- Asked about her favorite performers, Bridget Everett cites Dina Martina and Patti LuPone.
The Village Voice calls Bridget Everett “the most exciting performer in New York City,” the New York Times hails her “big voice, big body, and mighty capacity for testing boundaries,” and New York magazine says “she’s a one-woman liberation movement for anyone with genitals.” Next week, Everett lands at the Rendezvous, and anyone with an appreciation for glorious singing, itchy comedy, and/or in-your-face fuckery shouldn’t miss it. In advance of next week’s Seattle shows, I phoned Everett in NYC, where she’s wrapping up an extended run of her show Rock Bottom at Joe’s Pub.
Hello Bridget Everett! You’re just finishing up your run of Rock Bottom, the show you created with Tony-winning composer Marc Shaiman, which you’ve contrasted with your earlier, looser cabaret shows by describing Rock Bottom as “less pussy, more voice-of-an-angel.” What should Seattle audiences expect at the Rendozvous?
Bridget Everett: The show that I’m doing there is more like the shows I do with my band, the Tender Moments. Same character, same full-throttle, hardcore cabaret-comedy-voice-of-an-angel kind of thing. I won’t have my band, so this is more of a scaled-down thing. But I still give 150 percent.
What’s it like taking your act somewhere new, where there’s not a preexisting knowledge of what a Bridget Everett show entails?
It’s fun, because I think that people don’t know what they’re getting themselves into. Even if they’ve seen something on YouTube or Inside Amy Schumer, being in the room is something else, and the reaction if really fun for me. Going someplace new is great, because it’s like you’re on a first date, and if it goes really well, you know you’re gonna get laid, and that’s usually how it goes, so it’s exciting.
You’re renowned for being hands-on with audience members, whom you occasionally lift in the air pro-wrestling style. Have there been pitfalls to this?
You know, 99.9 percent of the time, it’s great. But every once in a while something’ll happen. I usually have someone lift me onstage, and they can’t always bear the weight. One time I was sitting on an old man’s lap and he whispered in my ear, “I just had my hip replaced!” So it doesn’t always go as it should. But normally, I just like to get involved with the audience, and the further they let me go, the further I’m going to go.
Last week, the New York Times posted an “In Performance” video of you and Marc Shaiman performing a song from Rock Bottom. Watching this clip, you’d think your show was strictly a voice-of-an-angel musical affair. Do you ever wind up with confused and upset audience members?
The thing is, I have songs about titties and dicks, but that’s only a part of me. I know that I’d get bored singing about that for an hour and a half, so I have songs that are, like, tender moments, because that’s who I am. I’m all different colors of the rainbow, and I consider my self a singer first, so for me, it’s like if I want to hear a fucking pretty song, I’m gonna sing a fucking pretty song.
I’ve seen you do both original songs and covers. What attracts you to a song that you cover?
I have a love of pop music and great hooks and the joy those things can bring, and I just listen to a song and think about how I can tell the story when I sing it. I always think of things in the context of “How does this apply to my life?” and “How can I use this song to talk to an audience?” One song I sing a lot if “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus. It’s a really good fucking song, it’s a really fun song to sing, and the audience always loves it. But sometimes I’ll sing “Heroes” by Daivd Bowie and it’s really uplifting and fun, so it really depends on what mood I’m in and what I’m trying to say.
You have a lot of famous fans—Adam Horovitz of Beastie Boys, Kathleen Hanna, Amy Schumer—and I’m wondering which artists you’re a fan of yourself.
Well, if we’re talking about Seattle, one of my favorite performers is Dina Martina, for sure. I also love Patti LuPone, who’s a Broadway singer but also has an element of danger to her that I love. She is balls-out. I love anyone who’s fucking balls out—Dina Martina, Patti LuPone, Richard Pryor, Lucille Ball, Freddie Mercury. People who just go for it.
See Bridget Everett perform at the Rendezvous on Wed Oct 22 and Thurs Oct 23. Full info here.
