Jayne County, queen of the transgendered, local legend and rock & roll stalwart from the heady days of Max’s Kansas City, brought her raucous blend of music and camp theatrics to Coney Island High on Friday night, July 11th.

From the moment Queen Jayne broke into "Night Time," you immediately knew you were dealing with a pro. Jayne is comfortable and cocky on-stage. She comes out, does a little dance, toys with the microphone, belts out a few lines of superbly delivered rock & roll.

Jayne doesn’t waste any time getting to the between-songs banter. Immediately after the opening number, she informed us of her recent acquisition of panties from Bradlee’s department store and promptly displayed the proud purchase for all to see. (It appeared to be a very practical and well-made garment.) "Three pairs for $2.99," said Jayne, skirt hoisted well above the navel. "You can’t fucking beat that – I love New York!"

Queen Jayne continued to employ the vaudeville song-joke sandwich technique throughout the remainder of the set, and it worked like a charm. Jayne’s a great performer with a commanding stage presence and an excellent southern-fried comic flair (she hails from Atlanta, Georgia). I spoke with her briefly before the show:

"Rock & roll is in my bones and people acknowledge it," Jayne said. "There are people who are underground that don’t quite fit in with the mainstream but deliver great rock & roll. There are enough people in New York that will recognize this and not go ‘Oh, I don’t hear it on Z100, it must not be very good.’"

How does she feel about being perhaps the most famous person on Earth to undergo a sex change? "The transgender aspect is me, that’s what I am. I don’t cover it up. I’m totally up front with it. And, of course, it’s going to be a big influence on my music. What happens to me personally makes its way into my music. I have a very offbeat or suspicious attitude towards traditional society in general – and to me that makes good rock & roll."

Queen Jayne and company played a healthy hour-plus-long set during their show at Coney Island High. One highlight of the band was drummer Joe Rizzo whose thunderous chops had much to do with the group’s kick-in-the-gut, balls-to-the-walls sound.

As the evening progressed, Jayne continued to share her innermost musings with the crowd: "The problem with Baptists is they don’t keep ‘em under the water long enough – a few more minutes and then they’d see God." A song or two later, she instructed us how to do the Mashed Potatoes: "Move your foot like this, like the cops just came in and you’re putting out a joint."

To liven the mood, Queen Jayne coaxed some audience members to join her on-stage: "Come on up and I’ll give you a blow job after the show. I’ll eat your pussy," she promised. When someone delivered a shot of booze to Her Royal Highness, Jayne warned us, "The more liquor that reaches the stage, the more vile and disgusting I will become." (She was right.)

As a final question that night, I asked Jayne County what she thought of the current scene compared to that of Max’s Kansas City in its hey day. "New York in the seventies was unbelievable," she said. "That doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of great bands around now – there are. But the Max’s period was a very special time. You have Paris in the twenties, Berlin in the thirties, London in the sixties and New York in the seventies. We haven’t duplicated it yet. Maybe one day we will."

Perhaps, but don’t expect many more like Jayne County to make their way to the Rock & Roll Church – Queen Jayne is truly one of a kind.