The end of October is traditionally a special time for me. This year, I was blessed with the experience of a lifetime. I traveled to Toronto, saw Thea Gill sing, and met members of the cast of Queer As Folk. This is my story.

Caveat Lector: Let the reader beware that there is a lot of personal detail in this page. These are my opinions and impressions. They are completely subjective and my perceptions may admittedly have been substantially "altered". Don't take any of it personally. It's all about love.

Theos | Greek word for a (male) god;
the feminine form is Thea ¹

Beautiful doesn't begin to describe Thea Gill. It's been six days since I last saw her and I'm still struggling for the words to describe her and the performances she gave at The Top of The Senator.

The Senator is a fairly elegant restaurant in Toronto. We enjoyed great food and service, though the prices were a little dear. I'm not sure what I was expecting but this is nice --really nice-- and I'd like this place even without the concert. Our dinner reservations guaranteed a good spot in the Jazz club up stairs called The Top of the Senator. After our meal, we were quickly ushered up to our seats at the front of the stage. It's a very intimate setting- Thea will be standing inches away from us. This is too good to be true.

There's been a rumor that the cast of Queer As Folk is going to be there the first night to support Thea. It sounds plausible, but it's just a rumor. We really don't expect anyone to be there when Scott Lowell walks in and we realize that Peter Paige is already there. This rumor is turning out to be fact. The audience is full when the lights go down. The band accompanying Thea does a few jazz standards as the crowd settles in. Thea takes the stage as a tall, thin figure is quickly lead back to where his coworkers are sitting. Holy shit.

What a beautiful setting for Thea. The club is dark and most of the stage and it's surroundings are black. She's luminous. She's wearing a strapless black cocktail dress that looks as if it were made just for her. Her light blonde hair is a mass of curls and her skin is flawless. She's nervous and giggling, which gives her an endearing Marilyn-esque quality. Wow.

We still don't know the name of the first song, but it's about giving up on men and being attracted to a girl. The woman knows her audience. The crowd is delighted and she's got us. The sweetest part is that she never seems to realize it. She's so anxious to please that you love her all the more for it. Her voice is beautiful. I mean really beautiful. She's chosen a lot of standards like That Old Black Magic-- which she dedicates to the QAF family-- and a couple of songs written by the band leader/pianist.

She did two sets every night, which is exceptional considering she worked all day filming Episode 303. Her special guest on Tuesday was John Alcorn, who was in QAF episode 208. Wednesday night she had a wonderful singer named Sean Mealing who records under the name "Seraphim". The last night Theresa Tovin joined her for several numbers like Sisters, which was really fun.

Between sets and after the shows, Thea was extremely gracious to everyone who wants to talk to her. There were people there from Memphis, Indiana, Kentucky and New York. She can't believe that some of us came so far to see her perform and she's both generous and genuine with her hugs and her attention. I had the good fortune to have her call me from the set on Friday and I took the opportunity to encourage her to do some recording. Keep your fingers crossed, because she's considering it.

Visit Thea Gill's Official Website!