by Jim Hauck

The main event of the Sundance weekend is the T-dance, held on the private estate that is home to other such events as Sunday Furry Sunday. The space is almost perfect for this type of event.  Secluded off the main road, a pool, a hot tub, a huge grassy area, and just enough sun and shade to meet the needs of all.

Once again, Gus and his production team custom built a wooden dance floor that sprawled out across the open lawn, in bright day-glow orange and green colors.  Very bright, very fun!  The gates were a bit late to open, and it appeared that Ericka Jayne was still rehearsing on the stage as the crowd started streaming in.  There was no music yet, and it took a bit longer for everything to be ready and the music to start, causing the party to be almost an hour delayed to start.  The delay did not seem to phase those of us that were early arrivals and we went about being social, saying hello and catching up with friends before the music came on.

Phil B, the master of the t-dance, kicked things into gear once all was cleared and began a nice steady climb into a set of fun and easy to dance to music.  Plenty of vocals with standards and classics and a few more interesting mixes as well, including If You Could Read My Mind, Let the Sunshine, Love Takes Over, Brokeback Mountain and so many more.  Phil’s music started bringing the crowds to the floor and through the day it was pleasantly packed and loads of fun.  The weather provided a perfectly blue sky and loads of sunshine, a welcome sign for those of us living in the coldest summer in San Francisco since 1971.

The first performance of the day was Alexis Jordan, with a deep sultry sexy voice. She came on singing an acapella version of Umbrella and then went into a series of tunes including her hit Happiness.  She is a small girl, but packs a punch of sound and I expect that this 18 year old will be showing us her stuff for some time to come. The second performance, later in the day was Ericka Jayne, and while she was flanked by an entire set of dancers, she personally looked a little beat on the stage and my personal take was that her costuming and act were a little heavy for a daytime party.  Additionally, the screaming of who wants a t-shirt over the music once the performance was over was a bit annoying, and not something I personally like to see happen over any DJ’s music set.  So, the winning performance in my review goes to Alexis.

The crowd was full of familiar faces this weekend and the Past Curfew party buses brought a good number of people up to the event.  However it seemed attendance was slightly down, which I am guessing has to do with economics of the times.  Either way, the crowd had fun, was very social and lively, and full of lots of eye candy.  This is still a gem of an outdoor party, one of the best around, and with the right amount of sun and blue skies the perfect retreat for a weekend of great dancing. Thank you to the team of Gus Presents who work so hard to bring this party back for a second year of revival and what I hope is a long term fit on the circuit and dance calendar!

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.

The organizations named as beneficiaries of REAL BAD XXII represent diverse causes within the LGBT community. The beneficiary organizations are Maitri, The National AIDS Memorial Grove
, 
Project Open Hand, San Francisco Suicide Prevention, and Visual Aid. “One of the goals we set for ourselves this year is to weave REAL BAD’s record of contribution even further into the tapestry of San Francisco life.  To do that, we are building relationships with an ever-growing number of non-profits. That effort is a central part of our mission statement,” said Richard Dellefave, event chair for REAL BAD XXII. “We are delighted to welcome back Maitri and VisualAid for the second of our two-year commitment to them, to make a restricted grant to the National AIDS Memorial Grove and to begin new two-year relationships with San Francisco Suicide Prevention and Project Open Hand.”

GRGR/West today also announced that the DJ selected for REAL BAD XXII is Sean Mac of Atlanta. As part of the duo “Yoshi Mac” with Robert Ito, Mac was known for his late-night sets at Atlanta’s legendary afterhours venue “Body Shop.” He built on that reputation with peak-hour, T-dance and early morning parties, eventually landing a two-night gig spinning the pre-parties for Lady Gaga’s “Monster Ball” tour in Atlanta, and for Mark Baker’s “Welcome to Wonderland” pool party during gay Disney week in Orlando. Nearly 20 applicants competed for the opportunity to play at REAL BAD XXII. Mac was selected by a panel of judges based on a blind review of the finalists’ demo sets.

REAL BAD XXII will feature world-class lighting, lasers and video production. The lighting show and operations will be provided by Guy Smith Lighting. The laser show will be provided by Laseronics and Kyle Garner. Video production will be provided by Rob Montenegro.

The Juice Box and Juicy Fruit Jim are proud sponsors of GRGR/West and REAL BAD XXII.

by Joanna Parks

Every year Pride ends up being a weekend long circuit party for me and my friends. Throw in rehearsals, performances, brunchs and occasionally sleep to round out a full but fun weekend. Sanctuary is always a party I look forward to and this one was no different. I was telling people that Sanctuary was the light at the end of the tunnel for me so my hopes were high and my expectations were set. And wow, did that party deliver. Suzan, Graig and I decided to skip Fresh so we could take a nap instead and within a couple of songs of arrival we knew we had made the right decision and patted ourselves on the back for getting some rest so we could fully enjoy the party. We arrived at 1015 a little before 11PM and noted the outside smoking area was already full of sweaty guys taking a break. The line was starting to form out front to get in and once we walked in we could tell that party was going was to be good.

The music the first half of the night was fantastic. DJ Blaine Soileau played music that was driving all of us to dance, no matter how exhausted we were, giving us vocals so we could all sing together on the dance floor – he was pitch perfect. Somehow his set was appropriate for both a Pride party (happy, uplifting) and Sanctuary (dark and a little dirty). You know it’s a good party when you never leave your spot on the dance floor or for that when no one in you group leaves the dance floor. I kept feeling like Blaine was channeling DJ Abel a bit with tribals, vocals and with so many layers everyone on the dance floor could find a beat to grab on to and dance.

1015 was packed, the heat was on, everyone seem to be in same smiling space. Friends bringing water to everyone at once, everyone dancing and not just pushing through the crowd to see what’s on the other side. Everyone wanted to dance and celebrate. 1015 had cryo tanks going, which made for some cool effects but it did not really bring down the temperature at all. But it didn’t matter, we were all hot, sweaty, and still dancing. The lighting was also cool and well done with not too much of the strobes and a couple of great moments when the lights flooded the place perfectly on cue with a big moment in the music - bright but soft white light so you could see the whole place, the whole community that came to celebrate Pride. The only thing that was brought to my attention, and felt a bit out of place was the visuals on the wall above the stage. The picture projected with lasers seemed inappropriate but also silly and pointless, but in the end it really did not matter.

Soon the music changed, the DJs switched off off and DJ Alexander was on the decks and began giving the crowd the harder stuff. The dance floor was still packed but exhaustion took over our little group and without any vocals to help keep us going we called it a night. We had made it through a crazy long weekend and Sanctuary was everything I was hoping it would be and more. It was exactly the way I wanted to end Pride weekend.

Thanks to Gus, Edgar and the rest of his team for putting on such a consistently fun party. 1015 is a great club space and Sanctuary is a great party for that space. I hope to see Blaine Soileau spin more, he really nailed the vibe! Well, both DJs did actually, but I’m just not a fan of the darker beats, and I look forward to dancing with Blaine again.

by Jim Hauck

Let me start by saying I was unable to hold out for the full Alegria experience for the night because my stomach got very upset, so I am going to review the party for the portion I was able to attend and let you know from what I have heard it was a great night well beyond when I left.

Setting the stage for Alegria, it has been forced into a new location, at the Nokia Theater in Time Square.  The former club has been shut down for liquor license suspension and there is no word when it will be back.  However since the last Alegria at Memorial Weekend, this Nokia has been the new home.  Now, my first thoughts when heading to a “theater” for a dance party where some cross between the Mayan in LA and any other Broadway theater.  In fact the last time I was at the Nokia was to see Wicked.  So my mind was a blaze with thoughts about how this would work.  And all I can say is that I loved the space.

Arriving around 12:30AM we quickly got through the line and passed the simple security check and into the space.  A long escalator ride down a blue lighted tunnel drew you in towards the thumping music ahead.  In my mind I was already realizing this was not going to be a theater, but some special celebration space within this complex.  I was right.  A multi-level dance floor and large stage area with stadium seating at the back, and VIP balconies surrounding gave the dance a spacious and open feel.

The lighting was just enough, with the classic Alegria sign spinning over the center of the floor.  The DJ both was on the stage and raised above with an LED video wall below for projecting images all night.  LED lighting columns flanked the DJ booth giving a variety of lighting burst that were at times blinding, but perfect in many ways.

When we arrived DJ Pagano was pumping out a great dark soulful house sound and it was the Pagano sound I really love. We met up with some of our SF friends, chatted with some of the locals and then staked out a spot on the dance floor.  The musical journey was deep and intense, a trademark of Alegria.  I did not make it long enough to hear Chus and Ceballos (something always gets in the way of me hearing these guys) but I hear the musical journey maintained for the evening.

The crowd was full of sexy, friendly and gorgeous men.  Lots of smiles and not much attitude, which was a pleasant relief.  Sadly, as my stomach started to get a bit worked up I chose to sit and listen to the music and watch the crowd, but as time drew on and it would not subside I had to make a decision to leave.  Had there been an in and out option, I would have simply gone to the drug store, but alas, no such chance.  So, for what I got, it was a great party and I continue to hold Alegria in a very high place.