The headliner for Ariel Sinclair’s Kamikaze Kabaret, at the Ice Palace, on June 14, was popular comic Yamaneika Saunders, returning to the show for her fourth year.
With DJ Chuck McTague assisting on music, sound, and lights, Ariel, a vision in black and silver, began the show by explaining, in her song, “That’s what I like about you.” Ariel’s first guests were Erica Blaze, in pink-and-black leopard print, a black bustier, and pink hair, making her Ice Palace debut with a Nicki Minaj rap number; Blackie O’Nasty (“Me and Mrs. Jones”); and Logan Hardcore (“I still care”), who looked fierce in basic black velvet, with Miss Fire Island crown. Ariel and Logan conducted a modeling contest and a joke-off contest followed.
Taking center stage, Yamaneika told us that her grandmother’s way of keeping her from having sex, when she was in her teens and early 20s, was to warn her that “Jesus is watching.” The comedienne veered from holding forth about “Toddlers and Tiaras” to airing her resentment about giving baby showers to her observations about watching her friend give birth to the child who would become her godson. After an interlude about her cats’ blasé attitudes, Yamaneika focused, first, on Jennifer Hudson’s weight loss—“she looks hungry”—and then on her own—her diet and her jogging—before seriously laying into Whole Foods for charging more than $16 for a tiny, painstakingly-assembled salad. For an encore, at Ariel’s request, she shared her riotous story about a heavy-duty bikini waxing!
Catch Ariel’s Kamikaze Kabaret on Thursday nights at 10 p.m.