I was really looking forward all week to seeing these five t-girls from Bangkok, Thailand perform at Plush, Plaza of Nations, Vancouver, B.C.   Unfortunately, I had to go dressed as a boy because the show was to start too soon after work.  I wandered around and had two drinks before positioning myself between the stage and some sound equipment, arguably the best position in the whole house.  The crowd was pretty straight, and evenly mixed between Asians and Caucasians.  I also spotted a couple of other local drag queens in drab.

The show initially threw everyone for a loop - the opening act consisted of perhaps ten, cute Thai boys doing a well-choreographed routine to some high-energy pop number.  Most of us of course had been expecting the Ladyz.   Soon after, they did make their appearance, first as a group, and then individually or in tandem.  They are all impossibly thin, flexible, of medium height, and gorgeous.  One in particular, Anne, a vivacious little tart and the tallest at 174 centimeters (according to her bio), was extremely cute, and 100% passable.  The costuming was elaborate, and sexy, including revealing, quasi-Vegas style numbers with outrageous headgear.  I was impressed with the attention to detail in terms of appropriate accessorizing - Zia would have been very pleased to add a few magnificent rhinestone and gem necklaces and earrings to her collection! - and impeccable makeup.  One idea I stole from that night is using extremely sparkly, glitter lip-gloss.  The Lancome of Paris Ultra Shine I use is great, but not as striking as the stuff that graced the lips of the Ladyz. 

 As the gurls increased the tempo and decreased the sizes of their attire, the crowd became more and more boisterous and involved.  I noticed that many of the women in the audience had their mouths open, stunned at how good the Thai babes look.  Then an all-girl troupe took to the stage, allowing the main performers to complete wholesale changes to themselves.  The genetic girls wore dark, hooded robes initially, which they slowly removed, to reveal spandex-like bodysuits with skeletal features that glowed in the dim lighting.  Rather appropriate for the season I thought.

At last, the LadyBoyz returned to the stage.  One of the best skits was a pseudo-S&M scene.  Two of the performers tied a volunteer from the audience to a chair, before proceeding to grope each other, exchange some tongue, and dry-hump the hapless victim.  Although he seemed to be a straight boy, the wanton look on his face, and gyrating hips suggested that he was quite into the action. 

At the end of the show, the MC promised all that they could have their photos taken with the stars.  Being close to the backstage area, I realized that one of them was not feeling well and would have preferred to pass on the opportunity.  In the end, she was persuaded to join the others, who then all proceeded to a designated area near the front of the club.  I felt sorry for them, having gone through a grueling, frantic, high-energy display of lip-synching, dancing, and wardrobe changes (I have a good idea, personally experiencing what goes on backstage at drag shows), and then having to force friendly smiles while being herded from one cell phone-camera amateur to the next.

I felt that the show was big-time, and well worth the $45 that I had paid for the advance ticket.  This is not to say that the spectacle was problem-free.  One of the reasons that I had gone up to the stage was because the speakers had been positioned in such a way that from a distance they blocked large parts of the stage!  I can only surmise that this was done for auditory, rather than visual reasons.  My other complaint is that the gurls were mostly doing top-40 pop numbers.  I hear enough of those on the radio, even do some myself, so I would have preferred some traditional Thai songs.  I think these would have created a more exotic flavour for the evening.

I went away feeling well entertained, and encouraged that transgenderism had been successfully presented to such a large number of vanilla folks.  Nonetheless, as I was walking out, I overheard part of a conversation between four guys in front of me.  They were debating whether the entertainers were endowed with "real tits" and whether or not they were "hiding their dicks" or had had them "cut off."  Oh well, I guess there is still a way to go before mainstream society really understands what we're all about...