Where to begin? Well Pride Sunday started off kinda hectic. I woke up late and still had to get my live set over to my laptop from my desktop. I transfered the files went downstairs to hook everything up imitating the live setup - and my keyboard got no sound! I started freaking out! The song played back, everything else was cool...but no friggin midi was happening at all and we had to leave the house! Not only did I have to be at Pride Mainstage by 12:15pm but I we still had to setup our whole Tantra dance stage! It was all still in pieces from the night before on the back of the flatbed truck.
Suddenly I remembered that I had recently wiped my laptop and reinstalled the operating system. Oh yea! I forgot to reinstall the driver! (slaps hand against head). So I quickly download the driver, test it out, and we are good to go.
We barely make it downtown in time to setup our stage and do a soundcheck when I have to run off to go and perform. I literally did one of the fastest setups on sound that I have ever done. I had to untangle and rewire everything from the night before in the span of barely an hour. After we got the DJ setup and going I grabbed my gear and ran to mainstage.
Of course mainstage pride is a big deal and I couldn't just waltz in. However they wanted us to go alllllll the way around the whole thing to the other side when we approached the closest entrance. Luckily I was with Terrance from the Entertainment Commission and he pulled out his badge and flashed it to the security. "Good enough for me", he says and we run past.
After meeting up with the rest of my crew on the other side - Erica (cellist) and Isaac (dancer), we quickly go over the setup and then suddenly we are on stage. It really hit me then. All the work, all the struggle, all the time and energy into putting this piece together - it was for this moment. Right here, right now. I looked out over the crowd and started the music. Concentrating with all my effort I went through the piano lines one after another, and sent massive love and respect for Harvey Milk and his words in the song. If 7 minutes could happen in the blink of an eye, I would swear to you that's what happened. Because before I knew it, we were done. The last note hit, and Harvey's voice trailed off into the land of delay and reverb. We bowed and the next thing I knew I was getting ready to run back to the Tantra stage for my dj performance later that day. Before I left though, I did manage to run into Gus Van Sant. I gave him a copy of my song and though he missed the performance, he said he really wanted to hear it. His movie about Harvey Milk is scheduled to hit theaters nationwide on November 20.
Back at the Tantra stage things started unfolding gracefully. The dancefloor filled up and the dj's were rocking it. It was a really beautiful sight to behold, and even the sun came up and gave us an appearance! Nikita and Denise did a fabulous job getting the crowd worked up, and when I went on it was a full on explosion. People were really loving life that day, smiling, jumping, laughing, drinking, celebrating life, love, beauty, what it means to be alive. It's funny, I was having a conversation with Mark Leno early in the day @ mainstage and I told him just how important these street parties are for the spirit of a city. Most days of the year we are bound to this concrete, using it, being used by it, working, struggling, pushing to make our way. On these special days, we take back our land, our streets, our sense of community. We all come together, everyone is included, to dance, celebrate, and feel true freedom in the place we need it most - home. It's easy for the rest of us who can pack up and go to a camp out party in the woods up north and get away for awhile. But for those who can't, this is there chance to celebrate too, there chance to experience the magic and beauty of music and ritual and community. This ancient tribal ritual that is inherent to our bodies, minds and souls. This is our communal heartbeat, drumbeat, dance. It is important that we respect and honor these traditions, and fight to keep them strong in a world that would sometimes just as easily see such affairs disappear and never return!
1 comment:
Hi Liam, I didn't make it to Pink Saturday, and I wasn't paying enough attention to even know you were at the main stage at Pride -- that sounds so amazing and I'm happy to hear about how you enjoying playing there.
Harvey Milk spoke at my high school (Lick Wilmerding) back in 1978. That was a very cool thing. I wish I'd introduced myself but I was so shy.
I saw your whole set at the Tantra stage and was blown away. I got some of it on digital video and will follow up with you on Myspace about that, if you want to get the footage.
What a great weekend, wasn't it?
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