It’s full of energy, with amazing performances, visuals, and lighting. Ric Sena’s party Alegria – a large-scale event at rotating clubs such as Webster Hall – is the best. Pow, wow, bam! … Ric Sena’s Batman-themed party, Alegria The party took off from day one and has kept its mojo.
It’s one of the longest running, successful parties on a weekly basis, and it never fails. It’s definitely high energy and a reliable party. The party, hosted by nightlife vets John Blair, Beto Sutter, and Ric Sena, attracts the muscle queen scene. Viva on Saturdays at Stage 48 is always packed with gorgeous guys. It is promoted as having a “low-lit basement, after-hours vibe, and sweaty fun times” and that’s all true. There are two different DJs, serving two different types of music. There’s a play area for fooling around in one section and an upstairs and downstairs. Everyone’s all over the place, moving, moving, moving. I consider it like a mini Black Party (the annual hedonistic circuit party in NYC). For deeper beats, Brut, a monthly night at Santos Party House, is great. I go to clubs based on the music and DJs, which are in my opinion what makes a party. Clubsīy Steven Manchester, nightlife promoter, performer and club regular And even gays without muscles have a chance at some fun. There are also cultural events all over the city, from NewFest (the city’s LGBT film festival) to concerts, such as a Kiki and Herb reunion (Justin Vivian Bond and Kenny Mellman reprising their act as a woozy cabaret couple). The internet has taken a big bite out of clubbing, as you hardly need go to a bar anymore to meet Mr Right-For-An-Hour, but these venues still provide valuable get-together spaces, as well as places to see drag performers, who are more popular than ever in the era of RuPaul’s Drag Race. (On last count, there were 14 gay bars in the area, without a cap off in sight.) And Hell’s Kitchen (or HK) is now the gay epicentre, where rents are a little more affordable, thereby attracting swarms of new arrivals who prowl the streets and look for fun on an obsessive basis. The West Village – the hub of the modern gay movement, thanks to the 1969 rebellion at the Stonewall Inn – still bristles with gay bars and drag clubs, mostly unaffected hangouts such as the appealing Pieces, and The Monster, a two-floor nightlife emporium with piano bar on top and disco down below.Ĭhelsea (the gay mecca in the 90s) was beset by a mass exodus as it became gentrified, though the long-running Barracuda Lounge still provides booze and schmooze, and G Lounge never goes away, thanks to its ambient mini-areas in which to hang with your clique. In the past decade, a lot of the action has left “the big city” for Brooklyn districts such as Williamsburg and Bushwick, but there’s still plenty of adrenaline left in Manhattan to make heat-seeking worthwhile there.
N YC is a gay-friendly town with a variety of neighbourhoods offering pockets of queer culture and nightlife, each with its own fruity flavour.