Mama is mad. Now this possibly could have gone in the Melbourne forum but she feels as it may be happening nationwide so she’s decided to whack it in here – if you don’t approve, well tough titties.

Anyways Mamas concern is that our gay scene is dying at a rate, which is alarming. In Melbourne the iconic venue, The Market closes up in a few weeks after God Knows how many years, The Good Head bar closed its doors recently, the Xchange has changed hands, Bar 362 wasn’t being supported by the Gay crew so it’s now primarily straight and its rumored that DT’s and Heavens’ Door are also both on the Market. Of the remaining venues, only three seem to be doing OK, with the rest just seemingly waiting to die and the once vibrant Commercial Rd strip is now has much life in it as an octogenarian’s cock

Now although Mama blames many reasons for this she is convinced that one of the main reasons is the breeders. Now Mama isn’t got anything against our breeder cousins but they are overrunning our venues. In Mamas heyday a “mixed” venue simply meant a venue where gay boys and lesbians were both welcomed – not a free for all with every drunken hens party in town attending. Of course, straight folks could come in but only with a gayer who was a regular of the club and once they were in they were far better behaved and respectful of our spaces. Now they just go mental and carry on like dicks – its no wonder the gayers are steering away from these places.

Something needs to give or our scene will be well and truly fucked. More and more venues will become single sex venues in order to combat the breeders invasion and the remaining mixed venues will become more and more overrun by straights until they are no longer gay venues but “gay friendly” venues - this is what it was like when Mama first started clubbing about 27 years ago and she really doesnt want it to go back to this.

If we dont start doing something to revive our dying scene Mama fears we have no scene for future generations of gaylings to enjoy - and that would be a sad sad thing.

So why is it that the scene is dying? Why arent you going out? What do we want from venues?

how old are u exactly? coz i keep getting the impression that u are like 30 but u reveal urself to be more like 50?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ernesto_1

how old are u exactly? coz i keep getting the impression that u are like 30 but u reveal urself to be more like 50?

Its no secret how old Mama is - 44

u speak so youthfully but then bam bam with 27 yrs clubbing experience!


anyways everyone hangs out at sircuit and peel and laird now. the peel is making mega bucks and is usually packed out

Quote:

Originally Posted by ernesto_1

u speak so youthfully but then bam bam with 27 yrs clubbing experience!


anyways everyone hangs out at sircuit and peel and laird now. the peel is making mega bucks and is usually packed out

Yeah Mama knows this but these bars are a perfect example of what Mama highlighted. Sircuit and The Laird are men only (except sircuit on a Sunday) and the Peel is so full of straights you can barely tell its a gay club anymore

Quote:

Originally Posted by ernesto_1

the peel is making mega bucks and is usually packed out

yep. it was when i was in melbourne in march. some mega hotties there too

yeh im not loving the girls allowed policy now coz i thought peel used to enforce no straight men. but now they let everyone in?

I only gay places I ever went to on the weekends were the Laird and Club80 when I was living in Melbourne.

There is so much to do down there that I was going to straight places more than gay ones.

WTF!!!

ur so innocent mr ASH but u went to club 80! im fainting. fainting! now there is no doubt in my mind u was at kingsteam on tues

and u dont have an alibi coz between the hours of 8pm and 10pm last night u werent on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ernesto_1

WTF!!!

ur so innocent mr ASH but u went to club 80! im fainting. fainting! now there is no doubt in my mind u was at kingsteam on tues

Yes I used to go to Club80 and I loved it. I was a leather boy back then as well. The best thing about that place was long chats with the leather guys and watching the fistpigs do their thing for ages.

And no I wasn't at KS last night I was asleep.

mr ash ur such a turn on u dirty tramp!

gay boys generally go where they think they will see other gay boys.

as a man who likes to go manhunting - in the flesh, so to speak - i find the shit music, drag shows & tacky environments non-conducive to scoring.

even the more tastefully laid-out joints like laird, sircuit or the renovated peel, still alienate me with their bizarre choices of music. if i'm a man hunting a man, why would i do that to the sound of a wailing diva?

previously, sure - there was nowhere else to go. you only had to open a gaybar & slap on madonna & kylie to get an instant crowd in the door.

the challenge now is to face what any other bar faces - diversification.

if you want gay homogenisation & clichéd set-ups you still have options. if you want a successful bar, i think you need to address a a changing social climate. some fags want to take their straight/dyke/musically discerning friends along to have fun &/or potentially score.

the market died for a reason. i don't lament the death of any cliché.

This doesn't seem to be the case in Brisbane... We even got a new venue recently The Royal Brisbane Boys Club. And the other three venues all seem to be going strong... Adding to the venues though is a lot of the stuff run from within the community, by people like our previous editor HazyinSeptember, as well as our current editor ChadStJames. Without their effort and others like them, I'm sure things would be a lot different. Maybe it's coz we have less choice and don't expect as much? (Although I hear the cancelling of Fair Day caused quite the ruckus amongst the once a year gays).

It may just be that Pride is on here in a few weeks, but I can't think of a month in the last year where there hasn't been something "gay" happening outside the normal pub/club stuff!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ernesto_1

yeh im not loving the girls allowed policy now coz i thought peel used to enforce no straight men. but now they let everyone in?

They don't let everyone in, when i was at Peel i was walking in behind 2 girls and they got rejected simply because they wern't with a gay guy.

LOL... that is so harsh. why didnt u say u was with them. they clearly just wanted to dance! why didnt u let them dance!

Quote:

Originally Posted by neal james

gay boys generally go where they think they will see other gay boys.

as a man who likes to go manhunting - in the flesh, so to speak - i find the shit music, drag shows & tacky environments non-conducive to scoring.

even the more tastefully laid-out joints like laird, sircuit or the renovated peel, still alienate me with their bizarre choices of music. if i'm a man hunting a man, why would i do that to the sound of a wailing diva?

previously, sure - there was nowhere else to go. you only had to open a gaybar & slap on madonna & kylie to get an instant crowd in the door.

the challenge now is to face what any other bar faces - diversification.

if you want gay homogenisation & clichéd set-ups you still have options. if you want a successful bar, i think you need to address a a changing social climate. some fags want to take their straight/dyke/musically discerning friends along to have fun &/or potentially score.

the market died for a reason. i don't lament the death of any cliché.

+1

Quote:

Originally Posted by ernesto_1

LOL... that is so harsh. why didnt u say u was with them. they clearly just wanted to dance! why didnt u let them dance!

Becuase its a GAY bar for GAY men, im sorry this may sound harsh but id rather be walking in behind 2 guys into the peel than 2 girls.

No that's not harsh at all.

Just stupid

Quote:

Originally Posted by ernesto_1

LOL... that is so harsh. why didnt u say u was with them. they clearly just wanted to dance! why didnt u let them dance!

bingo, boingo. that's the bullshit. discrimination is fucked, full-stop.

i'd rather support a business that doesn't discriminate - except possibly with the hiring of the idiots on the door.

if you want a venue full of gays, make gays welcome. not just cocks. there's plenty of saunas already catering to that clientele.

anyways as long as they make 8 inch dildos im sure gay man kind will survive!

Quote:

Originally Posted by neal james

bingo, boingo. that's the bullshit. discrimination is fucked, full-stop.

i'd rather support a business that doesn't discriminate - except possibly with the hiring of the idiots on the door.

if you want a venue full of gays, make gays welcome. not just cocks. there's plenty of saunas already catering to that clientele.

+ 1 (again!)

maybe the scene needs to die for people to appreciate it

basically, we can wail all we want about venues, but its up to changing our own individual attitudes.

why would it bother you so much to have lesbians at a gay night? if anything, they'd make some of the more feminine boys seem more manly - or perhaps even MORE feminine

either way, its about an environment that is more comfortable than your average straight bar.

thriving nights like orlando in melbourne have proven that some boys & girls appreciate a good mix.

all puns intended.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neal james

bingo, boingo. that's the bullshit. discrimination is fucked, full-stop.

i'd rather support a business that doesn't discriminate - except possibly with the hiring of the idiots on the door.

if you want a venue full of gays, make gays welcome. not just cocks. there's plenty of saunas already catering to that clientele.

Funny you should say that. cause these days im more going saunas than gay themed hens parties that many venues are turning into.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virgindirk

Funny you should say that. cause these days im more going saunas than gay themed hens parties that many venues are turning into.

i'm sure your presence is sorely missed. hope you enjoy the meaningful exchanges & lifelong acquaintances you make at the sauna.

Society is changing and venues need to keep up to meet the demands and needs of the times. Not what was needed in the past.

Neal James is right in saying the music in venues needs to change. I'd like to see a small GLBTI bar open up in the city for discerning corporate professionals.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phazz

maybe the scene needs to die for people to appreciate it

the "death" of the scene, is merely the proliferation of other scenes. classics never die & there is always a place for clichés in diversity - just not vice versa.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neal james

the "death" of the scene, is merely the proliferation of other scenes. classics never die & there is always a place for clichés in diversity - just not vice versa.

+ 1

Quote:

Originally Posted by neal james

i'm sure your presence is sorely missed. hope you enjoy the meaningful exchanges & lifelong acquaintances you make at the sauna.

Oh yeah , and gaynightclubs are perfect places to find a lifelong meaningfull partnerships.