12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, June 19, 2007

IAN McCANN & BRANDON FORMBY ORIENTATIONS

To hear Margaret Cho describe it, a big, rocking, gay Mardi Gras on wheels is headed this way.

"There's five or six buses that the crew and the musicians and everyone is in," she said from Atlantic City last week. "It's fun because it's just like this huge party that rolls to different cities every day."

Of course, with Cho, Cyndi Lauper, Rosie O'Donnell, Erasure and a handful of other acts on board, how could the True Colors Tour not be a big party? We'll get a chance to judge for ourselves at Smirnoff Music Centre on Saturday.

"I think it's going to be great," said Erasure's Andy Bell, who signed on for the tour almost two years ago. "There's a lot of good entertainment."

The show raises money for the Human Rights Campaign and boasts an impressive list of performers, including the Dresden Dolls, Debbie Harry, the Gossip and the Misshapes.

And if you're starstruck by the long lineup, you're not alone.

"I'm very excited about Debbie," Bell said earlier this month as the tour was ready to kick off in Las Vegas. "I've never seen Cyndi live."

Cho has spent much of her tour time on the Dresden Dolls' bus.

"They're so much fun to hang out with," she said.

But it's been working with Lauper, her longtime personal inspiration, that's been most exciting for her.

"Everybody is so happy to see each other and we're all fans of each other," Cho said. "That makes for a lot of a mutual appreciation society. I love all the bands. I love getting to see the show every night."

And apparently, Texas is a favorite state.

"I love Dallas," Cho said. "I like it because it is conservative, but there is that lovely wild streak. There's a lot of political conservatism, but then there's these energetic, wildly beating hearts."

Bell seems to like a night on the town when he visits that big city to the south, where the tour stops after Dallas.

"I absolutely love going out in Houston," he said.

A major, touring, gay-themed music festival would have seemed like a dream just 10 or 15 years ago. But even for the artists, reactions to and demands for the show have illustrated changes in society.

"It's building and growing, and I'm excited to see what's going to happen," Cho said.

Word of advice: Don't start an interview asking Margaret Cho if your phone call woke her up. E-mail imccann@quickdfw.com and bformby@quickdfw.com.