Spectacle, lack of pretense and candy ensure Blowpop doesn’t suck

At the upscale club located in the Pittsburgh Strip District, it’s not unusual to spend a… At the upscale club located in the Pittsburgh Strip District, it’s not unusual to spend a Saturday night with people painted as tigers and shut in a cage, neon body paint and glow sticks covering the dance floor, bras hanging from an ornate light fixture or drag queens decked in fabulously outlandish attire.

And an endless supply of lollipops.

At Privilege Ultralounge, week after week, attendees know that the themed Blowpop parties do not suck. What they may not know is that as they dance the night away, they play an important role in Pittsburgh’s newest wave of social activism.

Call it progress through a dance party.

Ry-n Skyy and Phillip Royale, the creators of the Saturday night Blowpop party at Privilege Ultralounge, will usher in Pittsburgh’s Pride Week on Saturday with the city’s first ever “White Party” — where people gay and straight alike can celebrate their own brand of pride.” which typically calls for strictly white attire and is a staple at Pride festivals around the country.

The growing popularity of Pride Fest in Pittsburgh has led Skyy to believe “this is the time to have our own White Party. Because they are such a staple of these other big cities, they tend to be the most nationally recognized events.”

Pittsburgh’s initiation to the “White Party” fraternity suggests a no-holds-barred entrance. Becky Buckwild, of VH1 reality show fame, will host the event, and renowned disc jockey Seth Gold will provide music for the evening. To complement the extravagance of the night, a Cirque du Soleil-esque acrobat will perform across the ceiling of the club.

It may seem like a bit much for such a party’s maiden voyage, but Skyy has an explanation.

“[Pittsburgh’s] pride is so new. We started in the community this past year — we wanted to be part of Pride. We can handle this, because it’s something we really want to do,” Skyy said. “It’s all about coming out, whether you’re gay or straight, and celebrating who you are. Let loose and have a good time.”

The event is open to everyone ages 21 and older, like all Blowpop parties, and tickets are $10 presale and at the door. Blowpop will donate a portion of its proceedings to the Delta Foundation, one of Pittsburgh’s GLBT-centered organizations.

Since setting up residence in the city, Skyy and Royale said they never felt like they fit in anywhere across the Pittsburgh nightlife spectrum. They saw a distinct gap between the gay and straight communities in the city, so they decided to do something about it.

“We started Blowpop back in December because we weren’t happy with the status quo. We felt like we didn’t belong in gay clubs or straight clubs — there wasn’t a scene for us in Pittsburgh. We felt something was missing, and we wanted to fill that gap. We said, ‘If it’s not here now, let’s just do it ourselves,’” Skyy said.

The weekly party is not just a way for the Skyy and Royale to party the way they want to — their aspirations expand to the entire mindset of the Pittsburgh nightlife community, in which there exists an undeniable segregation between the gay and straight community.

“In Pittsburgh, some of the segregation comes from this self-imposed mentality of, ‘We have our places to go, and they have their places,’ and we just said, ‘Get over it,’” Skyy said.

Royale thinks of Blowpop as “a venue that brings all different types of people together.” He doesn’t think it is exclusively for gay or straight people — one of his and Skyy’s goals for the party was to bring people together and never limiting the crowd to a single scene or group of people.

Skyy said the response from bar owners in Pittsburgh has been relatively positive, with most of the admonishment coming from owners of gay bars. Other bar owners, while not overwhelmingly welcoming to the newest party on the block, are showing their admiration in other ways.

“The straight bars have been awesome and very supportive — they steal our ideas for parties,” Skyy said with a laugh, “but I guess that’s a compliment.”

Blowpop arrived on the club scene quickly, with Skyy and Royale having only two weeks to plan their premiere event this past December. The candy-coated name was almost an afterthought to the creators’ more lofty goals.

“We chose ‘Blowpop’ because we wanted a name that was really fun,” Skyy said.

“And one that’s a little bit shocking,” Royale added. “There’s some kind of connotation behind it.

People want to find out what it is.”

“Plus, everyone loves candy,” Skyy concluded.

The eccentric themes are perhaps what sets Blowpop apart from other club parties in Pittsburgh. A Britney Spears-tinged “Circus” party included fire-breathers and people in tiger body paint roaring at guests from a cage. At “Glow,” the black lights replaced the disco ball and bodies emanated fluorescent radiance across the dance floor.

Skyy insisted, however, that not all themes are for pure escapist fantasy.

“Sometimes, with our themes, we can just be fun and off-the-wall, but sometimes we try to make social or political statements,” he said.

Take, for example, the recent “Fast Food and Fake Boobs” party. Skyy took inspiration from an iconic David LaChapelle photo featuring Pamela Anderson and Ronald McDonald that translated into a medley of bartenders dressed as waiters on roller skates and over-sized bras slung from various posts around the club.

Between the irreverent frivolity on display and the guests enjoying their specially priced drinks, however, the subversive commentary on American consumer culture was never lost.

Consider the “Garbage Patch Kids” night, where the trash theme doubled as a flippant Public Service Announcement raising awareness about a trash heap festering in the Pacific Ocean. Anyone who believes bars and clubs to be devoid of moral substance obviously has never met Skyy or Royale.

With plans to expand within the next five years, the creators are confident that Blowpop will blow up, as if it hasn’t already. They are counting on increased exposure, attendance and respect in the community.

“We want Logo to do a reality show on us — “The Real Queer as Folk,” maybe,” Skyy said.

“Real Housewives of New Jersey” — watch your backs. The Blowpop boys are on their way.