By: Valerie Milano
San Diego, CA (The Hollywood Times) 7/23/24 – San Diego Pride was celebrated over the recent weekend, and what better way to kick of the celebration than a rockin’ show featuring Corday at Gossip Grill in the city’s Hillcrest neighborhood. Gossip Grill is a beloved hot spot for the entire gay community and one of the last truly lesbian- owned bars standing across the U.S. Owner Moe Girton opened GGs in 2009 and hasn’t looked back. According to the staff, “We pride ourselves in not only being a safe space, but a vibrant, fun place to be free and celebrate who you are.” Girton does not like to pigeon-hole the bar as simply or exclusively a lesbian bar, but a place where the entire queer community is welcome. The website celebrates Girls, Gays, and Theys, and above all are the words “Welcome home beautiful.”
Corday’s concert Friday was definitely catering to the girls, and let’s call them women, since the majority of the crowd was lesbians 40+. It makes sense after all, since Corday has been performing in San Diego since the early 90s and started developing a following performing regularly at places like Club Bombay (later 6 Degrees), the Flame, and many more. She performed numerous times on the San Diego Pride Main Stage with her full band, participated in the Parade, and has continued to make appearances throughout SD area at local bars like the Kensington Club as well as at many private parties.
One of her favorite venues is Gossip Grill, where Corday has been a mainstay, performing every year for almost a decade. She missed last year’s pride celebration due to illness but couldn’t wait to return this year. “We missed you!” was the overwhelming response from fans this year as Corday hit the stage with her band, guitarist Bart Davis, drummer Jorgen Ingmar, and bassist Jon Grillo. It was indeed a warm welcome, as the room filled up in no time in anticipation of the show which kicked off at 6pm sharp with her original version of the classic Helen Reddy tune “I Am Woman.” Corday ramped things up slowly by filling the first set with soft 70s yacht rockers like America’s “You Can Do Magic and Steely Dan’s “Do It Again” and crowd sing-alongs like “Take Me Home, Country Road,” “What’s Up,” and “Sweet Caroline” which had the crowd singing louder than the stage!
She worked in her original tunes including the sweet lesbian love song “Anchor,” and the delightfully fun country romp “Shoulda Left Sooner,” which she suggested the crowd dedicate to their ex-girlfriends. She also busted out her original pop dance track, a true gay anthem “Pink Cloud (Solar City Remix)” which is streaming on all digital platforms and is a must-hear. The second set ramped up to a whole new level and had the crowd on fire, pushing right up to the stage as the 4-piece band delivered hit after hit. From “Pinball Wizard” to “Cold As Ice,” they delivered some delicious classics from the 70s that you don’t often hear due to their difficulty. Her raspy vocals tackled the eighties next, with songs from ACDC Bon Jovi, Guns n Roses and Led Zeppelin. Corday also nailed songs from Pink and Melissa Etheridge before ending with her triumphant versions of “Dancing Queen” and “I Will Survive” in true Corday fashion.
“It was an awesome time.” Says Corday after the show. “I just love San Diego! The women always show up and are just full of fantastic energy. I need to get down here more often!”
The crowd danced and celebrated all evening to the mix of cover tunes and originals as Corday held sway over the revelers. It was the perfect way to kick off San Diego Pride!
Gossip Grill gives back to the community, so the experience you have at Gossip helps support the LGBTQ+ and Women’s communities in need.
As for the other entertainment, the Resizters band kicked off SD Pride week with a pre-event on Saturday July 13th at SDPride.org’s SHEfest festival with rousing protest/empowerment tunes such as “I Am Woman”, “Uprising”, “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “Freedom Highway”. The Resizters were originally formed by Melanie Peters-Paisley for SD Women’s March, Peters-Paisley and some of her long-time friends and former bandmates from earlier projects got together, and the band was born in 2017. After a long hiatus during the pandemic and Peters-Paisley moving to WA state to start a bitchin’ record store (RockinRubys.com), the Resizters re-formed. They are now managed by original band member/bassist Laura Payne and consist of local band leaders and solo artists such as: Manzanita Blues (Lisa Domkat), Linda Berry Band, Appian Way Band (Lauren Hermas), Garrison Bailey, Valerie Hardie, John Peter Nollet, and Marty Hales. And at SHEFest 2024 they were rocking the crowd with their blend of popular and protest music from the 60’s and 70s, as well as more current tunes. The band has a core mission to deliver inspirational/powerful live music at protests, marches, rallies and other community events in support of progressive causes and candidates. Find out more at https://www.theresiztersband.com
