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Cabaret Noir: The Duchess and the Fox LIVE at The Red Room

  • February 17, 2016
  • 2 min read
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Cabaret Noir: The Duchess and the Fox LIVE at The Red Room
Julia Joseph
Julia Joseph
Duchess and the Fox
Duchess and the Fox
Grey Mcmurray
Grey Mcmurray
Red Room
Red Room

The stage was set. It felt like Absinthe was seeping in through the woodwork. It smelled like booze and occasionally weed, which fit perfectly with the aesthetic of The Duchess and the Fox. Their attire was straight out of “Midnight in Paris” down to Andrea Diaz’s hair clip and Joe McGinty’s undone tuxedo, which made me feel as if I had stumbled into the shadow of another era. Everyone was on-brand, for sure.

Then they started playing and three songs in, I remembered that I was supposed to be reviewing them and I had better find something to have an opinion on, because nothing really stood out. Especially after seeing the opening acts.

The first opener was Julia Joseph, she played quietly emotional folk songs on her guitar. She quickly sucked me in with the sheer emotion and quiet intensity in her voice. The second act was Grey Mcmurray, who embodied a bombastic contradiction, at one moment beautifully melodic and the next, disturbingly spastic both in the music and in his face, quivering with intensity. Both of these acts were simpler than The Duchess and the Fox, but both demanded attention.

The Duchess and the Fox shone when they told stories and “St. Vitus” was the crowning jewel of their story-telling. The line, “I wish that you could see only the best parts of my life” echoed my own sentiments about life and dating in New York, (I was, in fact, on a date at the time). When they decided to paint with words, it was colorful and electric. And in “St. Vitus”, the music and lyrics perfectly meshed with their aesthetic, so it was easy to get taken in by it. It seemed almost as if with “St. Vitus”, they started with the emotion and story and the Cabaret-quality seeped into it naturally, whereas with other songs, it felt more artificial. “Roam” was also notable for its lyrical gymnastics.

But outside of “St. Vitus” and “Roam”, the drama they hinted at with their attire and setup didn’t quite connect with the songs. It seemed like they should have been getting under my skin, but they remained steadfast on the surface.

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About Author

Chris Ryan

Chris Ryan is an accomplished promoter, event planner, producer, activist, counselor, poet and blogger. Within the course of two and a half years Chris Ryan has worked with some of NYC's most established promoters/event planners, been named 2007′s GaySocialite of the year, granted a promoter of the year award from NYC's most famous gay establishment, Splash. He's worked in some of NYC's top venues including; Avalon, Capitale, Cipriani, Cielo, Pacha, Element, Le Poisson Rouge, XL, G Lounge, Plumm, Hilton Hotel, Indigo Hotel, Spirit, Myst/Quo, Splash, The Ritz, Vlada, Roseland Ballroom, Heaven, etc. In 2008, Chris Ryan has begun to unveil some of the most innovative & unique parties New York City has ever seen. The Fusion events "fuse" together all disciplines of art into an event that remains diverse yet cohesive at the same time. ChrisRyanNYC.com won best gay promotions website from NYC Event Patrons in 2008 & he was granted an award from the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, Gov. Patterson & Michelle Clunie (QAF) saluting him for his hard work in nightlife. Chris Ryan has also begun working with many renown companies, including; doctors, lawyers, physicians, modeling agencies & more. Chris Ryan has been responsible for wide-scale promotions for all these companies & generating tremendous business. Chris Ryan has even started to become National with events taking place in LA & Miami this year. In May of 2009 Chris Ryan received the very prestigious honor of being named a "40 Under 40″ Gays in America by the Advocate Magazine. He also created three successful parties that generated over 1,500 patrons each. In January of 2010 Chris Ryan was featured as one of the top promoters to look out for in Noize Magazine Chris Ryan joined forces with legendary promoter/event producer, Lee Chappell and created one of the most talked about events of all 2010, Desire @ Capitale. Chris Ryan and Lee featured one of the most outstanding artists NYC has ever seen, "Oh Land." Her performance coupled with an exquisite and unforgettable set design added to this extravagant event that held over 1,000 patrons in one of NYC's most successful PRIDE events! Chris Ryan then joined forces with legendary Pacha promoter, Rob Fernandez in addition to Jake Resnicow and Tommy Marinelli to bring one of the largest and most successful parties worldwide to NYC, MATINEE. The event on Governor's Island saw over 2,000+ attendees and one of the most ambitious productions ever. In 2011 Chris Ryan started Emerge Music Promotions with business partner Darren Melchiorre. Emerge Music promotions began signing artists with plans to develop and market the artists to the community at large. Emerge Music promotions has big events planned for 2012 and 2013. Chris Ryan debuted the IMAGE events which took place on top of two of NYC's most beautiful rooftop venues, Rare View and Indigo Hotel. The events were blogged everywhere and featured the fashion designs of several clothing designers, artists and photographers. Chris Ryan felt that fashion and art should be displayed at every event and attracted the likes of Malan Breton, Calvin Klein and even Katy Perry. Chris Ryan began an extremely successful event which incorporated the concept of a house party into a nightclub atmosphere. The event Twist'D at G Lounge has been one of the most talked about events in NYC and allows it's audience to play nearly-naked Twister, beer pong, flip cup & more with other attendees. Chris Ryan was granted an excellence in volunteering award from AVP (Anti-Violence Project) for all his efforts in supporting the organization. 2013 has a very promising landscape on the horizon and Chris Ryan is complacent in saying "you haven't seen anything yet!"

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