Afternoon Dance Break - Bring Me Edelweiss

Thanks to DustBunny Peter Maria for reminding me about this early video bar staple.


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Prince Harry Gets Sloshed With The Gays

Ooooooh HONEY - that's not a good look for you (besides the little peek-a-boo belly thing, which is totally hawt).

His Royal Highness, Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales (better known as Prince Harry) decided to hang out with some Queens who weren't his Grandmother on Saturday night. And by the looks of things, they got him DRONK!

From The Mirror (via Towleroad):

"Harry had been at Soho’s Box Bar to celebrate a female friend’s birthday. He had (quite) a few drinks and saw a burlesque show, then left with his armed protection officers. One clubber said: 'Harry was with girls and fellas, having plenty of laughs. He was more than a little the worse for wear by the end of the night.'"

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1980 NYC Gay Bar Guide

Joe.My.God posted this 1980 Gay Bar/Restaurant/Club guide (click to embiggen) yesterday, and I have been scanning it ever since. I LOVE stuff like this - remembrances of gay history that is long gone.

Some of these bars are still around (Julius and Ty's in the Village, for example) - and some were still here when I arrived in NYC in the early 90's (Kellers, Sneakers, GH Club) but disappeared as real estate values skyrocketed. So many of these places are now a Gap or a Starbucks or a friggin Citibank  :(

I am amazed by the sheer number of venues listed - especially on the East Side. The east side has maybe 3 or 4 bars now. And I also noted the number of gay bars in the Times Square area - including the infamous Haymarket (a notorious hustler bar). Times Square once had a huge and multicultural gay scene - albeit sleazy and sometimes downright dangerous - but at least it was INTERESTING. There are now zero gay bars in Times Square (unless you count Escuelita) - and the bars in nearby Hells Kitchen are for cute white boys looking for other cute white boys. Which, in my opinion, is just so boring.

What a Lovely Weekend!

I had such a great long weekend that I just had to share.  After all, it's not often that I make it to The Urges AND to Arby's - let alone all in the same weekend!

Friday night I met my blogger buddy Ivan from Queer Iv, and we headed to The Urge.  The dancers were Papilicious (like the one above) and the drinkies were tasty.  And as we walked in, both Ivan and myself were greeted with lovely crotchgrabs from some drunk at the bar! I thought the fine art of manhandling had been lost in the gay community - what with all the twittering, texting and craigslisting that goes on these days. Back in my day, when you thought someone was attractive, you walked up to them and got yourself a handful!  I'm glad to see this tradition lives on within the hallowed halls of The Urges.

As an added bonus, I got to meet longtime DustBunny Reid (and his delightful boyfriend) who were visiting from The Great White North.  It was wonderful to finally put a face to the name - and they were both just as sweet and fun as could be - as was my loyal companion Ivan.

The next afternoon (after I shook the drunken cobwebs from my brain), my BFF and I took a subway then a bus to Middle Village, Queens to feast on some delicious Roast Beef ...

It was WELL worth the schlep and the cuisine was delish - the perfect cure for the post-Urge hangovers.

Sunday and Monday were spent on the computer, doing household crap and basking in the glow of gogo's and curly fries.

How was YOUR weekend??

Light Posting Over the Next 24 Hours ...

... for obvious reasons.

Tonight: I Support "The Arts"

The actions of each dancer were scrutinized with great care and any little mistake noted and remembered. The strain upon a dancer was consequently so great that when a fine dancer died soon after a feast it was said, "The peoples' looks have killed him." 

... Merle Colby, A Guide to Alaska: Last American Frontier (1941). On Tlingit feasts.

Yes BunnyNation, tonight you can find me belatedly celebrating my birfday by supporting the local "dance community" HERE.  If you would like to see a messy Blogger making a fool of himself, show up tonight after midnight and watch the magic happen.

Happy Monday!

The subway was a lot less crowded than usual today - I guess a lot of people are taking vacation during this last week before Labor Day.  Folks need to wear their summer white outfits one more time before putting them away for the fall/winter...

I don't have much on the agenda this week, but on Friday night I'll be headed to the Urge Lounge (AKA "The Urges" - below) for a belated birfday celebration....

If anyone would like to see their favorite Blogger (that would be ME, right???) in a state of utter stupidity while he drunkenly molests the "talent", then head over to The Urges at about 11:30 pm this Friday night...

FINAL NOTE: I swear to JEEBUS, Hurricane Earl better not even THINK about screwing up my weekend...

Gay History Lesson - The Video Bar

Gather round, my gay children - and Mama will tell you a tale of an ancient gathering place that is now almost extinct.  It was called the gay "Video Bar", and these magical places existed in cities all over the United States of America back in the late 80's/early 90's.

The Video Bar was, ultimately, a place for cruising.  What is "cruising", you ask??  It's what you anti-social little bastards now do on the internet.  But back in ancient times we used to have to take a shower, shave, put on gallons of Drakkar Noir and go to the gay bar to do our cruising.  We had it rough - kinda like the Pioneers but with sleeveless t-shirts.

The great thing about Video Bars was that the fact that if the cruising was not particularly good that evening, there was something to do/watch until Mr. Right Now arrived.

The other great thing about Video Bars was the fact that it was the only place to see videos by gay and/or dance artists.  MTV certainly didn't/wouldn't play them.  That's right, my gay children - MTV use to show music videos.  Exclusively.  I know, right?!?  So, sadly, the gay Video Bar was probably the only place where you could see videos by tacky 90's dance artists like Army of Lovers (below), Saint Etienne or The Shamen.

Anybody remember this little ditty?  I think I must have seen this video at Uncle Charlies (on Greenwich Avenue in the West Village) about 5,000 times...

Afternoon Dance Break - Dangerous on the Dance Floor

Sometime during 1992 or 92 I walked into my very first gay bar - Stallions in Harrisburg, PA.  I immediately felt right at home - the drinks were tasty, the people were friendly (I was "fresh meat", so of course they were friendly), and the music was always jumping.  Stallions became the center of my social life until I moved to NYC.

Upstairs on the dance floor (AKA "The Cha-Cha Palace") I immediately took a liking to this song by Musto & Bones called Dangerous on the Dance Floor.  Every time the DJ would play it I found myself in the middle of the dance floor - shaking what my mama gave me.  I soon found out that after a few Bacardi's and Cokes I could be a little dangerous on the dance floor also...

Inferno Wednesdays

Marcus

Niko

Have any of my Los Angeles Dust Bunnies ever been to Club Cobra for "Inferno Wednesdays"?  It looks like my kinda place ...

Manhattan's Gay Bar Graveyard

Next Magazine did a piece this week on all the Manhattan gay hotspots (and not-so-hotspots) which closed during the past 10 years.  Many of these shuttered bars/clubs were places I hung out - especially when I first moved to NYC in the 90's (Limelight, Roxy, Tunnel, etc.).  If those walls could talk...

But the one name which really hit home was Stella's (circled in red).  I have mentioned that bar many times, because it was simply a great place to hang out.  Not only was I friends with the owner, the staff, and half the customers - I became very "close" to some of the dancers as well.  EXTREMELY close.    :)

Good times...

Thanks to Kayce.

Music Of My Life

Sabrina Johnston's "Peace In The Valley" takes me back to the time when I began exploring the world of gay bars/clubs. I vividly remember dancing to this song in Philly at a (now closed) club called "Kurt's", with my good friend Dennis. Good times.

Greenwich Village Dust Bunny Bar Tour

One of the things I've always wanted to do is a Bar Tour (AKA "Pub Crawl") from one end of the West Village to the other. Christopher Street (and the surrounding Greenwich Village neighborhood) was the birthplace of the gay movement and the former epicenter of Gay NYC. Even though the neighborhood is no longer a trendy gay destination, there are still a bunch of fun bars to be explored.

So, one of the options that I will propose during the Dust Bunny Weekend is a Dust Bunny Bar Tour on Saturday night. The idea is to have one drink at each bar, and move on to the next one. By the time you get to the end, everyone is WASTED and at least half the group has been fondled inappropriately...

We would begin our tour at Pieces. It's always fun to "go to Pieces"...

Next, the oldest gay bar in NYC - Julius'. They make a stiff drink (and delicious hamburgers) here...

Around the corner from Julius' is where is all began, the historic Stonewall...

Then a sip and twirl at the Monster. They have a piano bar upstairs, and a dance floor downstairs...

Then we could sing a few show tunes at Marie's Crisis. This has been a tavern since colonial times (Thomas Paine lived upstairs). The bathrooms were last renovated sometime during the Civil War, but the piano players are phenomenal...

Then back to Christopher Street to Boots and Saddles (AKA "Bras and Girdles")...

Farther down Christopher we have neighborhood Bear Bar Ty's...

Then The Hangar. If we're lucky, the go-gos will be dancing...

Finally, at the far end of Christopher Street, the final destination - The Dugout ... known for Beer, Bears and their view of the Hudson River...

And, depending how your weekend goes, we could always get you to the Free Clinic in Chelsea on Monday morning...

Sounds like fun, huh?!?

I Love My People

You may have heard that eleven gay bars in Seattle recently received letters threatening to poison their patrons with Ricin (see below). The Seattle police and FBI are still investigating.

So what do my peeps do? We go on a PUB CRAWL. That's right people, when the world gives you lemons, cut those bitches up and garnish cocktails with them!!!

To show solidarity and fearlessness in the face of the threat, the gays of Seattle are going drinking tonight - which I think is the most fucking awesome thing ever. I wish I could be there with them.

Cheers, Queers!!!

Party In Da Club

If you would like to witness your favorite blogger (me, of course) drunk and sloppy - then be at The Monster (more info HERE) at 10:00 6:30 pm tonight (see below). I will be meeting up with Dust Bunny Blogger Mark in DE (Tales of the Sissy) and his spouse - who are in town for the weekend. I met them for lunch at my restaurant yesterday and it was so nice getting to know them. They are ADORABLE.

Tonight, as is my habit, I will probably have a few "pre-drinks" (as we used to call them in Harrisburg) at my apartment before heading downtown to meet them. I have called the Bacardi delivery Papi...

Then it's off to the Monster. Let's hope these guys will be serving us...




Later, I might try and drag their asses to a bar with go-go boys...

UPDATE: It's 5:15 pm - and there has been a change of plans. Those bitches are ALREADY at the bar!!! Lord, I hate drinking this early ... it NEVER ends well...