"A sports stadium full of queers -- how fuckin' brilliant!" enthused George Michael, performing on an American stage for the first time since publicly acknowledging his own queerness. For one night, even though the names that adorned the stands of Washington, D.C.'s RFK Stadium belonged to hometown sports figures, the crowd roared for a different sort of heroes -- men and women onstage celebrating the right to love men and/or women.

Not that Equality Rocks, the Human Rights Campaign's concert to promote the "equality and safety of all people" on the eve of the Millennium March for Equality, was without sports representation, as tennis legend Martina Navratilova partied along with the musical performers, actors, activists and even a prospective first lady.

Between the music, a diverse group of celebs shared their diverse thoughts on diversity. Just a day away from the three-year anniversary of the "coming-out" episode of Ellen, Ellen DeGeneres received the most riotous applause, reducing the comedian to tears. "I love you too," she said. And when the applause showed no signs of ceasing, she pleaded, "That's enough love. Save a little." 3rd Rock From the Sun star Kristen Johnston (not gay, if you're keeping score at home) explained her presence by quipping, "I just looove the gay people!"

Others weren't as eloquent. DeGeneres' significant other Anne Heche's first-person triumphant tale of how she has made it as an openly gay actress quickly descended into a tiresome reading of her own resume, and during his set Michael seized the opportunity to browbeat America for not buying his albums.

But despite Melissa Etheridge's four (count 'em!) appearances, Michael was the night's main musical attraction -- and his shiny, steel blue suit, sunglasses and popstar poses proved he knew it. He opened with a smooth rendition of "Father Figure" and, accompanied by the famed harpist Corky Hale turned in a moving take on Johnny Mercer's standard "I Remember You," a song he dedicated to two deceased loved ones: his mother, and the first man with whom he had a romantic relationship. After an awkward mid-set pause for the Human Rights Campaign to show a brief film on the horrors of underground facilities that kidnap gay teens to try to "cure" their homosexuality, Michael returned with the uplifting "Freedom 90." Although the song was penned as an ode to Michael's artistic growth in the face of commercialism, the verses seemed to fit the night's issues ("There's something deep inside of me/There's something else I've got to be").

Michael then illustrated what the Human Rights Campaign has been preaching for years -- that gay rights is about equal rights for all of us -- by introducing Garth Brooks (again, not gay) to sing the second verse. The unlikely couple sang arm-in-arm, with Michael at one point imitating Brooks by donning a black cowboy hat and Brooks seeming to take particular delight in belting out the line "Sometimes the clothes do not make the man" (although, in many gay bars Brooks would be right at home in his cowboy garb).

Among occasional cries of "We love you Garth," the aw-shucks Mr. Brooks stayed on to play a few acoustic ditties, including "We Shall Be Free," which drew cheers for the line, "We shall be free when we're free to love anyone we choose." "Thank you for letting me be me," Brooks said before leaving the stage.

The night's other just-as-unlikely duet featured Melissa Etheridge, who had earlier given a typically passionate set that found her on-the-floor all but making love to her guitar, and the Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant. Etheridge proved versatile, switching from strutty rocker to cutesy crooner capably pinch-hitting for the late Dusty Springfield on the PSB's "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" "Go West" was the Boys' other showstopper, with backup singers dressed in sailor suits dancing and singing the refrain.

Etheridge's best moment was her solo rendition of "Scarecrow," inspired by the death of Matthew Shepard, whose father spoke on behalf of hate crime victims just minutes before.

The rest of the musical mixed bag included Cuban-born salsa singer Albita, opera-inspired pop balladeer Rufus Wainwright (who revealed that his "April Fools" is "about all the boys who didn't kiss me"), funk/soul queen Chaka Khan, show-tuney piano man Michael Feinstein and k.d. lang, whose set included a dazzling rendition of the torch song "Right to Love."

Before introducing lang as "a great friend, a great artist," first lady hopeful Tipper Gore may have sealed the gay vote for her husband with the words, "You're beautiful!" and "We will stand with you!"

But Mrs. Gore wasn't done, and, of course, neither was Ms. Etheridge. After strumming Bob Dylan's "Times They Are a Changin'" the earnest rocker again let her hair down to lead the closing jam, which featured all of the above and more in a conga line for Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" and Sly and the Family Stone's "Dance to the Music." The latter featured Gore's rollicking drum solo to chants of "Go Tipper, go Tipper."

As DeGeneres put it, "We shouldn't have to have concerts like this." But as long as we do, nobody ever said a struggle can't be a celebration.

BILL CRANDALL
(May 2, 2000)