Not since Billie Jean King thoroughly trounced Bobby Riggs have the gender-pride stakes been so high: Debuting October 31 at the Forum Shops’ newly opened Poetry nightclub [see Nightlife Editor Xania Woodman’s take on the club itself on Page 71], the “Testosterone vs. Estrogen” competition pits male and female teams against each other in spoken-word competition. Founded and co-produced by poet Knowledge, each Wednesday evening features a DJ, a comedian host and two male and female judges each that assign point values on a 1.0 to 10.0 scale. The team members with the highest accumulated score win a small cash prize.
On this night—November 7—five men and three women sit on a kind of makeshift dais behind the lone microphone, facing an audience of about two dozen that steadily increases in size throughout the competition’s 9 to 11 p.m. duration. The scene has a black, white and read motif; squat, artsy couches face the stage area in rows and small oil lamps enhance the “we’re all deep, intelligent and self-empowering folks here” vibe.
“There are coffee houses here in Las Vegas like Rejavanate, and there’s The Poet’s Corner, the longest-running poetry venue in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Arts Center,” says co-producer TianaMarie. “But this club emphasizes a different form. This to me is a cool night out. It’s a place where you can take a date. It’s like to see it flourish, and I’d like to see it be a forum for poets. I would like to see us have 300-400 people here every Wednesday night. ”
Poems concerning sex, racism, heartbreak, stereotypes, Spider-Man, vampiric lust and poetry itself emerge, and while repeat performers Ms. Peaches, Sassy Lady, Son Krillin, D’Illuminati, Krist Stewart and SE7EN30 drive their points home the hardest—even Knowledge and TianaMarie trade off door-watching duties to take the mic—a sense of unity shines brightest when newcomers Sue Pugh and Lil’ Gaza overcome their nervousness and let their words flow with equal passion. Some works are accompanied by music, some are rap lyrics in disguise, some are militant, some are rapid-fire, and one simultaneously decries urban violence and pays tribute to Steve Miller’s “Fly Like an Eagle.” All, however, are surprisingly captivating, particularly for an art form that most people, TianaMarie confesses, are completely unfamiliar with. “We treat our poets well, and everyone comes with their ‘A’ game,” she says. “I think it’s going to catch on.”
Testosterone vs. Estrogen. Wednesdays, 9 p.m., free. Poetry Nightclub, 492-3960.