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AUGUST 21 -23, 2009 |
| A long time ago, on a meadow not too far away... After a 5 year hiatus
the legendary SUNDANCE morning party returns to Guerneville, California!
All day, outdoor dancing in the sun under the mighty redwood trees
of western Sonoma County! Like one big GAY SUMMER CAMP, SUNDANCE
is about as much summer fun any boy could ever have.
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| My partner, Billy Worthen and I, really enjoyed Sundance last weekend! It
was great to see Phil B again and dance with friends under the sun....
friends I see often and others not so much. It was my first Sundance
experience and I had a blast! Thanks so much! |
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| What an amazing weekend – SUNDANCE returned in grand style. Thank you Gus, Edgar, Phil, Luke, the guests on the bus, and all of you that made Sunday and SUNDANCE memorable. Now on with the reviews. ( ...more ) |
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SUNDANCE Morning Party
It takes a lot to revive an event that was once a beloved summer jewel of the Bay Area. It’s unavoidable that whatever the event producers do, it’ll be laid against it’s preceding incarnations and compared inch by inch, memory by memory. But that’s too easy and completely unfair to the present, the hurdles that 2009 brings (economy included), and the family that gathered together in Guerneville last weekend for the anticipated return of Gus’ Sundance.
Setting up camp at the estate where fur and flesh invaded just weeks before during Lazy Bear, Sundance brought out a crowd that was generally less hirsute, but in no way less buoyant and equally as primed for a party. I mean come on! You’ve got the gorgeous Russian River and it’s sky-scraping redwoods cradling the heavy-weight sounds of San Francisco’s prodigal import, DJ Phil B. Bouncing around on the brightly painted wooded dance floor (as cushiony as the soft slats on the floor of London’s RVT), it was a candy-colored, UV-bathed day with friends, both fresh and firm. Idyllic, huh? It nearly was. Gus, Edgar, and their team (many of whom look too young to remember earlier Sundances) deserve rowdy applause for putting the paddles to an event many thought was dead. CLEAR! And we’re back up and dancing like Matthew Rush in “Another Gay Movie”. Woo hoo!
But for all it was, I wouldn’t be worthy of writing this review if I didn’t mention a few cracked squares on the mirror ball:
We stood on River Road thirty minutes past the scheduled noon start time before we were allowed through the gates. I didn’t see Jeffrey Sanker’s name on this, so why the pause in our day? If we had to be held back, perhaps a drink ticket might have made up for the lack of an announcement or an apology. We were on time, and by “we” I mean many of the same people Gus relies on for his livelihood throughout the year. A little respect and engagement goes a long way. Just something to keep in mind.
“Blue skies on a Sunday morning…” were the stellar lyrics that greeted the first of us who were foraging for base camp around the dance floor. One of my favorite songs of all time, and a rare dream to hear these days. Phil then lead us into a slow climb that eventually peaked but didn’t really seem to hold its altitude. There were great songs throughout the afternoon, but I never really got the jockey’s crop on a thoroughbred treatment I know he’s capable of dishing out. I always have faith in Phil’s music, but on this very important afternoon, passion seemed to be missing from his otherwise enjoyable set.
Maybe he was sharing my dread in the choice of performance songs. You know in Family Guy when Brian and Stewie stole Peter’s copy of “Bird Is The Word” and gleefully destroyed it? “Dive In The Pool” should suffer a similar fate, and I thought it had. I truly acknowledge the sweat and heart that every performer put into accentuating what was essentially an intermission in the set, from the fabulous flaggers to the wily water boys, but that song…! Sigh.
I will say that I should have taken a ride on the Kiddy Kopter amusement ride before it was shut down early, or taken a break from the music to flop around on the giant, inflated gorilla-bounce. But I was there to enjoy a final tour of the summer’s hits with my peeps, and except for the few times I wondered “why?”, the day was wonderful. From the jubilant ride up to the chill cruise home on the Juice Box Party Bus, Sundance gave my friends and I a tank-full of memories that’ll have us clicking BUY NOW when Sundance 2010 goes on sale. ( ...more ) |
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Gays rushin to The River this summer. Sundance this weekend.
August 18, 11:28 AM | SF Gay Travel Examiner | Ed Walsh
The river is back.
That seems to be the consensus of visitors, locals, and those involved in the tourism industry on the Russian River, the gay-popular resort area of Sonoma County, California, 90 minutes north of San Francisco.
Folks in the Bay Area on staycation helped bolster business on the River this year. Business owners report that this summer has been a good one. ( ...more ) |
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Totally WILD! will be how I lead this review for Sundance! This event made my entire year so far I actually can say with all honesty. I love an out door party and the sun ,boys, great music and all the thrills of the event all rolled up into one big day . We left SF at 945am and got to the River by 11am and parked and walked around in the small town of Guerneville. The place just never changes ,I always feel like I walked into Deliverance! lol anyway we walked around got drinks and went from store to store till about noon then headed to the event . We did not mean for it to happen that we were first in line but when we saw the BUS pull in I thought there was 2 more but maybe that was for lazy bear weekend. So while we were in line they were doing sound check and well the cops pulled up less then 5 minutes later and they wanted to scout the entire place out to see what was happening and make sure all was cool and talk with the promoters. So the people in the middle or back of the line would have only seen the police car but not know what was up only that the event was 30 minute late in getting open . I figure its a gay event and hardly any really open on time just being honest and to me its no big deal ,and if people were too concerned why it took so long JUST ASK WHY ! I figure it was a day of taking thing easy and no hurry ,no rush and all day is to be fun and relaxing .
The gate opened and the boys walked in and actually it was very organized and all people just paid or showed ID and got their envelope and got in just pretty simple and easy . When we got in we said hi to DJ Phil B who was just getting things rolling and was very happy about the event and what the day had to offer. I took 14-15 videos for the day and about 100 pics and had so much fun doing it . The people were all having a great time ,laying blankets and getting a spot to call their own where their group could find them . I felt that Phil did a wonderful job in keeping the crowd totally happy and thrilled with what was coming next . I did not hear any drop outs, speaker problems not anyone saying anything bad about the music . I just saw allot of people smiling ,laughing and dancing across the purple and yellow dance floor. I saw so many people that said they were not coming and just said "what the heck lets go" and showed up and they were all glad they did for the return of SUNDANCE!! I also ran into DJ Luke Johnstone www.industrysf.com that was playing for the event afterwards SUNSET. Luke was very relaxed and mello and for once was not running from place to place to make sure things were perfect . I was happy that he was enjoying the event and all the people that were flocking to him to say hi and they could not Waite to hear him that night. Then there was DJ Jamie J Sanchez and Richie his BF who was wondering around saying hi and just really getting a great tan ,and well Richie let me take their PICTURE!!! and he smiled :) It was a great day I love those two so much ....
I would say about half way threw the event I saw Gus www.guspresents.com walking around with a group of people saying hi and taking pictures which means a great time had by all . Edgar who seemed to be having a great time and if you looking in the video I have on you tube you will see him smiling and walking around . He always seems to make things goes so much smoother and well just he has a knack for making it look all so easy :) Thanks Edgar for all your hard work and effort all the time . Everyone who worked that party worked hard and all day long making this event the success it was for everyone. I say this because there is no way to just give one person credit for any event working out well and being a wonderful success.
Troy and the dancers and the show did not happen at the time planed but was about 30 minutes late but that's to be expected for events at times. Plus really no one was in a hurry it was all about having fun . Then the STILT walkers came out and they were allot of fun and got everyone's attention and started the show. Then came all the wonderful Flaggers and hot men and women doing all sorts of things with the flags and with the breezy day it was IT had to be hard work! Then a surf board of boys with Troy on top came out and started their section of the show and all in all everyone seemed to enjoy the show and since it was all of about 8-10 minutes people got to cool down and relax and watch something different . Once the show was over Gus and Edgar and friends came up and shot out colored paper everywhere and well people went bananas. It was all in all a great time not too long and well just enough thank you guys for doing such a wonderful job and hard work . Then the stage was open to everyone and well honestly people wanted to be with friends and not really too many people got up there but remained down with all their friends which was nice to see.
The Cherry Disco boys were there but without the shiney disco ball . They were having a great time with an entire group of friends and well then we ran into DJ Matt Consola with his new BF an all in such a wonderful and happy mood . Smiles from ear to ear he said they were doing great and had a wonderful time the night before playing the event "MoonDance" which I heard was in the remodeled FAB location and it went with a problem and everyone had a great time . I also ran into DJ Lee Decker who did the "DayLight" party and DJ Byron Bonsall who did the "Dusk" party and I did not attend those either but heard they were attended very well and no problems at either event just allot of fun and great music.
We left shortly after the show because it was about 5pm and well the drive home would not be fun but we did make it home in 2 hours time which I heard others did not make till 10 and 11 so great time and allot of fun for JIM who was his first time ever and he said he had a total blast and thought it was a event he would attend again .
Now when I went to the gym the next morning I heard by email ,text and phone calls that DJ Luke Johnstone played the best he has ever played at that event!!! They all raved about how wonderful his set was and they did not want to get off the dance floor. So I was totally thrilled that the entire SUNDANCE party was a HIT ! I really hope that Gus does choose to do again the Sundance it was totally missed . I can honestly say the tennis court was not missed ..lol Thanks for the wonderful hard work and effort that dance floor took to build and design . It was allot of work but totally paid off by everyone talking about the event the entire week .
I also hope that many promoters see that using the Bay Area DJS totally pays off because I think San Francisco people support their own DJs in a huge way and come to many event they are at to show support for them. I really hope we start seeing more of our boys out there on the decks. Thanks to all the DJS that did this event and everyone that showed to this event to be part of and show support .
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