Madonna’s Knockdown Center Set Was Sexy, Latex-Clad History in the Making

I entered Club Confessions through a pussy — or rather, an opening in a giant inflatable Mistr-branded pair of legs flanked by a greeting committee of lithe gay guys clad in skimpy bodysuits. If anyone else had been DJing Saturday night, the visual would be unforgivably gauche. But this is Madonna we’re talking about — a woman, whose impact on dance music, club culture, and gay life is so massive that even trying to encapsulate it within a single sentence would be a fool’s errand. She, of all people, can use that kind of symbol. The night, intended as a celebration of Madonna’s new album, CONFESSIONS II, took place at Knockdown Center, an enormous converted factory in Queens with one of the best sound systems in the city. I was joined by my friend, comedian and singer Esther Fallick, whom I had called to invite a few hours prior, and who subsequently posted to her Close Friends story, “I’M A GAY GUY’S PLUS ONE.” This was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream: Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted to be a gay guy snagging a list spot for one of the girls, so this was immensely gender-affirming. As it turns out, Madonna’s Club Confessions set may have been the most significant confluence of gay guys and plus ones in 21st-century New York City history, not an overstatement. James Factora Ben Rosser BFA The venue had been completely transformed, bathed in pink and green light, accented with shrubby plants in random nooks that somehow made the space feel like a strange planet. This was the desired effect, as indicated by a slightly too on-the-nose installation consisting of a neon-pink outline of a bottle and a passage from the beginning of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, referencing the titular character’s tumble down the rabbit hole. (Not the first time that Madge has incorporated inspiration from the Lewis Carroll classic at a party.) My friends and I were handed a handful of drink tickets each by a gorgeous, tall latex-clad diva