Emotions ran high at singer Porsche’s first show of the season, on May 2, at Island Breeze, assisted by faithful DJ Chuck McTague. There was so much to deal with: it was a first gathering, in Cherry Grove, of the singer and her friends and fans in the wake of the fire that engulfed the Grove Hotel on March 27, affecting so many, in general, and our diva, in particular; emotions also ran high in the wake of Pines Pavilion owner Ian Reisner’s offensive active support of homophobic potential Republican candidate for president Ted Cruz, with many suggesting boycotting his businesses in the Pines and in New York City.
After opening, appropriately enough, with “Get This Party Started,” Shirley Bassey-style, Porsche—asking rhetorically, “Too soon?” and referring to the fire as the unacknowledged “elephant in the room”—bravely sang “Disco Inferno” and declared that the Grove Hotel would “rise like phoenix in the ashes!” Her performances, as Janis Joplin, of “Down on Me” and “Summertime” were cathartic for both singer and audience. And she kicked off a disco medley with anthem “I Will Survive” sung as “We Will Survive.” Hopeful accounts of “Over the Rainbow” and “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” were some of Porsche’s other numbers.
During the show, Porsche welcomed Kendra Kinks to the stage for what Kinks called a “funny and silly” number, and Vita Summers, for a rousing duet of “Happy Days/Get Happy,” with Summers singing the former as Barbra Streisand and Porsche, the latter, as Judy Garland.