10. EVENT: GaymerX2
The second edition of Gaymer X, the only convention dedicated to gaymers (gay gamers) and queer geek culture, kicks off today in San Francisco. Held at the InterContinental Hotel, the three-day event features an exhibition hall packed with vendors, open rooms to play card, tabletop, and video games, cosplay competition, panels discussing LGBT representation and advocacy in gaming, and much more. Several fantastic guests are also scheduled to appear throughout the weekend, including Bioware designer and writer David Gaider, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, and WWE superstar Darren Young. Tickets and more info are available at GaymerX.com. -- Jase Peeples
9. FILM: Anatomy of a Love SeenIs love just an act? For actresses Zoe (Sharon Hinnendael) and Mal (Jill Evyn), whose romance begins and then falls apart after meeting on set, the answer is unclear.
Anatomy of a Love Seen, an exciting and largely improvised new film by first-time director Mariana Rice Bader, portrays the reunion of these two former lovers, who are forced to see each other again after learning the love scene in which they first met must be reshot. In exploring the relationship of these women both on- and off-screen, this drama paints a compelling portrait of love that is at once sexy and sorrowful.
Anatomy of a Love Seen premieres at
Outfest July 18. Watch the trailer below.
-- Daniel Reynolds8. MUSIC: "Falling in Love Will Kill You," Mat DevineKill Hannah front man Mat Devine will be releasing his first solo album,
Gold Blooded, under the name "Wrongchilde." "Falling in Love Will Kill You" is the beautifully melodic first single from the project with duet vocals from Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance. According to
Out, the song was originally intended as a male-female collaboration, but Devine wanted to challenge the social construct of duet performances and create a more inclusive space in music for LGBT people. Devine explains, "By choosing to release 'Falling in Love Will Kill You' as a guy-on-guy duet, I'm hoping we can ignore the expectations of the music industry and make it accessible to everyone. And to me, that's what makes it a modern love song."
-- Scott Ragan
7. THEATER: Buyer & CellarThis might just be the gayest show we've ever heard of. Out actor Michael Urie stars as a struggling gay thespian who gets a job at the shopping center in Barbra Streisand's basement (and yes, in reality, her estate has an underground reproduction of a quaint small-town main street). He ends up having a series of surreal encounters with the icon, and he tells us all about them in this play by Jonathan Tolins. A hit that's been playing off-Broadway for nearly a year,
Buyer & Cellar kicked off its national tour in Chicago in May, and it just opened for a run at Los Angeles's Mark Taper Forum, where it continues through August 17. After that there are planned engagements in San Francisco, Dallas, and Toronto, while the New York production, with Barrett Foa stepping into Urie's shoes, will be playing through July 27. Order tickets for the L.A. run
here and get info on other tour stops and the New York performance schedule at
BuyerAndCellar.com.-- Trudy Ring6. MUSIC: "Angeles," WrathschildThe new single and video "Angeles" is a catchy and stripped-down piece about the bittersweet experience of living in L.A., where talented electro-pop duo Wrathschild is currently based. Simon Curtis and Wolfy say the song sprung from a deeply personal place. In an exclusive
interview with
The Advocate, Curtis said, "L.A. is both the city of dreams and the city of broken dreams. You could say the song is our diary, our experience. It's an anthem dedicated to that feeling of loving and loathing Los Angeles." Wolfy added, "It's a lot of observations we've made through just being here. It's bittersweet, but it's still really hopeful."
-- Scott Ragan
5. THEATER: Checking BoxesThe intersection between immigration and the LGBT experience is the timely topic of the annual production by Chicago-based About Face Theatre's youth ensemble. The young performers use storytelling, spoken word, and movement to share their tales of coming out and pursuing the American dream. The show opens tonight at Chicago's Washington Park and will play Thursdays and Fridays at parks around the city through August 1. Find the schedule
here; admission is free.
-- Trudy Ring4. FILM: BoyhoodCritics are raving about
Boyhood, the new film by Richard Linklater that was produced over the span of 12 years. Before their eyes, audiences can witness young Mason (Ellar Coltrane) grow from a child to a young man, conveying the journey of adolescence in a way that has not been done in cinema before. His parents, played by Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette, also age throughout the film, which portrays the milestones of young life with both nostalgia and fresh life.
Boyhood opens in theaters this weekend. Watch the trailer below.
-- Daniel Reynolds3. MUSIC: Queen + Adam Lambert TourThe world tour of legendary rock band
Queen with Adam Lambert standing in for Freddie Mercury is "dynamite with a laser beam," offering a fresh yet nostalgic serving of the iconic group's classics. Praised by critics and fans alike, the tour is currently burning though the U.S. before it heads to Australia to rock fans Down Under beginning in August. Tickets are available at
Ticketmaster.com.
-- Jase Peeples2. TV: Masters of Sex, season 2Showtime's period drama
Masters of Sex is back for another roll in the hay. The show's subjects, sex researchers Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan) and William Masters (Michael Sheen), smartly dive into (gasp, because its 1958-ish!) female sexuality in a pre-
Mad Men America. Add Masters's closeted longtime mentor Barton (Beau Bridges) and Annaleigh Ashford's former prostitute Betty DiMello, and you're looking at a titillating second season.
-- Michelle Garcia1. EVENT: OutfestAside from the annual LGBT Pride that floods the streets of West Hollywood every June,
Outfest is one of the biggest queer events this side of the Hollywood Hills all year. Dozens of films, panels, parties, and events bring LGBT film lovers together for 10 days of celluloid bliss in Los Angeles. And yes, that is
The Advocate's staff you'll see at the
Wizard of Oz screening Wednesday at the Ford Theatre. Get your Red Vines and popcorn buckets ready for the best in LGBT movies.
-- Michelle Garcia
Viral post saying Republicans 'have two daddies now' has MAGA hot and bothered