The original plan was to spend the entire weekend of the 2000 Gay and Lesbian Millennium March hanging out, relaxing and visiting with friends. That plan changed when my friend David asked me to play some backup keys on the main stage on Sunday. Its not everyday yours truly gets an offer to play before a crowd of half-a-million people, so I jumped at the chance.

It was a blast. The team Dave put together was first rate musicians and rehearsals went smoothly. We were backing David North and Gospel Celebration. Sunday we all met and drove down to the stage area with surprising ease.

Once set up it was an awesome site to look out over the stage and see a crowd that stretched from the Capitol building all the way to the Washington Monument. Official estimates were put at 750,000 people on the mall that day. Quite a sight! It was heartwarming to look down at the front and see my hubby Will grinning from the front row.

We were supposed to play at 2:05 p.m., but of course, politicians had to vent, celebrities had to glow, and Melissa Etheridge showed up for a surprise show (can’t really complain about being bumped by that last one). It was interesting seeing Ellen DeGeneres, Martina Navratilova and other celebrities backstage. (Is it just me, or are all famous lesbians going for the same hair cut and color these days? Must be some union requirement. And where were the cool gay male celebrities? Oh.. yeah.. I forgot. There ARE NO cool gay male celebrities.)

At 4:00 p.m. we finally went on. The singers sounded great, the band played well, and the high winds did not knock any equipment over...always a good thing. It lasted only 8 minutes, but it was a lot of fun. Its funny how things just zone out when your on stage performing. The crowds, the weather, they all disappear. Its just you, your instrument, and the other musicians. All else are shadows.

I love doing music, and really need to make more time for it in my life. This was a lot of fun and thanks to David North and David Ylvisaker for the invite.

I’ll be posting more pictures as they come in. Thanks to Paul McCabe for many of these initial ones.