Sold-out Drag Armory show centers queer joy

The Gallatin Labor Temple in downtown Bozeman was packed on Feb. 28 for the sold-out debut show for the Drag Armory (DA) — formerly known as Haus of the Pistols. From 18-year-olds attending their first drag show to those who've been part of the scene since 1994, all attendees were there to support emerging LGBTQIA+ artists. 

The DA is an independent queer artists’ collective run by drag king “Rex Pistols,” who requested to be identified by his stage name in the interest of anonymity. “Rex Pistols” is known as “father” to many in the DA collective. This term refers to an experienced performer who serves as a mentor for newer kings, queens or other artists.

“To the [DA], drag is not about putting on makeup or lip-syncing or being sassy, but about exploring what it means to be gendered and how that impacts how we interact, not only as queer people but as humans in this world,” he said. “The makeup, lip-syncing [and] sass are simply the artists' tools we use to do that.”

Attendee Gavin Shultz said that he was first introduced to drag in 2022 when he went to a show put on by MSU’s Queer-Straight Alliance. 

To him, the most fun part of drag shows is getting to watch performers do what they do best. “Which is [to] express their creativity, express their wonderful costumes, their wonderful outfits, makeup and their wonderful drag routines,” he said. 

From the stage, “Rex Pistols” said that drag shows — while sex-positive environments — are not sex-focused environments. This sentiment was echoed by audience member Diana Ruiz, who was visiting Bozeman from Bend, Oregon with her wife. “I think it’s just artistic, really, more than anything,” Ruiz said. 

“Unfortunately, people look at anybody that's not like them [or] in the [LGBTQIA+ community] and think it’s about sex. It’s not about sex and sexuality, it's about them being comfortable in their own skin.” 

Ruiz explained that she first experienced drag in 1994 while working in a gay bar in Austin, Texas. She said that her wife loves drag shows and that they love going to them together. “My wife has so much fun at these shows, I just like to see her have that fun and just throw money [at the performers],” she said.

“Rex Pistols” explained the ties between gender expression and drag to the crowd while announcing one of the upcoming performers. He said that the gender binary can sometimes restrict drag performers. “And that is why we have things like goddixess, drag jesters [and] drag things,” which he clarified are terms often used to describe nonbinary drag performers. 

“[Drag] can help you find who you are — not just your gender identity, especially because it helps you meet a lot more different people that you usually wouldn’t expect,” said “Vicious Valentine,” who also requested to be identified by their stage name in the interest of anonymity.

During the show, they served as a volunteer who collected tips — often referred to as eye candy by those in the drag community — for the performers at the event.

After the performance, “Rex Pistols” explained that — as much as he loves performing drag — his favorite part of drag is getting to watch such explicitly queer artistic expression. “I love that when I go to a drag show, I'm likely to see queer joy, queer humor, queer attraction, queer theory, queer resistance, queer despair, queer rage and queer community.” 

“This is community right here, that's what one of the functions of drag is,” he said.

To learn more about the DA, visit its Instagram @thedragarmory.