2026: The Mayor is a Socialist + Brunch is at 7pm
a January Event Calendar
Hello citizen’s of Zohran’s America,
It’s Mo aka DJ Gay Panic, and this(!) is The Deviant Dispatch. I’m posting from my corner of the NYC “underground” to bring you subcultural musings, scene updates, and queer shit. There will be typos.
While you might be reading this email already exhausted from your NYE plans, I urge you to leave the house this month. Of course, many people are already doing that good work.
Consider 7am Jan 1st: the wildest straight people you know were leaving the all night disco at Xanadu.1 The queers had been bopping for hours at the Socialist-themed warehouse rave celebrating the first day of Zohran’s New York2.
After a full night’s sleep I walked into Green Room right as Dee Digs was mixing in a disco edit of the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Upstairs in a semi-secret loft Cyler Says was spinning house to a sprawled congregation, many with REDACTED wristbands on. 3 hours later I was soaking up the readings/soundscapes/performances of the annual Poetry Project marathon. Many people had not slept since 2025.
Allow this commitment to inspire you. Go out! Take your chance to see how cold the water is before turning your nose up at the pool. It might not always be open in its current form. In February Saturn is moving into Neptune, which the astrologer Chani Nicholas is predicting means “a systems meltdown or an erosion of boundary… what we’ve known as a hard cold reality checkpoint or fact gets malleable.” So get out and take stock of New York before things get slippery!
Below are some happenings worth leaving the house for.
Make sure to follow me on the substack app (groan). I’m posting events there that don’t make it into my email roundups due to space. Only paying subs get the full calendar, so consider upgrading your subscription for $5 a month.
Vaginal Davis, “Magnificent Product”
When: On view til March 2, 2026. 10:30pm-5:30pm
Where: Moma PS1
What: Le Tigre fans will recall this visual artist getting a shoutout in the group’s song “Hot Topic” in 2001. She’s been hard at work on makeup paintings, bread sculptures, performances, zines and art installations since then. Art Critic and fellow substacker Johanna Fateman of Le Tigre called the show “louche,” “frilly” and a “queer-Black cosmology of pop-cultural detritus and fantastic invention.”
How much: Tickets to MOMA are free all January
The Spiral
When: Wed, 1/7, 10pm-2am
Where: Mood Ring
What: The semi-regular party from local queer techno savants Soo Into It and Xana 101. This one promises to have hard grooves, hardcore moments, and a closing b2b set from The Spiral Sisters themselves.
How much: No cover
STR8 to DVD: BRUNCH
When: Sat, 1/10, 7:30-10pm
Where: C’mon Everybody
What: Yes you read the time right. The queens of Str8 to DVD are throwing a brunch-themed show that starts at 7pm. I was confused until Qhrist Almighty reminded me that many of us get up at 9am to go raving. Why not have brunch in the evening? “What’s time to a homosexual” as she said. The cast of regulars is rounded out by two Mx. Nobody winners (Pinwheel Pinwheel and Soraya Sis).
How much: $15 adv, $20 door
DIVA DIVA
When: Sun, 1/11, 4-10pm
Where: Public Records
What: This is only the second installment of this queer dance party, but the first drew a crowd of scene queens and healthy buzz for the following weeks. What other function has branded drug crusher cards?
But what about the music? Who is playing this party? The answer is Chicago’s Shaun J. Wright, a vocalist and DJ who spins music fit for twirling, dipping, and tripping. Also on the decks is Queens local Physical Therapy3, so you can expect a genre-expansive joyride. To cap it all off, Brooklyn drag legend Charlene Incarnate will be giving shows.
How much: $20-30 depending on how fast you grab your tickets.
GAY FM
When: Fri, 1/16, 10pm-4am
Where: Metropolitan
What: a party and radio station that is brining classic homosexual dance music with a emphasis on eurodance and trash pop to the Williamsburg gay bar we all love to hate. I will be playing alongside nightcore pioneer Cute Boys, who recently did an official remix for Kesha.
How much: $5 before midnight, more after
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Deviant Dispatch to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.