Saturday, March 7, 2009

Guerilla Queer Bar -- Lodge Bar


Thanks to Kenneth Wright for all the pictures.
(Pic links were removed by request due to consent issues.)

Guerilla Queer Bar has now been added to the blogroll to your right under "Cincinnati Queer Bloggers." They'll keep us updated on the world :-).

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How did it go, then?


I'm happy to report that, despite some momentary set backs and some woman using the f-word outside the bar, it was, overall, a complete success.


Miss Jackie and I made it to the bar at 10pm and immediately ran into Liz from get in mah belly and (insert name here) from Centsinnati (I think... I missed that) :-). "I just told them I was here with Guerilla Queer Bar and I got in for free!" she said. It was one of the nice things the Lodge Bar did for us. It was also convenient that, later in the evening, we were able to get a total of attendees, and it was well over 100, which is an amazing turnout.


The bar? LAME. Seriously, guys. There were antlers on the wall and a guy walking around in a bear suit with absolutely no sense of irony (I briefly wondered if he was a plushie). But I think that's part of the point. Bars need a little... ahem ... color and more queer. At one point, I actually tweeted: "Where the fuck am I?"


The bar picked up as the night went on and I saw a ton of people. Like, nearly everyone I expected to be there was and so many more. Montgomery and I once called this crowd the "gipsters" (gay hipsters), but I have to say, minus their tendency to wear unflattering skinny jeans, they bring out some really hot guys to party. I think I kissed one or two, but it was becoming blurry by the time I left.


Music was, also, lame. We started the night off with a live cover band that left something to be desired. But this was not our world.


Two unpleasantnesses: boys were not allowed to dance on the stage -- "No one wants to see dicks on stage" (I do!), but the management was mucho apologetic for it. Then, whilst we stood out to smoke, a group of girls made the unfortunate statement -- "I just hope there are no faggots in there." I got all Kristy for a moment and whipped out the "escuse me?" Rather than backing down, the girls wanted to fight back and I am a good deal more bark than bite so I stepped down.


Seriously, though, they were ho's. Their vaginas were showing.


My recommendation: join them on Facebook, check out their blogsite, and come to the next event. Trust me, the gay drama is to die for.


Reading over this, I was, perhaps, a little too harsh on the bar. It was a good experience, overall, and the management was totally welcoming and cool. The Lodge Bar is not my world, and I may be too harsh on them. The drinks were weak-ish, but strong for a straight bar. And it's all about the crowd, and the queers that showed up were fantastic. Much love to all of you.


Oh, and make sure you check out organizer Ethan's blogsite -- Ethan Dances in Public -- also blogrolled.

4 comments:

little prince kw said...

great blogg sir! i really enjoy it and thank you for the photo credit. this weekend has been too much fun. hope to see you out and about soon!

oh and p.s. Montgomery got the the word "gippster" from yours truly, since i am one ;-)

sidecar said...

the night was definitely a success even though we had a few minor set backs...
but two things!

1. can you remove the link to kenneth's photos until there is a chance to censor some pictures?? we dont have consent from a few people in compromising shots and i think it's important to show mutual respect for the women that were dancing with us.

2. the ho/vagina comment is disheartening to me because many of us are intensely processing the ways that we interact with the straight community. for queer women, who want equal love and respect for all women (even if they are ignorant and rude and saying faggot), it's important that if we are attacking them... it's for what they said and not for how they dress. that only perpetuates the sexism and misogyny that we are trying to work through.

the event made a huge impact on friday. let's keep the impact as positive as possible on our end... that's the whole point right, to combat the negativity that the queer community faces.

love, solidarity, side-cars,

jess sisto

kim_cam said...

I thought it was a great night and appreciate sidecar's comments.

Just as I feel ire when I hear someone equate something negative with "gay," I also get upset when people throw around "lame" as a slam. I realize that most of the time it is without thinking about the implications in terms of actual people with disabilities (just as people call something "gay" without thinking of actual gay people), but "lame" is used as a negative for much the same normative shitty reasons as "gay" (homophobia/ableism) so I've been working hard to remove it from my vocab despite how commonly it's used.

I can't wait for the next CGQB.

In solidarity,

K

liz said...

this was an awesome event and it was totally fun to see you there! i think all bars in cincinnati should be guerilla queered. my vote for the next bar is the stand. i swear at least half of those frat boys would secretly love a little man on man action.