Minutes later, an open-mike session began, and a rapt group beheld a tap dancer in red tights and a black tutu, moving her hands with erotic flair to Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmas Time.” Another participant spent much of his set running the microphone cable between his thighs and mumbling half-formed thoughts. “I don’t always ask my clients what their sign is, but usually I can tell,” she explained to her astonished pupils. On another night, a clutch of hopeful psychics gathered around their teacher after a two-hour lesson in tarot. Basement bar and performance venue What’s On Coming up Explore more events A hidden gem in the heart ofthe city A basement bar and performance venue with a mission of fostering, encouraging, and promoting creativity and culture in the heart of Cambridge. Cubacub went outside for air at intermission, followed by several other audience members, most of whom then ordered glasses of whiskey before heading back to their seats for an essay about eating habits, read over acoustic guitar. She received especially supportive applause from Sky Cubacub, a gender-nonconforming fashion designer who had recently dressed Pussy for a show at the Whitney. A well-attended event showcasing women and gender-nonconforming artists called “Am I Write, Ladies?” featured Cerebral Pussy, who has cerebral palsy and who undressed for her “Tiny Tim” burlesque act. Early-career artists sometimes need a liquid leg up, and patrons and performers alike are encouraged to carry their pints of beer and cider from the bar, through swinging double doors, into the venue space, where rows of stackable chairs and a stage await them. Every night, much of that excess spills into outer-borough spots like the Footlight, a new dive in Ridgewood. It often feels like the city is boiling over with aspiring talents.

Footlight bar