Hello I'm Rich Brown and this is my personal website and blog. I'm just your simple, average, down to earth, professional, out gay man and aspiring circuit boy, living in Phoenix, Arizona with a few things to say while trying to find my place among all the scary, conservative, religious nuts in this sick and twisted world.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
San Diego Pride Review
San Diego Pride was a great time this year. We started out on Friday night with the Harbor Cruise. The ship was much larger this year, but unfortunately the crowd was not, so it wasn't very full. Susan did a great job, the music was good, but the crowd just didn't really seem too into the mood so there wasn't a lot of people dancing, just a bunch of people standing around talking. My friends and I did meet a few new people on the cruise which made the event worth attending. Some of my other friends went over to On Broadway to see Victor and they told me that the music was good but it was primarily a straight crowd and that no one was permitted to take off any clothing. One of my friends took off his shirt but still had a tank top on and was told by security to please put his shirt back on. I'll just say I'm glad I decided on the cruise, because the crowd was still very gay and very friendly ;-) As far as I'm concerned the straight crowd can have Victor these days since he’s not really interesting in spinning for the gay boys anymore.
Saturday was a beautiful day along the parade route and at the festival. It was nice to be outside, having fun and getting some sun in the perfect weather of San Diego. Everyone seemed to be in a wonderful mood and completely enjoying themselves. Following the parade through Hillcrest and into Balboa Park is always such a fun walk with many smiling faces. The park itself couldn't be a more beautiful location to hold a festival.
We arrived at the Arena on Saturday evening around 11 PM to find that it was completely decorated and actually setup so that it was turned into a smaller space the normal. It almost felt a bit like being at a prom with the way it was decorated, it was actually a nice change from the bleak look of just a light setup. The crowd never did reach critical mass, it filled up from the front to about ½ way back and that was it. Monte Q did a great job getting everyone warmed up and then Tony Moran came on and kicked it up a notch and got everyone dancing. Tony put on a great set. My friends were afraid he was just going to play his new cd, but he didn't. He managed to get in some of our favorite songs from the new cd, but he really did an awesome job of mixing it up and keeping us all in the mood. We closed out the Arena at 6am and then headed over to the Bacchus House for after-hours until 10am with De Leon. The crowd was thin, but was a good time to chat with a few new friends.
The weather on Sunday couldn't have been any nicer for the Zoo Party. We arrived around 5 PM and it was already filling up. By about 8 PM the entire dance area was packed and there was certainly a lot more people than last year. Phil B did an outstanding job at putting everyone into a great mood and when Manny came on, in typically Manny fashion he really kicked the party into full swing. The great thing about the event is that the dancers and the performance didn't distract from the music, it just all flowed together. It seemed like everyone I knew and met were all having a great time.
Around 11:30 we headed over to 4th & B for the Closing Party and walked into a nearly full room of people. I started to run into friends who I never expected to see at a closing party but they had such a great time at the zoo party they just didn't want to stop dancing. Rosabel certainly never disappoints at a closing party, but let me tell you that place was HOT. Much warmer than last year inside and everyone was absolutely drenched. I almost felt sorry for the dancers who had to stay on those boxes and dance in that crazy heat. At least for the rest of us it was cooler outside so we could head out and take a break and get a little bit of air from time to time. The party started to thin out around 6-7 AM when we decided to call it a weekend and head home.
More of my photos from this event can be found at:
All in all it was a great weekend in San Diego. While I was a little disappointed at the attendance at some of the events, the DJ’s all did an amazing job with the crowds and the new friends we all met really made the weekend.
