When FLETCHER Says Meet Her At The Bar…You Meet Her At The Bar
All Pride Month, DC streets have been alive with queer music, friendships, and joy. Friday, June 17th, was no exception. The metro was full and as we approached our stop at East Market Station, we spotted someone else wearing a FLETCHER shirt and knew they had to be headed to the same destination.
Open only to about 150 fans, the alluring and queer singer, Cari Fletcher (known as FLETCHER) would be performing an exclusive bar show/fundraiser that night at as you are. As mentioned on her socials, FLETCHER was inspired by The Lesbian Bar Project to stop by a few women-owned queer bars in between her time touring festivals this summer. With all proceeds for the night going to the bars, fans were overjoyed to get an opportunity to see their favorite artist and support the community that they themselves are a part of.
As we moved, single file, up the stairs to the second floor of as you are., the anxious but excitable energy was palpable. On a very small stage at the far end of the bar, sat two chairs and a mic. Many of the dedicated FLETCHER fans claimed their spots close to the front while other late comers started piling in. That anxious energy quickly dissolved into bubbly new conversations as fans began talking to each other about their experiences at past concerts, what Pride events they had been to that year, etc. With the flow of conversation also came the flow of specialty drinks that Cari had designed and named after a few of her songs.
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My favorite of the bunch were the “Hello Nice to Meet You” (vodka, limeade, grenadine, soda, and cherry mix - which I had and can confirm was a great hello), the “Dream Girl” (tequila, grapefruit, simple syrup, soda, and lime), and the “Sipped Her Like An Old Fashioned” (which was just simply a classic old fashioned). Fruity drinks matched with a fruity playlist with the likes of “Silk Chiffon” by MUNA feat. Phoebe Bridgers, turned a room full of 150 strangers into a group of queer friends celebrating the night and an artist they loved.
After about an hour of mingling, the lights dimmed and FLETCHER strutted onto the stage in platform white boots and an all white power-fit that could only be describe as Queer-Presidential. With an excited smile and a wave she went right into “girls, girls, girls,” which was the same song she had opened with at the 9:30 Club, when she played two sold out nights last fall. Though the set was acoustic, fans were singing along with Cari as loudly as they would in any venue. She followed up with her pop of pink song, “Cherry,” that features Lesbian Jesus, Hayley Kiyoko.
It was around here in the set that Cari introduced some raffle prizes. Before the show, fans were able to buy raffle tickets that could win secret surprises throughout the show. FLETCHER excitedly came up with prizes on the spot which included: a selfie with her, taking a shot with her, a boob signing (which has become a trademark to a FLETCHER show), free tickets and meet & greet for her next tour, and a song request.
The lucky fan that got to pick the song that night chose a fan favorite called “Wasted Youth.” Though Cari’s guitarist struggled through remembering what chords to play because the song is six years old, she sang what she could with sincerity. She and the fans knew the significance of that song in hers and their lives, as it speaks openly about being queer and was one of Cari’s first public notions that she herself was queer. It was a very fitting request for the night.
FLETCHER rounded out the night by playing an (at the time) unreleased song called “Her Body Is Bible,” and closed with her viral hit, “Bitter.” Before leaving the stage, I surprisingly got to have a very sweet moment with her. Anticipating I may make it to this event, I had posted a tweet to FLETCHER that said “Manifesting I meet you at the bar in DC.” a few days prior. The day of the show, I printed out the tweet and made a small sign that simply said “MANIFESTATION WORKS!” As Cari was giving her closing remarks, she spotted my sign and smiled, taking it on stage and reading it to the crowd. From there, she went on a small rant about just how real manifestation is, saying “You probably don’t even fucking know how much power you posess. I just need you to understand how incredibly important, and significant, and the potential that you hold to radically change the fucking world just by being yourself.”
With that exciting ending, the night wasn’t quite over. Along with the proceeds from drinks and raffle tickets going directly to the bar, Cari also had signed posters and a boob (or any body part) signing for sale after the show, that were able to be bought by directly venmoing as you are. I, along with many other fans stayed after to meet and have Cari sign our bodies. I can say that she is incredibly tall (may have been the platform boots) and also incredibly kind. I had overheard that she had a 7am flight to Nashville to play Bonnaroo that weekend, and still stayed to meet and sign everyone there.