Review: JUSTIN VIVIAN BOND: OH WELL at Feinstein's At The Nikko

Before JVB was a sensation in New York City ( Tony-nomination (2007) GLAAD (2000), Obie (2001), Bessie (2004), Ethyl (2007), and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists (2012) awards, and 2024  MacArthur Fellow), they were a cherished counterculture  icon in San Francisco. A sold-out residency at Feinstein’s saw JVB at their finest, still commanding the stage with wit, brazen honesty, and impeccable material.

With her typical self-deprecating banter, Bond recognizes her voice is not the best, mentioning her ‘warbling.’ But that’s not what captivates her admirers. It’s her flawless song selections from an eclectic collection of lesser-known songwriters, many from the LGBT+ community, too many lost to the ravages of AIDS. When she sinks her teeth into a song of despair and heartache, they’re in 110 percent, and it’s thrilling to witness. Right out of the gate was Big Thief’s “Vampire Empire,” a song of toxic relationships and emotional vulnerability. It would be one of many similar numbers that reach into the heart and touch the pain of sadness. Bond often sets up a tune with a hilarious anecdotes, this night talking about her commitment remaining solo (I have a twin bed that two people just can’t sleep on), a friend calling in a bomb threat after being turned away at a Rolling Stones after party, and finally singing a song people will know for the “mundane”.

There were songs from lesbian songwriters – Janis Ian’s “From Me to You” and k.d. lang’s “Constant Craving,” and country singer Mary Gauthier’s lovely “Mercy Now.”  The late trans artist Sophie was recognized through “It’s Okay to Cry,” as was San Francisco’s legendary Bambi Lake with their humorous “This is Charlotte Rampling on the Line.”  Bond is sardonically funny, authentically honest and a voice for the disenfranchised among us. Bond teases the silly out of Two Nice Girls “I Spent My Last Ten Dollars (On Birth Control and Beer) in which a lesbian is attracted to Lester, as strong hairy man. The highlight of this show’s set were two numbers by the late Benjamin Smoke- his haunting “Friends” and “Clean White Bed.” His gravelly Tom Waits-like vocals and dark, emotionally devastating lyrics are a natural for Bond and they hit it out the park.

Poking fun at a Times reporter who said she was a voice for Queer joy, Bond assured us she was definitely not that. But a cover of Brandi Carlile’s monumental “The Joke” spoke volumes to the pain of prejudice and marginalization, encouraging us all to have hop and yes, even joy (“You're feeling nervous, aren't you, boy? With your quiet voice and impeccable style, Don't ever let them steal your joy”). Now in her 60’s, Bond is still a cultural treasure and a touchstone for her community.