Vintage Madge

Madonna, Danceteria, NYC 1983

Photo by Maripol  

Mediterranean Memories - Jackie O'

Where oh where does one go out in Mykonos?? The first time I visited Mykonos I was kind of disappointed…in the gay scene that is. Granted, I didn’t do my research beforehand, so it was partly my fault. However, I didn’t go to the right beaches, bars or clubs. So, this “gay mecca” that Mykonos had always promised to be, in my mind at least, wasn’t really all that...gay. Well, boy did that all change on this trip! Not only did I find the gay beach to out-gay all gay beaches, I finally found where the party was…and it was of course, appropriately, hosted by Mrs. Jackie O’! Jackie O’ is an amazing gay bar in Mykonos Town. It is right on the water and right next door to another gay bar called…are you ready…Babylon (how original). Anyway, Jackie O’ is obviously the more popular of the two. However, I learned something else on this trip. The party does not get started until late, late, late. I passed by this bar around 11pm one night and no one was there. There were a few waiters milling about and a gay flag flapping in the island wind…but no patrons. It was a little sad. I decided to head back into town to shop, walk around and grab a sweet. A few hours past and around 1am I figured I might as well pass by Jackie O’ again just to see if maybe one or two homosexuals happened to find their way to what looked like a potentially really cool bar. There were indeed a few more peeps there the second time around, enough for me to decide to hang for a few drinks at least. However, as the minutes past more and more and more people started showing up. The more I drank the more the crowd multiplied…it was nuts. Come 2am the place was PACKED! You couldn’t move! One of the funniest things about the experience, and this is so Greece, was the fact that, as I mentioned before, the two gay bars were literally right next to each other. However, each one had its own DJ…and all the action was outside. Therefore, if you found yourself hovering too close to the middle of the two bars you kind of had to listen to a clusterfuck of music. It didn’t make sense at all…but alas, so Greece. I spent many a drunken night drinking, dancing and cavorting with Mrs. Jackie O’ and her island gays…a super fun, super crazy and super gay hot spot.

Warning: Be careful of the winds and the water! When the sea gets rough the waves crash over the stone barrier separating the bar from the water and needless to say there were a few very unhappy, saltwater drenched causalities…but a good laugh was had by my drunk ass.

Mediterranean Memories - Sodade

Being mid-September and with the end of season ferry schedule I found myself having to take a boat back to Athens from Paros on the night before my flight back to the States. My ferry landed at 12am and my flight wasn’t until 12pm that afternoon. I had originally thought that I would just waste the twelve hours hanging around in the airport since I had all my bags and excess travel crap. However, the closer I got to my departure date I realized that twelve hours is actually a pretty long time to hang in an airport, so I figured that maybe I should find a cheap hotel for the night, a place to drop my bags, and try to discover a little gay nightlife in Athens. From the few, and I do mean few, coffee shops that had WiFi on Paros I researched and found that a part of Athens called Gazi seemed to be the gay bulls-eye. I found a cheap hole-in-the-wall hotel for €60 that was very close to Gazi, got into Athens a little after midnight and once I dropped my bags and splashed some water on my face I was ready to conquer the gay Greek gods of the capital. I started at a bar called the Blue Train, a nice place to start the evening, very low key, with tables on the streets where I could acclimate myself to the area and size up the passers by. As I sipped my Jameson and coke (I know, not a very Athenian drink) I noticed that on the roof of this bar, about three stories up, there was some sort of outdoor lounge-like space. I finished my drink and found my way up the stairs. I was right; on the rooftop overlooking Athens I found a super low-key outdoor bar with sofas, cool music and a hot little Greek waiter…a perfect spot. However, I also noticed that it wasn’t very busy. Was this the best Athens could do at 2:30am on a Saturday night? Not knowing the gay scene here at all I figured this must be it. I decided to ask the cute Greek waiter for advice. I explained that I was only in town for that night and asked him if there was something I was missing. “Sodade” is all he said. After a few broken-English directions I was off to find this not-to-be-missed “Sodade”. After a few rights, a sharp left and few dark alleys, I came upon the illuminated sign of Sodade. It didn’t look like much from the outside, just a door, with a few Greeks roaming around in the front. I went in, paid the cashier my €8 and entered through the glass doors. Holy shit!! This place was crammed packed with people, the music was pumping, everyone was screaming over everyone else, there were lasers lights and cigarette smoke bouncing off of the walls…perfect…I had found my Athenian party! I managed to squeeze through the packed crowd to the bar and soon discovered that this was a multi-room venue, with an out door area and beautiful people everywhere. Just when I though I couldn’t handle anymore the DJ played an incredible dance mix of Madonna’s Erotica! I never wanted to leave! I drank and danced and talked to people who had no idea what I was saying until finally I had to tear myself away and head back to my hotel for the few hours of sleep I was able to get before I flew back to the New World. I am so grateful to the cute Greek waiter for steering me in the right direction; I guess he could tell what kind of scene I was looking for. So, if you ever find yourself in Gazi and are in need of some super cool gay energy head to Sodade…word.

Summer Camp

Who knew a little slice of rooftop craziness was happening every summer Sunday in Hell’s Kitchen? Yesterday I found myself at Summer Camp, a super gay clusterf@#k of drunken messiness happening at Highbar in midtown; a truly unexpected Sunday afternoon surprise! The liquor fueled carrying-on had campers dancing, drinking and ushering in the sunset atop the beautiful 16th floor patio…and on a gorgeous night like last night was the views were quite spectacular. There was some free/open bar vodka thing happening every so often. I really had no idea what was going on, but every hour or so I found myself with a free drink, so I didn’t ask questions. The DJ was dealing with a mad case of ADD, or else he was cracked out because he played everything from house and disco to Dolly Parton and vintage Whitney…it was all over the place! However, it was a prefect match for the colorfully confused and sweaty crowd. All I know is that my friends and I managed to have a drunken gay time (we gotta get all these roof top parties in before the season is a distant memory)! I’m just mad I discovered this gem of a soiree so late in the summer…oh well; at least I can start planning for camp next year!

Have you heard about the new pirate movie?...it’s rated ARGH!

Pirates took over the Hudson (for a few hours anyway) at the second annual Spank Boat Party! Our 150ft Clipper set sail around 11pm on Friday filled with fellow pirates, disco children and all around cool peeps as the theme from ‘The Love Boat’ accompanied us on our send off…and it only got better from there! Great weather, a great crowd, amazing views…and most importantly FIERCE music all culminated to make this one of the most unique and New York-centric events that I have attended in a very long time! Bravo and a big thank you to Spank DJs Will Automagic and Sean B for an incredible night! We pillaged, we plundered and we danced the night away under the watchful eye of Lady Liberty! Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me…only in NY, kids…

Here are a few pics from the party:

http://spankzine.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/spank-boat-party-august-2010-another-legendary-night/

Ahoy Mate!

Tonight I will be sailing the high seas with a bunch of drunk queens aboard the S.S. “Hey Guuurrrl”. Ok, maybe not sailing, but floating around the isle of Manhattan, does that count? I will be attending the Spank Boat Party 2010. I have spent many a memorable night shaking my grove thang at countless Spank parties in the past. However, this will be my first Spank party not on dry land; unless you count dancing in the bathtub at their last loft party. Anyhoo, it should be a good time. It’s a pirate theme…how original. I’m off to gather all the eye patches, shoulder parrots and cannon balls I can find. All aboard!

http://spankzine.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/spank-boat-party-friday-august-20th-tickets-available-now/

Limelight...Marketplace...

I made my maiden voyage to Limelight Marketplace last night…wow, what a trip. Many a crazy nights/mornings were spent under the steeple of this church of iniquity and I wasn’t quite sure how I would react to it’s transformation into a specialty marketplace. Limelight was one of the first clubs I ever went to when I moved to NY in 1999. Although I had just missed the NY club kid scene (I’m actually kind of happy I did, I might have ended up dismembered, floating in a box in the Hudson), it was still alive and thriving in 1999. I went to Limelight for the first time on Halloween night…quite an introduction. I will never forget a group of cracked out angels, in wings and halos, leaning over the third story steal staircase laughing and ashing all over the gaggle of vampires, mummies and living dead below them (there were also a few people in costume). It was a surreal experience, one that I will never forget. Although I am older and wiser(?) now and my club days are behind me, I will always look back on the craziness that was Limelight fondly. So, cut to 2010 and the shiny cupcake colored Limelight Marketplace. I wanted to hate it so much, I wanted to look down at the pretentiousness of it all, but it actually made me realize that time is real and that time continually moves on. Everything comes to an end, and with good reason, and everything morphs and changes. The mirror covered mannequin disco ball might be gone as well as our secret pot smoking closet but among the overpriced hand bags and pink frosting the ghosts of Limelight still frolic. I noticed I wasn’t the only one roaming through the stores with one eye on the cool gold skull necklaces and the other searching for my youth among the pendentives.

P.S. I did walk out wearing a skull necklace.

http://limelightmarketplace.com/