Winnipeg Gay Pride
In the morning we finally got to go to a Tim Horton's, Canada's version of Starbucks (but much better of course) and the R showed us some of the sites in Peg City.
Shitting Glitter had sound check at 11:30 at the Forks, which is where Pride was, so Dylan rested in the hotel room while we went and did that. Our driver was a really funny Russian guy who we all adored. The sound check went pretty well; I thought everything sounded great from my corner of the stage, but apparently some of the girls had trouble hearing everything.
The band had brunch together in the fancy hotel restaurant where Dylan and I had dinner the night before. I had Eggs Benedict which were delicious! R texted me for us to meet him at the Pride Parade but I texted back that the band was eating at his restaurant so he told me to tell the waitress 'hi' and for her to meet him after she got off work. She seemed surprised when I told her.
It took me nearly an hour and a half after that to get ready for the show because I had to flat iron my hair and do all my makeup. I was starting to get really nervous and felt weird from the lack of sleep and just everything that had happened so far on the trip. It had already been a whirlwind.
Max came to pick us up around 2:30 to go back to the Forks. As soon as we got there, I checked out the backstage, which was very crowded, so I decided to go find the beer tent. Unfortunately, the line for the tent was really long. I peered in and eventually spotted R and his friend J who he had introduced us to last night at Gio's, but I couldn't attract their attention so I went back and got Dylan. This time we texted R and he finally saw us so they came over and said hi and we took pictures together. Since the line was too long for us to join them in the tent, R said to follow him to this other little bar on the other side of the Forks, right next to the river where his friend worked. We ended up getting a drink there right away, but I started to really worry about time since Dylan still had to get in drag and we were supposed to go on at 4pm.
The show ended up being really fun. The stage was huge and it was a gorgeous day, despite the fact that everyone had warned us it was going to be rainy and cold. Since we couldn't bring our instruments, the Pride Committee had secured a huge Roland 700 keyboard for me, which was much more difficult to figure out than I had envisioned. I couldn't master programming the left side of the keyboard as a different sound from the right, so it was hard for the girls to hear the bassy notes, which caused us to begin our set in a very "interesting" way - Legalese had an extended, improved intro in which AJ and I just sort of noodled around until Laura's drums finally kicked in. The next song, "Mustache Rides," was a challenge because soon after we started I realized the patch I used was monophonic so I couldn't play the cords and bass notes I normally played - I could only do one note at a time. So I simplified my parts and then realized this would probably be the best approach for all songs. Our third number was "Mondo di Corpo" which turned out pretty well following my simplified approach although I felt bad not playing everything I usually do. At this point I saw R out in the crowd so I suddenly had a weird feeling of nervousness as well as happiness which made it even more difficult to play for awhile until I regained my composure. After that song I picked up my disposable camera and took a few shots of us on stage and one of the crowd, with R waving to us.
The rest of the set went pretty well. I saw Chad taking pictures of us and Dorothy cheering us on from the sides of the stage several times. During the third verse of "Full Release" I actually came out from behind the keyboard with my tambourine, danced with Red and then shimmied with Amy for a brief moment before I had to run back to the keys.
We ended with "Slut Buffet" and again, I decided to come out from behind the keyboard, taking the microphone with me during the breakdown to join Amy center stage. It was actually a pretty big rush.
By the time we finished, the stage manager was desperately trying to get my attention so she could ask me if we had any more songs we could play. Apparently we needed to stretch and fill some time, which was something we had hoped wouldn't happen. On the set list, we had included "Words" and "The Apple Falls," but we had realized that we had never played the former all together without tracks before, and I couldn't figure out how to program the keyboard for the arpeggiated notes in the latter. But, we had a job to do so we decided to just wing it with "Words." It actually ended up working pretty well, save for a little confusion during the bridge section. People recognized it (something I was worried about since I wasn't sure if Canadians were at all familiar with Missing Persons) and it got the crowd dancing, so I think we did a good job.
After the show, we hung out backstage and celebrated. I met Nancy Rancourt, who had played before us, and in talking to her we realized we had performed with her both at Long Beach Pride and LA Pride. The headliner, Deborah Cox, had also performed with all of us at Long Beach Pride. So we went out to see Deborah's set which was really fun, and I bought a "I {rainbow heart} WPG (Winnipeg) shirt from one of the Pride Committee members.
After the show was over I went back to the beer tent but it was too late to buy any beer; they were done selling tickets. R was still there so I found him and hung out with him for awhile until Dylan came to tell me it was time to go to the BBQ.
Chad and Dorothy drove us back to Chad's house where they prepared a great abundance of food for us and their friends. I was actually feeling pretty drunk and drained by this time. Dylan went and laid down on Chad's bed and I tried to resist but ultimately I had to go join him. I couldn't fall asleep but it was nice to at least lay down.
We all got driven back to the hotel where we rested and watched part of "Meet the Fockers" with our adjoining door open to Laura and Red's room.
Barb, the Pride Director, had given us tickets to the White Party so Dylan and I wanted to go to that, even though we hadn't brought anything white to wear. Amy and AJ decided to join us so we all walked over to the Marlborough which was a few blocks away. Unfortunately, most people had worn white so we really stuck out. But the funniest moment was in the big room after Deborah Cox had played again, I went to one of the bars to try and buy a beer but the line was too long. So, Dylan and I walked behind the stage thinking we'd go to another bar, but when we got to the other side there was a table blocking it, and Nancy Rancourt was standing right there. I excitedly greeted her and made small talk until finally I had to admit that we were trying to get through and so we needed to crawl under the table. Hopefully she didn't think we were complete lunatics. Speaking of which, there was this really tall, hot, drugged out guy dancing in the other room so AJ started dancing really freaky with him. It was really funny and I was trying not to laugh cause I didn't want to embarrass the guy, but then I thought - hey, it's freakin' gay pride, and this is hilarious - I don't think he'll mind if I laugh.
We were starting to get a little bored and I had texted R a few time to see if he had ended up making it to work or if he just passed out. I hadn't heard back from him so I was thinking we might just go back to the hotel and hit the hay, but then I got a text from J saying that he was with R, who was working at the bar and his phone had died but they wanted us to come there.
So, I made it my mission to finally find Barb and get our "honorarium" so we could get the heck out of there. Actually, now that I type this, I remember that trying to pin barb down was how we ended up climbing under a table next to Nancy Rancourt, which is why it was so funny.
After about twenty minutes, it was Mission: Accomplished, and we were outta there. Dylan and I walked the girls back to the hotel and then we caught a cab over to the bar where R worked. I noticed there was a record store right across the street and made a mental note.
When we got there, the random guys hanging outside told us the bar was closed, but we were like, "so what" and we just walked in anyway. It turned out the bar was closed, but R was bartending so of course he let us in and then locked the door. We hung out with J and their friend, a really awesome chick, until R finished all his bar closing duties. Then we walked to J's place which was not far away. It was a beautiful night out and I felt so happy walking by the Manitoba capital.
When we got back to J's, it was getting pretty late and R was literally falling asleep between sentences on the couch, so I told Dylan we should probably go back to the hotel and let them get to sleep. I know how worn out I get at the end of Pride weekend in my hometown.
So, Dylan and I walked back to the hotel, and again we went by the Manitoba Capital building and I felt so happy and content.
Hello 2010, goodbye junk!
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION LOG ENTRY 155
Stack of very old Shitting Glitter press materials and photos, completely outdated. I save three copies of everything and then get rid of the rest.
Shitting Glitter had sound check at 11:30 at the Forks, which is where Pride was, so Dylan rested in the hotel room while we went and did that. Our driver was a really funny Russian guy who we all adored. The sound check went pretty well; I thought everything sounded great from my corner of the stage, but apparently some of the girls had trouble hearing everything.
The band had brunch together in the fancy hotel restaurant where Dylan and I had dinner the night before. I had Eggs Benedict which were delicious! R texted me for us to meet him at the Pride Parade but I texted back that the band was eating at his restaurant so he told me to tell the waitress 'hi' and for her to meet him after she got off work. She seemed surprised when I told her.
It took me nearly an hour and a half after that to get ready for the show because I had to flat iron my hair and do all my makeup. I was starting to get really nervous and felt weird from the lack of sleep and just everything that had happened so far on the trip. It had already been a whirlwind.
Max came to pick us up around 2:30 to go back to the Forks. As soon as we got there, I checked out the backstage, which was very crowded, so I decided to go find the beer tent. Unfortunately, the line for the tent was really long. I peered in and eventually spotted R and his friend J who he had introduced us to last night at Gio's, but I couldn't attract their attention so I went back and got Dylan. This time we texted R and he finally saw us so they came over and said hi and we took pictures together. Since the line was too long for us to join them in the tent, R said to follow him to this other little bar on the other side of the Forks, right next to the river where his friend worked. We ended up getting a drink there right away, but I started to really worry about time since Dylan still had to get in drag and we were supposed to go on at 4pm.
The show ended up being really fun. The stage was huge and it was a gorgeous day, despite the fact that everyone had warned us it was going to be rainy and cold. Since we couldn't bring our instruments, the Pride Committee had secured a huge Roland 700 keyboard for me, which was much more difficult to figure out than I had envisioned. I couldn't master programming the left side of the keyboard as a different sound from the right, so it was hard for the girls to hear the bassy notes, which caused us to begin our set in a very "interesting" way - Legalese had an extended, improved intro in which AJ and I just sort of noodled around until Laura's drums finally kicked in. The next song, "Mustache Rides," was a challenge because soon after we started I realized the patch I used was monophonic so I couldn't play the cords and bass notes I normally played - I could only do one note at a time. So I simplified my parts and then realized this would probably be the best approach for all songs. Our third number was "Mondo di Corpo" which turned out pretty well following my simplified approach although I felt bad not playing everything I usually do. At this point I saw R out in the crowd so I suddenly had a weird feeling of nervousness as well as happiness which made it even more difficult to play for awhile until I regained my composure. After that song I picked up my disposable camera and took a few shots of us on stage and one of the crowd, with R waving to us.
The rest of the set went pretty well. I saw Chad taking pictures of us and Dorothy cheering us on from the sides of the stage several times. During the third verse of "Full Release" I actually came out from behind the keyboard with my tambourine, danced with Red and then shimmied with Amy for a brief moment before I had to run back to the keys.
We ended with "Slut Buffet" and again, I decided to come out from behind the keyboard, taking the microphone with me during the breakdown to join Amy center stage. It was actually a pretty big rush.
By the time we finished, the stage manager was desperately trying to get my attention so she could ask me if we had any more songs we could play. Apparently we needed to stretch and fill some time, which was something we had hoped wouldn't happen. On the set list, we had included "Words" and "The Apple Falls," but we had realized that we had never played the former all together without tracks before, and I couldn't figure out how to program the keyboard for the arpeggiated notes in the latter. But, we had a job to do so we decided to just wing it with "Words." It actually ended up working pretty well, save for a little confusion during the bridge section. People recognized it (something I was worried about since I wasn't sure if Canadians were at all familiar with Missing Persons) and it got the crowd dancing, so I think we did a good job.
After the show, we hung out backstage and celebrated. I met Nancy Rancourt, who had played before us, and in talking to her we realized we had performed with her both at Long Beach Pride and LA Pride. The headliner, Deborah Cox, had also performed with all of us at Long Beach Pride. So we went out to see Deborah's set which was really fun, and I bought a "I {rainbow heart} WPG (Winnipeg) shirt from one of the Pride Committee members.
After the show was over I went back to the beer tent but it was too late to buy any beer; they were done selling tickets. R was still there so I found him and hung out with him for awhile until Dylan came to tell me it was time to go to the BBQ.
Chad and Dorothy drove us back to Chad's house where they prepared a great abundance of food for us and their friends. I was actually feeling pretty drunk and drained by this time. Dylan went and laid down on Chad's bed and I tried to resist but ultimately I had to go join him. I couldn't fall asleep but it was nice to at least lay down.
We all got driven back to the hotel where we rested and watched part of "Meet the Fockers" with our adjoining door open to Laura and Red's room.
Barb, the Pride Director, had given us tickets to the White Party so Dylan and I wanted to go to that, even though we hadn't brought anything white to wear. Amy and AJ decided to join us so we all walked over to the Marlborough which was a few blocks away. Unfortunately, most people had worn white so we really stuck out. But the funniest moment was in the big room after Deborah Cox had played again, I went to one of the bars to try and buy a beer but the line was too long. So, Dylan and I walked behind the stage thinking we'd go to another bar, but when we got to the other side there was a table blocking it, and Nancy Rancourt was standing right there. I excitedly greeted her and made small talk until finally I had to admit that we were trying to get through and so we needed to crawl under the table. Hopefully she didn't think we were complete lunatics. Speaking of which, there was this really tall, hot, drugged out guy dancing in the other room so AJ started dancing really freaky with him. It was really funny and I was trying not to laugh cause I didn't want to embarrass the guy, but then I thought - hey, it's freakin' gay pride, and this is hilarious - I don't think he'll mind if I laugh.
We were starting to get a little bored and I had texted R a few time to see if he had ended up making it to work or if he just passed out. I hadn't heard back from him so I was thinking we might just go back to the hotel and hit the hay, but then I got a text from J saying that he was with R, who was working at the bar and his phone had died but they wanted us to come there.
So, I made it my mission to finally find Barb and get our "honorarium" so we could get the heck out of there. Actually, now that I type this, I remember that trying to pin barb down was how we ended up climbing under a table next to Nancy Rancourt, which is why it was so funny.
After about twenty minutes, it was Mission: Accomplished, and we were outta there. Dylan and I walked the girls back to the hotel and then we caught a cab over to the bar where R worked. I noticed there was a record store right across the street and made a mental note.
When we got there, the random guys hanging outside told us the bar was closed, but we were like, "so what" and we just walked in anyway. It turned out the bar was closed, but R was bartending so of course he let us in and then locked the door. We hung out with J and their friend, a really awesome chick, until R finished all his bar closing duties. Then we walked to J's place which was not far away. It was a beautiful night out and I felt so happy walking by the Manitoba capital.
When we got back to J's, it was getting pretty late and R was literally falling asleep between sentences on the couch, so I told Dylan we should probably go back to the hotel and let them get to sleep. I know how worn out I get at the end of Pride weekend in my hometown.
So, Dylan and I walked back to the hotel, and again we went by the Manitoba Capital building and I felt so happy and content.
Hello 2010, goodbye junk!
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION LOG ENTRY 155
Stack of very old Shitting Glitter press materials and photos, completely outdated. I save three copies of everything and then get rid of the rest.
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