25th Anniversary Showing of Hedwig and the Angry Inch at House of Blues, Sunday 8-9-26

 Of course, we were big fans of the Hedwig movie when it came out 25 (!) years ago. We've owned the DVD, the soundtrack, seen local live performances, etc., so when we heard that John Cameron Mitchell would be hosting the 25th anniversary viewing in Las Vegas, we got our tickets!

The House of Blues was maybe half full for this event - not too surprising considering that it was a little pricey for a movie, but the main event was the Q&A and live performance by JCM. There was a costume contest, as well (a Hedwig won) and, of course, the movie was great (it had been a while since we saw it). Mitchell spent at least 20 minutes taking questions from the audience - nothing earthshattering, but he was passionate about his views on various subjects and he did talk about the original meaning of the punk rock movement, which was inclusive and being true to yourself and not wearing a uniform. (I assume that he got on that tangent since he is hosting a tour of the Punk Rock Museum today, Monday).

He did a short live set with a guitarist (I didn't quite get his position or relation to John) and a brief appearance by David J of Bauhaus and Love and Rockets. John's voice is still terrific - he looks great, as well - although the set was off-the-cuff covers of a bunch of David Bowie songs (obviously, a huge influence on the movie but I would have liked more from the movie, for instance), finishing with the finale from the movie with everyone joining in.

Nice to see Brenda Wilda working there, as well! The staff was all great and while it was a little chilly for me, it was a fine venue for a fun performance.