each show has a theme, from “Powerpuff Ghouls” to 4/20 to The Simpsons.
“We are trying to keep it to more of a theme, just so that way, we reach particular audiences,” Backwards said. “That way, it catches the attention of groups of people who we don’t normally get each time, and I’ve noticed that having themes does bring in new faces.”
Drag performers including Miss Cherry Superstar, Sapphire, Bellamy Cain and Natasha Backwards herself have been mainstays at the Creatures shows, but the event also has a revolving cast.
“We’ve had a drag king perform with us before … as well as Obsidienne Obsurd, which we had last week in our show,” Backwards said. “They just moved out here from up north, from San Francisco, and they’re now living in Joshua Tree. They just reached out to us, and since then, we’ve been having them in our shows whenever they could be part of it.”
Backwards expressed hope that her events will inspire more people to fall in love with performing.
“If there’s anyone reading this, and they come across this article, and they on the inside feel like they want to one day maybe either perform for us or just get into the scene, definitely come check out our shows,” Backwards said. “Don’t be afraid to talk to any of us. The performers there would just love to get to know you and, in the future, have you at our shows.”
Creatures of the Night has been a fine addition to the growing string of events catered to fans of all things alternative, ranging from Luna Negra’s goth nights and darkwave concerts, to emo night events at Bart Lounge and Pretty Faces Nightclub. Backwards hopes that anyone who subscribes to the alternative aesthetic comes to experience their drag shows.
“Whenever I see someone dressing in a more alternative style, I always say, ‘Hey, come check us out, because I feel like we will cater to your liking,’” Backwards said. “If it’s an older crowd, younger crowd, it doesn’t matter. I will always just try to get the word out—and I will say if you like blood, guts and whores, this is the place to be.”
Creatures of the Night takes place at 9:30 p.m., every Wednesday, at Bart Lounge, 67555 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Cathedral City. Admission is free, but you must be 21+ to attend. For more information, visit instagram.com/creaturesofthenightaltdragshow.
