Astrud Aurelia got 'unexpectedly psychedelic' at her goodbye show

Weirdos, Queer-dos, and artsy types of all stripes crowded into the Linger Longer Lounge in Phoenix on August 19 to pay tribute and celebrate the farewell of AZ drag superstar, Astrud Aurelia, as she makes her move to Los Angeles.

While many outside of the desert we call home may know Astrud from her organic internet rise and appearances on both season four of "The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula" and season one of "The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Titans," Phoenix locals have had the opportunity to get to know her up close and personal as she made her mark in the cast of live drag shows shows like The Queer Agenda (formerly at Stacy’s @ Melrose), and its fan-favorite successor, The Queer Arcana at Kobalt Bar.

Featuring a slew of Phoenix’s best in drag, including Sassy SD DeMornay, Jai Skyy, Bambii, Juno, Sam Vee Oddity, Benaddiction, Ennis F. W., Axe Hell Rose, Koco Caine and Astrud herself, bringing a curated experience; while Jai Skyy made clever use of the booth and environment around her, Sassy brought the liquid moves, and Bambii got up on a table and almost hit her head on what this New Times writer would call a dignified lighting fixture.

It also wouldn’t be a Phoenix alt drag show without intentionally challenging art from performers like Juno and Sam Vee Oddity, as they mixed aspects of vaudeville and horror into their performances.
After the first drag set concluded, Astrud and her band delivered an unexpectedly psychedelic performance featuring completely original tunes. While the set itself only featured “a few songs," each track easily eclipsed a radio edit’s running time. Astrud glided her hands up and down the neck of the guitars like someone classically trained, and clearly strived for aural perfection in the songwriting and sound departments. The gritty texture of Astrud’s voice, which had the character of a fanfare trumpet, struck out in specific directions, yet was never overpowered by the instrumentals. Guitarist Calin Gross complements Astrud’s parts with some bad-ass solos, with Brandon Biallis on bass and Spencer Ferrarin on drums giving us some slithery rhythm and percussion.

The music set segued into the next drag set and featured more Phoenix drag "who’s who," like multiple pageant title winner and fellow Queer Arcana castmate Benaddiction, Koco Caine (who never fails to “give us face"),  Axel Hell Rose (a heavy proponet of the AZ drag king community and the craft in general), rounding out the cast with Ennis F. W., a drag king “boylesque” performer who aimed and successfully provided a "cure for our bicurisoity," (as proposed in their IG headline).

Astrud told the New Times that Phoenix will always hold a place of recognition concerning her growth.

“As a native Phoenician, I’ve always recognized the way this city has facilitated my growth as an artist by giving me the chance to experiment, to try, sometimes to fail, and to learn,” Astrud Aurelia said.

“Whether it’s been on stage in someone’s living room in a Coronado neighborhood, a gay bar on Melrose, or in front of thousands at The Van Buren, this place is teeming with culture at all levels if you know where to look.”

Astrud ended her answer to the importance of the city and its artistry, she reflected on the juxtaposition of vibes existing simultaneously within our general art scene:

“Phoenix thrives off a neighborhood style humility that’s extraordinarily juxtaposed to its extreme levels of talent and artistry; I hope this show helps to highlight some of that as I move on to the next stage in my journey, as well as a night to look back on fondly.”

More pictures from the show: