Marlene Twitty-Fargo: With Songs and Laughter

Backed by her wildly talented band, the Twat Biscuits, Nashville drag icon Marlene Twitty-Fargo sang her rump off at City Winery in what was a farewell celebration for the band’s fiddle player/music director, Cousin Vaseline. Digging deep into her catalog of classics, Marlene was expectedly defiant in her rendering of “stolen” songs like “Rose Garden,” “Grandpa,” and “Fist City,” insisting that her versions were the real versions, and the audience clearly agreed, if their belly laughs were to be believed. 

Several original (ie, as-yet-unstolen) songs peppered the set, as did a trio of gospel tunes — “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” “I’ll Fly Away,” and “God Will Fuck You Up.” Other “hits” on the docket included Lee Ann Womack’s “Never Go Big Again,” Garth Brooks’ “Eggs in No Places,” Tanya Tucker’s “Delta’s Dong,” and the debut of Willie Nelson’s “On My Knees Again.” Throughout the night, cousins Pussyfoot and Alkaline kept the rhythms flowing, as cousins Butane, Vaseline, and Valvoline swapped runs and shared harmonies, all in service of Marlene’s big voice and dirty mouth. And a good time was had by all.