The Juice Box

3.5 out of 5 water bottles

by Steve Kleine

The legendary SD Pride Zoo Party has been chugging along for over a decade and I have been fortunate enough to attend the last ten. I have enjoyed each one and this year was no exception.

We arrived at The Zoo at 5PM under sunny skies and perfect temperatures. There was a small line, but it was a bit bigger than last year. Gone was the drag queen in the nurse outfit from previous years yelling out “friends don’t let friends drop!” I missed her. Also gone were the “Gods Hates Fags” protesters. They, of course, were not missed. While in line we enjoyed watching the reaction of the straight families when they realized there were an inordinately large number of in-shape men headed across the parking lot toward the convention space.

They did a cursory pat down at the gate and handed us our lunch coupons. With the price of admission you can also tour the Zoo and they give you a free sandwich. It is a nice touch, but as one can imagine very few people took advantage of it. Once through the gates you are in a very large rectangular outside space covered in astro-turf which makes for a surprisingly good surface to dance/stand on. The dance floor and stage, which were surrounded with a lighting rig, are on the end as you enter. The DJ booth, done tiki style, is in the left corner of the dance floor. Bars lined each side of the rest of the space, which had plenty of room to mingle and chat if you wanted to get away from the music a bit. At the far end of the space is a path that takes you to a picnic area and bathrooms. There are also port-o-potties in a separate area on the left side of the space.

Phil B was at the decks playing some very light, bouncy, trancey grooves. The sounds were a perfect way warm us up. At 5:30 we hit the somewhat empty dance floor. Phil waved at me and gave me a thumbs up. It was nice touch, however, it did not excuse what I can only say is a mortal DJ sin: He went TRIBAL at a Tea Dance!

I saw a friend in the DJ booth and I sent a text telling him to do ANYTHING (like hit Phil in the head with his water bottle) to get him into his world famous tea dance sound. By now it was after 6 and the dance floor was still empty. I have it from a good source that Phil is STILL trying to shake his tea dance image. The answer to that, in this reviewers opinion, is to play more night time parties (which I must say he does do VERY well), not to torture us with droning beats while the sun is still out. I have to say it was not even “good” tribal music. Someone must have said something, because Phil soon switched gears and played “Perfect Day” which brought the masses to the floor and the party took off from there.

Around 6:45 Brooke Wilkes did a short performance. They mixed in and out of it nicely and it did not disrupt the energy. Moto Blanco came on after the show…well I should say Blanco came on, Moto was apparently at home mixing a dub step album. Much like the White Party Tea Dance he threw down a perfect daytime party set. On tracks like Mary J. Blige’s “Fine” he would cut the sound out as the crowd sang along and threw their hand in the air. I do like that audience participation aspect. It truly does connect the DJ with the dancers. He flawlessly mixed from one joyful song to the next with just the right amount of “track teasing” thrown in to keep us interested.

The crowd was a wonderful cross section muscle boys, bears, daddies, fierce straight chicks and even a few twinks. The were very friendly and filled with smiles. While I am sure the event was not free of any messy incidents, I am happy to report the few times I went by the MedEvent tent it was empty save for guys looking for some sunscreen. It should be noted that the tent is always placed by the bathrooms so everyone knows where to find it if they need it.

Kimberly Locke came on at 9. Phil B was going to come back after the show and I was worried he would get all tribally on us again now that the sun had set. Plus my man was fading so we took that as our signal to leave.

I had to knock off a few water bottle since Phil B had the audacity to play tribal at a tea dance, but overall this year’s Zoo party was still it fun, wonderful self.

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Tags: Phil B, San Diego Pride, Zoo Party