MOCAD goes downtown: Baby Dee and Frank Pahl play Cliff Bell’s
May 13, 9 p.m.
In the 1970s, transgender artist Baby Dee began her musical career as a street performer, but soon decided to take work as an organist at a Catholic church in the Bronx. Ten years later, after Dee had began her transition into life as a woman, she left her job at the church and returned to her earlier occupation as a performance artist. She performed as an accordian-playing bilateral hermaphrodite in Coney Island leading to a stint as the bandleader for the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus. She also became known for a street act in which she played harp atop a high-rise tricycle in Manhattan.
In the 1990s, Baby Dee met fellow transgender musician and performance artist Antony Hegarty. The two became friends, and Hegarty later invited Dee to perform on his debut album, Antony and the Johnsons.
MOCAD presents Baby Dee with Frank Pahl’s Scavenger Quartet, Friday, May 13, 9 p.m. at Cliff Bells, 2030 Park Ave, downtown Detroit. $8.
