Monthly Archives: October 2015
Drink the Koolaid
In case you weren’t aware that I run another more “professional” website entitled RAYMI TORONTO well now you do and here are the latest entries from it.
Harper Collins @ Hotel Ocho
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Fashion Police @ The Everleigh
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The Toronto West Flea Market
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Raymi Acts Natural in PETROL The Series
If you’d like to have your business/brand featured on Raymi Toronto – all you need is to be GTA-centric and it’s a go.
Theatre Bizarre pt II
Hey friendlies!
TB PT.II is #happeningnow. Pt. I can be found here if you missed it FYI (I got you!)
Monday, am I right?
Oh, it’s time to go now? Well, fine then.
Lets see y’alls maneuver this big bobble head at the end of the night. Yeah I don’t care, love being a bit of a ham. Life is about fun.
These are going backward it’s the only way I can save my sanity and get through covering the madness of this event.
RSSR looked at this picture and was like, “Why?” it blew my mind he didn’t know why? “WHY!?” It’s all red matching omfg is WHY!”
The last room where anything was happening at the end of the night, meaning, the only dance party WITH A BAR OPEN. Can you smell the desperation? (Mine?) Lol.
This was a weird conversation and I don’t remember any of it.
That’s my hand. Awkward. This is the smoking area of Theatre Bizarre.
Do you know why masks are creepy? I read somewhere it’s because they are lifelike, but not and we start to engage with the mask, knowing altruistically it’s false human contact and barriered but we’re drawn to it still. Whatever!
Roxi D’lite killed it. She’s phenomenal. A great friend of my great friends. So great!
Lizzy’s awesome bangle.
One of my favourite costumes.
He’s asking if he can pick me up and balance me I’m like no chance bro I have been on a horse before I know how this ends. Maybe if we were in a pool together. Maybe.
That chick rubbed her foot on my shoulder as he was talking to me and now it’s like my favourite thing in the world. Have you ever had a bare foot tap you on the shoulder before? Go ask someone to do it to you but make sure their foot is covered in gymnast chalk first.
I asked if he was uncle Fester? By way of, “Addam’s Family, that guy?” Whatever I said I was wrong and I don’t remember the answer and it’s a girl beneath this cloak which befuddled me cos I am sexist like that. Befuddled!
What’s my mask count at now?
Roxi the renowned burlesque dancer is reason enough to brag here but the top hat guy is Theatre Bizarre creator, man behind the curtains and oh so umble about it blabbitry blah. I guess it’s like patient Zero for Burning Man. Those who know, know, basically. Nobody really applauds anyone for anything in Toronto so I don’t mind fangirling artists, my muses. My blog is basically my diary anyway (and sponsored by Bud Light).
A moment. Yes yes. Raymbo’s always gotta be in there eh.
What am I talking about? Probably nothing at all, which is the way to charm people who “are important”. It has taken me 32 years to figure this out.
My friend told me yesterday I was getting better looking with age and that it was weird. HAHAH Thanks buddy.
If you say you are from Canada you can do anything you want. Hall Pass! Do the mashed potato in the middle of someone’s conversation… lick a girl’s face as seen above. Anything and it’s yours.
I see, I see. This is the lanyard of someone who is scary as well as breathtakingly smart and makes taxidermy animal installations. Lots of prodigies milling about the grounds of the Masonic Temple.
Like this guy. So much went into this party. Sorry you missed it?
It’s very Tim Burton. My fav.
Year of the goat, bro. Plus another mask.
@destroyxbeauty is my Detroit photographer fyi in case that wasn’t clear. When a collab clicks you squeeze all you can out of that shit.
Pumpkin man is my fav.
As you can see we went down to the green room a lot. Lots of equipment gear and other nonsense down there.
More goat. Roxi came in riding that. It was amazing.
Oh hello there Mad Maxine. I’m scared and I like it.
Well hello there.
You know I love to strike a good pose.
Or, two.
Love it. Lizzy got to help volunteer the night before and deck out the Temple. Everybody pitches in. No divas. All equal. The only person who tried to get all things free was from Toronto. Of course. SMH. Sounds a lot like me though to be honest LOL.
Another picture from my travels but not particular to Theatre Bizarre but why not.
Me and David Bowie. I’m striking a Labyrinth pose myself and turned out to twin him, no? YES!
On our way out.
Thanks to the power of hashtags I have found all of these people in my photos for the most part. Ya hear that? Hashtags work.
An idea came to me in the shower.
Zombo is the mascot of Theatre Bizarre. Hail Zombo! That’s what you say when you see him. Lizzy yelled it out. So much weird going on at all times and I had a backstage pass to it.
6’7 kevin and I. He’s a famous Detroit instagrammer. He said VICE interviewed him the day before. I wasn’t jealous at all. Nope. Not me.
I WOKE UP LIKE THIS.
Planking. Peace til next time. There’s more. Which requires downloading uploading etc xo rlw
Ready for my close-up
The captured moment I did the jazz splits on a huge pile of pumpkins and made “a happening” and a hot sexy bondage Nun prayed for my sins, to me while a very happy female Where’s Waldo watched on. Time of my liiiife! Be friends with filmmakers, here’s why.
Theatre Bizarre
Ready to see and hear things you’ve not before? Theatre Bizarre is a huge 2 day affair masquerade ball gala (Friday night) and then it is open to the general public Saturday night where you do it all again. Saturday night’s theme was Year of The Goat. You HAD to wear a mask for Friday night otherwise no entry. It was nice to be VIPlease as usual and also have green room access. The Masonic Temple is a maze (actually world’s largest Masonic Temple in the world) and having a home base for all your junk really helps make the night if you’re an insufferable diva. This is the director of costumes and I. I made sure she liked me and this is how the deal was sealed.
This post is overwhelming me. I’m under the gun and there is just so much to say and share as well as process, reflect. I’ve been a bit of a fuck and chucker. Do it, dont blog it. I blog more and have in the past because I felt largely unfilled (bored) by real life and now I’m fulfilled, I do not blog. I tweet and facebook share a lot but I am so behind. I wish I was a brooklyn vegan type blogger. I did actually do a Big Raymi Toronto post before I came to Detroit however. There’s that. I just do a lot of shit, etc. This will be a two part post and that’s that.
After seeing the movie eyes wide shut and being a lifelong hedonistic waste of space, this sort of affair was just my flavour. I saw sacrificial sex shows, altairs, girls being all kinds of thinged on a pedestal with guys in monk robes sitting in thrones silently watching it was super arousing and the best time ever. Frenzied, gorgeous, have you been to a kinky seedy swingers club before? Well it is 500% better and classier than that. When I met my friends they told me Theatre Bizarre was on the horizon and I was like yeah I have heard of Burning Man before I get it bla blah. It’s nice to be a lover and not a hater all I am saying and you heard it here first just you wait. Next year it’s going to be a double weekend affair. You sleep in the asylum if you need to and you don’t have to leave this insane circus game of thrones sex castle bubble.
Lizzy and I prepare for night one. I’ll upload pics from my phone when I am back in Canada. An instagram celeb named good signman Kevin was en route to say howdy pre-TB and drove us there with Terry. They are amazing hippies. omg I have friends in Detroit you guys!
A need to see back shot for my Lizzy and that’s the Kevin guy as previously mentioned he is 6’7 Kevin it rhymes.
That masquerade ball line-up tho. It gave me goosebumps.
Fire performers. I got chills. Remember the scene in Batman when Nicholson Joker shows up and they’re at that ball you could feel the crazy in the air the excitment the pop colour. Lizzy says Theatre Bizarre is like being on a film set and it is because there are actors there. The tickets are not cheap. It’s a luxurious affair.
Something is going on at all times at every minute in every amazing room.
This is a main hall when we first arrived I was clicking pictures like mad because I knew I’d eventually be unable to do so and have my camera down below etc etc etc get them now bro. Go with your heart bro it is always worth it because you notice things you could not while in the throes of it. Wear flats btw as you know I did. You will be on foot quite a bit.
I was basically a victorian Satan. I had many mask changes through the night. Lizzy was her Mad Max Romanian Witch self. We matched as an oddball couple the second night.
Still in the main hall.
For masquerade ball night it was open bar. We met these light up hat chicks later on in the ladies room. L and I were singing a florence and the machine song like ding dongs while fixing ourselves in the mirror.
This one is mostly about the painting behind me FYI.
I’ll clean this post up proper later on.
Redge the ledge.
This became a vestibule of the most colourful characters throughout the night. Hitler Mickey Mouse, Zombo the clown (Theatre Bizarre mascot #hailzombo) and anyway I gotta split and hang with my Detroit Fam one more time before the train so tootle-ooh see you soon 416.
P L A Y A H A T A
Hello guys its been awhile. Been busy. I’m going to do a massive blog spread here tomorrow I frigging promise.
At the end of the first night of Theatre Bizarre. No wait this is second night cos it’s my second look. Anyway, we was fongry. This is Duly’s diner in Detroit. It is interesting to note that the entire place seems to have cleared out upon our arrival.
Once a ding dong always one.
I’m actually quite looking forward to blogging about my Theatre Bizarre experiences and the lovely people that I met. I am grateful and fortunate it’s still a relatively underground party before the whole world really knows about this amazing experience. Enough already do know about it. It’s over 15 years old just like this blog. Kismet.
Like how I did my leg paint? Yes me too. Last minute addition. Lizzy has this neon paint compact it’s killer and we put a dent in it. This medieval bodice is also hers and just arrived in the mail. Great taste boo.
Calf muscle you betcha.
What would you even call this costume? Mad Max Madhatter blade runner? Nokay?
A motley crew we are, that.
Artists making art.
I woke up like this. Shoulda seen Lizzy, oh man, black paint everywhere.
The greatest thinker of your time.
I even cleaned the sink myself easy peazy. Okay peace for meow.
in the lion’s den
Hello there blog world. What to say, what to do today. My last day in Detroit. Was supposed to leave yesterday but you know how she goes. Once you’re here you’re here.
This is an MC5 mural by Robert Sestok they’re a band from Detroit. Legends. I saw their doc during film fest when I was 19 years old and was kind of blown the fuck away. They were in the audience too and all stood up afterward and shyly shot the shit. I was dating the Spaniard at the time, uber music elitist that he was and we were separated in our seats, the theatre was packed and it was one of those super theatres at the Varsity cinemas or maybe I am making the room larger in my memory based on the experience alone. Anywho. It’s neat to be here and see this mural and like a dingaling be like, ya I know what’s up.. I got hella more pics of my journey here this trip but it will have to wait til I am back in Toronto cos I ain’t uploading from here also for some reason my instagram doesn’t push to my flick anymore like it should I bet I had to reconfirm the app sync whatever.
We went to comedy at Baker’s lounge and it “was everything”. As the only whities in there it was especially surreal. It completely changes your perspective on political correctness, like absolutely throws whatever I had left of it out the window. If I can take it then I can take it. Makes you feel fearless. People have been horrible enough to me and my life is difficult enough that I really do not care what you think about me or say, cos it has all been done. Toronto is a vaccuum for people like this. Y’all muthafuckers couldn’t handle 8 mile road. Just kidding. The point is I am allowed to fangirl myself, my life, the things I experience. If other people can’t be happy for me, they can just keep being miserable then.
My friends have been rehearsing for an upcoming gig and they have Janin in from Romania while I’m here we’re so bohemian like that. He’s a solid producer, lights, sound, all of that and I am not even going to pretend to talk like I know anything about this shit (although I kinda do) but it has been great to see Konqistador up close and personal. Lizzy is other worldly when she performs. So many times when we are hanging I’m like who are these people, how is this real, and why am I here.
I’m missing the show cos I’m coming back again for a thing next weekend. I’m working this Friday at the pub, DJ Misty is playing it’s going to be intense and yes this is another read between the lines moments, you should roll on by.
Love the smoke break crew. I have a collection of photos of these guys spanning the few times I have been here. They keep me humble and real. The struggle is real. Okay it’s sandwich time smell ya later. I’ll be writing more in-length about Detroit someday soon. It is hot right now. Like. The place is hot. I just have so much to say! Til next time, your pal Raymi.
