Pride® "Entertainment"

My pal Josh was elected President of the board that organizes The SF LGBTQQ Pride Parade and Festival. At his request, I served on the entertainment committee this year. I welcomed the opportunity to bend the ear of the people in power and possibly get some really great acts on the Mainstage. I never realized how mired in politics the whole process is. With so many special interests vying for representation, it's no wonder this event is what it is. I think the fact that they misspelled my name in the official Pride magazine speaks for itself.

Gandolf is Gay

Sir Ian McKellen was the Parade's Celebrity Grand Marshal. While the parade was still going on, yes it really is that long, Sir Ian took to the mainstage to address the festival crowd. He was funny and engaging in a very seasoned and professional way. He admitted to the crowd that he was in San Francisco when Armisted Maupin convinced him to come out. He said it was a bit of a homecoming for him and I could tell he was really excited to be a part of the festivities.

Where's Pete?

I was inspired to recruit Dead or Alive last year at V-Ness' birthday. I saw Pete Burns doing a live PA at a bar I worked at in London a few years ago and I was a little uncertain about the reception he would get in SF. I wasn't really into making much of an effort to rush off to the mainstage by four to catch his act because I'd seen him before and I quite liked the shady seat I found for myself. I could hear him well enough, so eventually, I had a wander over to check it out. I couldn't see Pete until I got a bit closer and saw him sitting down. What a lazy C**t! He was only scheduled for a twenty minute set and as happened last year, things were running a bit late so he had ample opportunity to rest up. Dead or Alive is a DANCE act, not a folk band. The pix above are him sitting around, singing a few lines over a prerecorded DAT. Many index fingers in the crowd shot up to do the little "spinning right round" maneuver, but Pete couldn't be bothered to even exercise his index finger. Such a lazy sod! I was so uninspired, I just went back to the rugger's beer booth.

Mark Almond

The last time I saw Mark Almond, he was being dragged through the crowd and kicked out of a London bar for cottaging.

I wandered back to the mainstage and was surprised to see a quartet of hyper lame "dancers" gyrating behind him. Their outfits matched, so obviously they weren't just random people pulled from the crowd, but that's exactly how they acted. As the headlining act, I expected him to bring along his touring band or at least some dancers that dance in unison or have some type of routine sorted out.

Ooo Backstage!

Just like last year, the dance area was packed! This year, the community dance stage was sponsored by my pals, Dave and Jose and their clubnight, Fag Fridays.

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