Sunday I wavered between going to see the Shim Sham Rebellion in North Beach or going to karaoke with Mike before heading to Café du Nord to shoot the first night of Blue Bear bands. I opted for the latter since it was on the way to the venue. It turned out the Mint was hosting a "Castro Idol" contest, hosted by a drag queen known as Winnie Bago, to benefit a local AIDS organization. Mike, Rex and I all entered, but I didn't stick around long enough to see if any of us got to the finals. Given that finalists were determined by how much money was contributed while they were singing, it wasn't exactly a talent show anyway. I sang "Overjoyed" by Stevie Wonder, which is probably my best song, and Mike did a lovely rendition of Luther Vandross's version of "Superstar". Rex sang "Money for Nothing" which we'll perform at the show tonight. Before the contest, Mike and I also sang "Saturday in the Park" as a duet; I screwed up the harmony rather badly, but no one else seemed to notice. At least we weren't as bad as the group of five women who did a truly ear-splittingly awful performance of "Tiny Dancer". Mike and I had to sing the correct melody loudly at the bar to cover up the horribleness.
Looking at the photos on my laptop, they look much lighter than on my recently-calibrated Mac Pro. I'd like feedback from Windows and other users on what you're seeing, if you get the chance.
Highlight of the evening for me: Super Adventure Club on the lounge stage. Trippy and fun. One of them teaches at Blue Bear, as do most of the second stage acts for this showcase week. It's great that they've managed to organize having music pretty much continuously during the set changes.
So tonight's my big show - I've taken vacation days today and tomorrow for the occasion. Right now I'm doing laundry, then I'm going to take a nap, then probably run through the set with Ziggy (I can hear him banging away on the keyboard in the living room right now, even though he has headphones on). Wish me luck!