Come On Out For PrideFest

by Lorraine Mazza

blog layout by Amanda Vontobel

some photos by Amanda, other’s taken, with the ok, from Kristen Henderson’s blog

Yesterday Amanda and I attended PrideFest 2010.  Personally I’m not usually a huge Pride attendee, I don’t like crowds too much, and being outside in the hazy hot humidity is not something I enjoy. But, once in a while I will oblige.  So when we found out that Antigone Rising was the headliner for this years PrideFest, it was a no brainer.  

PrideFest is basically your typical street festival with lots of people walking around, food stands selling the usual festival favorites like shish kebob, sausage & peppers, zeppoles and a variety of beverages to either hydrate or get a buzz on.  Well okay, maybe it’s not so typical, when you consider the scores of men walking around in outfits and heels that would shame Lady Gaga.  Actually, Lady Gaga could have been walking around and no one would notice.  So it was no surprise to us when we walked back to the stage to see a Lady Gaga impersonator doing Bad Romance.   But I digress.  The point is that it’s not just the outrageous outfits that makes PrideFest (and any Pride event for that matter) different than any other street festival.  It’s the fact that NO ONE CARES.  You can gawk and chuckle at a drag queen and chances are, unless you’re being rude or insulting, she will laugh right along with you.  It’s all in good fun. Everyone is there in solidarity for equality and acceptance for all.  It’s not just gays or lesbians or bi’s or trans, it’s the community as a whole.

Unfortunately, there are still going to be some who disagree.  Such was the case with this one couple I encountered.  As we walked down the sidewalk a man and woman were exiting a restaurant.  The woman was visibly annoyed and said to her companion “All of THIS for gay pride day…as if we couldn’t tell already!”  I continued walking because I’m not one for confrontation (until I get to the blog, of course), but allow me to say now, YES.  We should have all of this, and more.  We should have the same rights as you do, to walk down the streets holding our spouses hand…oh wait, we can’t do that because we can’t have spouses because we’re not allowed to get married (in most states).  So at least, we should be able to walk down the street holding our girlfriend/boyfriend/partner’s hand without getting disapproving looks from the righteous folks who think they should have a say in every one’s business.  But a lot of the time, we cannot even do that.  Trust me lady, I long for a day when we don’t have to have a gay pride day.  I long for a day when we are ALL equal, and it’s not just equal on paper to fulfill some quota.  I long for a day when who you are dating isn’t discussed by politicians and churches.  I long for a day when a child can grow up and not have to feel different, not have to face all the strife that so many have had to endure, just because they happen to be attracted to the same sex.  It should just be matter of fact, not judged by ANYONE.  In fact, I even long for a day when we don’t have to use the words lesbian or gay.  But I understand that such days are a long way off.  We have come immensely far in the 41 years since the Stonewall Riots, but day after day, too many news reports prove to us that we still have too far to go.  So, until that day arrives (which I unfortunately do not think will be in my lifetime), you can bet your last dollar that we will have “all of this for gay pride day”.  And if you can’t handle that, then I suggest you do your research better and not have lunch in the West Village on the gayest day in NYC (and across the world, since June is the official Pride month in many countries).    Now, back to the fun stuff.  We continued to walk around the streets, taking in all the sights and sounds.  I saw a couple of good signs and slogans but only two stuck in my head.  One girl had a t-shirt that said “ALL STR8, NO H8”.  And I saw a sign that said “GAY AT BIRTH, SOLDIER BY CHOICE”   Both are powerful words to think about. 

After a bit of walking, we found a place to hang on the sidewalk behind the stage while waiting for the band to go on.  Lucky for us, we happened to witness Cathy and Kristen taking a photo with Lt. Dan Choi, who was one of the Grand Marshalls for the parade.  That must have been a great honor for them! 

It seems like the band had a lot of pre-show fun taking pictures while Kristen posted them to her blog and Facebook.  From what I could tell, they posed with rainbow balloons, some of the other entertainment, a “fan” of Cher’s face, and Nini had some grapes.  We’ll have to wait for Kristen’s follow up blog on Hangin’ With Hendo to get the full scoop.    At about 5:45, the band hit the stage and took off to a rousing set.  The set list included Breaking Me, Say You Want To Leave, Don’t Look Back, Can’t Let Go and Slide.  At one point during the show Kristen took some iPhone shots of the crowd for her live blogging.  If you look closely (and maybe squint a little), you can see me and Amanda proudly sporting our brand new Something to Say t-shirts!    

The band sounded phenomenal, and really had the crowd going on all of the songs, especially during Can’t Let Go and Slide.  Can’t Let Go gets better each time I hear it, especially now with Kristen’s bass solo and the drum jam mixing with Cathy and Nini’s flawless skills on the strings.   It gives all the band members a chance to shine, and they do so amazingly each time.  Slide has become another huge staple of their set with the infamous obscure song references toward the end.  Kristen starts off with Bruce’s “The Rising”, Cathy offered up Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”, and Nini busted out another hilarious “Safety Dance”.  The whole crowd was clapping and foot stomping along to both songs, which is not easy to do on street pavement!  There may have been some people who were not aware of AR’s music, but I’m sure they made some new fans

All in all, it was a fabulous time all around.  There is something unique about hanging out with a bunch of strangers and feeling completely at ease.  And the fact that Antigone Rising was part of it, made it even more special.  As you know, we’ve been huge supporters of them for many years now.  This show will go down as one of those great moments for us because it celebrates the connection that we all have to music, and to each other.