Pinch Me!

Since my move to Canada, I've been having a strange run of good luck. Now, if you are a regular Danifesto reader, it might surprise you that I even believe in the concept of luck. In general, I really don't (I believe in a mix of predestination and free-will.) but the recent string of events has compelled me to share.

We felt extremely lucky to be able to catch an amazing performance of Beyonce at the Yonge-Dundas Square downtown less than a month after our arrival. Holding the concert outdoors was a great idea because Beyonce would have brought the house down otherwise! My only wish is that I would have been a little bit taller! That or had the foresight to wear taller shoes!

Then I happened to win free tickets from Xtra to see Mika! If you aren't aware, Mika is a British pop star who plays the piano and sings fun songs. He's really good at falsetto. The concert was at the Mod Club and it was like attending the birthday party of a 10 year old! There were clowns, people on stilts, drag queens handing out lollipops, big balls and bubbles! For the encore, Mika and the band came on stage wearing animal mascot costumes. A fun distraction was watching his purple pants sliding down only to have him pull them up every two seconds. I had SUCH a great time!

If that wasn't enough, one of our friends was too sick to use his tickets to Diva Oz Vegas! Not a mere drag show, this musical included a sexy "Cher"crow, a glittering Tin Diva, and a buxom Lioness led by a Judy Garland wanna-be and a Rita Hayworth-esque Glinda! I was blown away by all the music (none from the Wizard of Oz), choreography and costumes! This year, DQ raised $110,000 for Casey House. (Casey House Hospice is an internationally-renowned facility and one of the world’s first hospices for people with HIV/AIDS. There is no cost for Casey House services which are delivered in a variety of settings; in the home, at clinics and with a mobile health bus.) Since DQ began in 1987, the 10 productions have contributed over $1,000,000 dollars!

Then, just yesterday, my fabulous friend of five years called me up and asked if I wanted to go with her to the True Colors concert that night at the Molson Amphitheatre! I thought for a mili-second and then quickly said YES before she could change her mind! The concert was a group of queer/queer-friendly musicians that were raising money for the Human Rights Campaign. Last night was their ONLY Canadian stop. Favourite moments from last night included: pissing myself over Margaret Cho's jokes, hearing the Cliks perform the cover to Cry Me A River, Beth Ditto of The Gossip belching, saying "Who cares?" and then stripping off her dress (!), watching Andy Bell of Erasure dance to Respect and Chains of Love, Cyndi Lauper doing a groovy version of She-Bop and then of course at the end performing Time After Time. After five hours of music, we didn't hang around for the final encore but according to this review, they probably ended with this crowd pleaser. All in all, a pretty great way to start off my first Pride in Toronto! (Deborah Harry of Blondie and the Dresden Dolls also performed.)

Now I'm curious! What does my luck hold next? Stay tuned!