Best New Drag Shows 2015 | Bitchcraft and Fatale's Dollhouse | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best New Drag Shows

Bitchcraft and Fatale's Dollhouse

The stage at Broadway's isn't the fanciest, but that makes it the perfect spot for a new queen to break in some heels and feel the rush of performance. The energy of these two Thursday-night shows is reminiscent of high school in the best ways: Experienced senior queen bees like Lala Leigh, Amber Domaine and Le'd Fatale pick their favorite underclassmen, then give them a platform on which to cut their teeth and earn their diplomas.

Best Amateur Drag Competition

Tracks Ultimate Queen Challenge

Keith Garcia

With every new season of RuPaul's Drag Race, Tracks hosts a series of viewing parties, and this year the spot will feature its own competition as well, in which a bevy of queens will submit to a sixteen-week boot camp of wigs, heels, makeup, sequins, and the tightest tucks this side of the Platte. The reward is a chance to join the cast of Tracks' own Drag Nation show, where blood, sweat and glitter-stained tears will be met with tough skin and fierce idolatry.

Best Long-Running Drag Show

Denver Divas at Charlie's

The beer may be cheap at Charlie's, but the performances aren't. Every Sunday, a cast of local legends and new faces turns the floor at Charlie's into a Xanadu of drag perfection. Mama hen Shanida Lawya and company treat raucous crowds to three numbers, complete with costume and makeup changes, and immerse themselves in the crowd. Don't be surprised if you wake up Monday morning with a big red lipstick kiss on your cheek.

Best Denver Burlesquer Gone Global

Midnite Martini

It's no secret that Denver burlesque has helped put this cowtown on the map: The notable names who take over intimate stages all over the city also headline major festivals and receive accolades on the global burlesque scene. A case in point is Midnite Martini (aka Kim Townsend), the reigning Miss Exotic World, who earned her title as the Burlesque Hall of Fame's 2014 Queen of Burlesque in Las Vegas last June. The lovely Miss M wowed the judges with a routine that combined burlesque, aerial fabric and a ladder.

Best Gay Bar

X Bar

With a recent renovation that included the addition of an expansive front deck, this watering hole at 629 East Colfax solidified itself as the perfect spot for meeting up with pals and dishing all the recent gossip. The drinks are fast and cheap, natch, and the background music stays at just the right volume, so you can take in all the juicy details.

Readers' choice: Tracks

Best Lesbian Bar

Blush & Blu

A feminine mystique definitely runs through every inch of this Colfax bar, which describes itself as "a unique drinkery." But in fact, the bar is only a part of what Blush & Blu has to offer. The welcoming community establishment spends its daytime hours as a coffeehouse and fills the rest of its time with a variety of events, including game nights, poetry, standup comedy, dance parties, karaoke, comic sex advice and even capoeira lessons.

Readers' choice: Hamburger Mary's

Best Eighteen-Plus Dance-Party Melting Pot

Super Star Thursday at Tracks

Keith Garcia

This mammoth gay club already has a sterling reputation for welcoming all comers, no matter their sexual orientation, but on Thursdays the place truly becomes the United Nations of dance parties, with every inch of space occupied by all manner of man, woman and teen. The sprawling landscape at Tracks makes for great fashion- and guy/gal-watching, and the club's roster of hot DJs, both regional and national, keeps the bodies moving and, for a brief time, our peaceful world spinning.

Best Jukebox

Nob Hill Inn

Eric Gruneisen

One of the city's few remaining true dives, the Nob Hill Inn has hosted its share of music royalty — including Bob Dylan and Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister — in over a half-century of operation. And there's a good chance you'll find those legends' music on the bar's jukebox, which is just about as eclectic as its regulars. A bonus are the juke's mix CDs, which feature such expert and disparate pairings as Buck Owens and the Beau Brummels, the Hollies and Uriah Heep, and Parliament and Gene Autry.

Readers' choice: Sancho's Broken Arrow

Best Karaoke Bar

Armida's

The folks at Armida's are serious about karaoke. They should be, after hosting it for the past two decades — first on a once-a-week basis, and now every night. It got so popular, in fact, that an upstairs karaoke room, which can fit about thirty people, was added two years ago to accommodate all the folks — from first-timers to old hands — who come down to sing.

Readers' choice: Armida's

Best Spanish-Language Karaoke Bar

100% de Agave

Belting out the Spice Girls' "Say You'll Be There" is always fun, but sometimes you just want to get in touch with your inner Selena and sing "Como La Flor" while a frozen margarita melts all over the microphone. When it comes to Spanish-language karaoke, 100% de Agave has a complete song list. Once the clock strikes 9 p.m. on Thursdays, the place fills up with people who want to chow down on happy-hour-priced munchies and salsa-dance to the amateur singing.

Best Of Denver®

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