Tim Trainor spends every waking moment finding out what's all the gay rage in Perth right now. Events, culture and random bits and pieces from Perth, Australia.
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Viewing posts tagged ‘bars’
August 9
Glass attack at The Court
First, my apologies for sparatic updates (life has been very busy recently), but I’ve been pulled back to the blog to talk about what happened at The Court last night.
The venue hasn’t been receiving any of my money in a while now, so I don’t have a first hand account to go on - if anyone else was there please shoot me an email. Apparently a girl was stabbed with a broken bottle at around midnight, and the scene was serious enough to pull in an army of police officers, firemen and security guards. Subsequently half of the venue was closed down to the public.
(Photos by LM)
An SMS from a friend:
It was as Bree called it; a crime scene. I spoke to her she seemed really worried about the bad publicity and the loss of money!
… yeah who cares if the girl survives anyway. Luckily for Bree though, the attack at The Court has been completely overshadowed in today’s news by a different glass attack just down the road at the Elephant and Wheelbarrow, which happened the night before.
In fact, this other stabbing is getting so much of the attention the State government is considering a glass ban for problem venues. More good luck as The Court gets no mention in the news article. Is Bree’s relationship with the police working to her advantage or has word simply not filtered through to the media yet?
Either way, it’s another reminder that all pub venues experience violence issues and The Court is no exception. Lets end this post with a Facebook status update that appeared on my feed this morning. Stay safe on the weekends everyone.
Stabbingat the Court, venue closed by police at around midnight…now we know why I dont go there, on another note, awesome night at Connies. Yay! Bedtime now
Witness comment via facebook:
some girls were fighting in the female toilets and one got hella bashed up. came staggering out at me bleeding all over the place. poor girl, her head was covered in blood, just dripping everywhere
July 18
Battle of the weekend love
We have a new contender on the Perth weekend nightlife scene, promising to deliver salvation from boring winter nights spent on the couch with only the company of bad commercial television. ‘Love Saves Fridays’ (fb), not to be confused with the previously blogged ‘Love Sundays’ (post) is a weekly collection of Perth’s best DJs let loose on the turntables with one thing in mind: to save your Friday night from dying a dull, danceless, music death.
It all launches 10pm Friday 24 July at the Republic (Corner Wellington and Shafto Lane), which you may be familiar with as the venue for the now very popular SEXY nights (a personal favourite of mine). Whereas ‘Love Sundays’ was a bit of a coosh plastic glam night, ‘Love Saves Fridays’ is all about the atmosphere, company and music: You can expect sounds of the 70s, including indie-funk and glam rock, with different mixes each week.
The night has been created by Petrosex and the team from Bourgeois Bogan, who have a solid reputation for great events in Perth. Anyone with SEXY experience will know these events are all about creating an inner-city haven, where you can just have a plain ‘ol good time without the BS. There is also word that Perth’s performance superstar Ash Baroque will be the evening’s hostess to ensure no unappreciatives enter the walls of Love Saves Fridays.
So if you’re growing weary of the decreasing crowds at the Maddox Mansion (hey, it happens in winter), then do head along to the launch of Love Saves Fridays. It’s something new and fresh, and will save your winter weekends with a bit of soul.
Be sure to download the Love Saves Fridays flyer and check them out on facebook.
July 13
Revisited: The Ellington
Apologies are once again in order for my sparatic updates. What can I say, I’m a very busy woman. Two weekends ago after my visit to Andaluz, my review posse stopped in for the Late Night Groove Series at the Ellington Jazz Club (web). We prebooked a table, and it ended up being an awesome closer to the evening.
I’ve previously written about The Ellington for Soho Nights (fb), their queer friendly evening. This time around though it was a different crowd, a different ’scene’. While Soho Nights is suave and relaxed, the Saturday Late Night Groove Series is energetic bop in your chair action. The atmosphere is rich, and in my lubricated state I could feel each and every person in the room tapping their feet or nodding their head in unison. One guy was enjoying things a little too much… and had to be escorted out of the premises. Hah.
As a side note, the next Soho Nights is this Tuesday 14 July !.
I don’t know too much about jazz so I can’t really give an analytical commentary on the entertainment, but even if you’re musically sceptical you will still enjoy the the grooves, funk and beats at the Ellington on a Saturday night, plus the artists are fun and engaging on stage.. Basically, I loved it.
So book a table. Now. Yes, Now. The late night series sits at 11.30pm, and you will be left out in the cold if you don’t pre-book a table.
July 5
Review: Andaluz Bar
I’m always a fan of the one sentence review, but this time around instead of my usual opening rant I’ll let this audio clip from Pretty Woman give you the idea behind Andaluz Bar (web):
Andaluz don’t hate you, but if you turn up looking like a whorish Julia Roberts they may ask you to please leave. They are swanky, so yes, they are very expensive. The place is on Howard Street in the CBD, down a small alley, which I have been sworn not to comment as ‘very Melbourne’. I don’t know exactly when they opened but it wasn’t more than a couple of months ago.
Andaluz already have a strong following with the central business crowd. A friend tried to get in on a Wednesday evening but was turned away because the venue was already full. My group only managed to get at table by showing up dead on 6pm Saturday when the bar opens (you can’t make reservations). By the time I arrived (late) at 6.30pm every other table was already taken. They’re popular with the mid to late 20’s crowd; the bouncer even gave me a ‘holy shit’ when he discovered I’m actually much older than a 1988 kid. Thanks for that, charming bouncer.
Food is all tapas and like all tapas outside of Spain it’s very expensive. Not the place for a large dinner. The dishes are nice though, and served confusingly fast. The drinks list is extensive and the cocktails are exceptional. I can only describe my espresso ‘mexican wave’ as ecstasy to my lips, minus the MDMA.
You’re in close quarters with everyone around you but the place feels cosy rather than cramped. If you have some cash to burn and want to have a bit of a wanky and indulgent evening I give Andaluz a tick. But as you get more and more tipsy keep your Julia Roberts hat on and keep in mind that it’s all very expensive.
Accompanying photo stolen from STM Magazine. Pretty Woman joke premise stolen from Ragan Fox.
June 15
Review: Love Sundays
Sunday was the launch of Love Sundays (fb), a new Sunday session held on Sundays. Sunday. I couldn’t be bothered coming up with a decent introductory sentence. The night is held at Luxe Bar and guns for a glamourous and luxurious atmosphere with gay friendly crowds. Luxe is already pretty posh like that, so the venue choice was only natural.
Perth has a strange curse hovering over Thursday and Sunday bar nights. With the exception of ZOO Sundays, gay events outside of the regular Wednesday and Saturday mould often meet a premature death… Anyone remember ‘Loop’? The ‘Trick’ nights mysteriously never returned either. I can’t predict how successful Love Sundays will be, but the launch night attracted a very respectably sized crowd.
Anyone familiar with Luxe will already know the drill: swanky, low lit velvet seating areas, plunky lounge music and pricey cocktails. It’s all absolute wank, of course, but it’s nice to get dressed up every now and then and pretend you’re a western suburb snob. You should be prepared for a $5 cover charge, which in my annoyance was not advertised anywhere until I reached the front door.
The ‘Love Sunday cocktail’ has been renamed as ‘Love Custard’, which the host James Kay told me had every gay pun intended. He’d be right if guys cum tasted like raspberries. Sadly, it does not. The cocktail however I found pretty nice, but it’s very milky, more of a drink to finish off the night rather than start it. I received mixed feedback about James’ Love Custard, really depends if you’re a fan of milky drinks and raspberries.
The guest vocalist who played early in the night was an absolute wonder - I only caught her first name, Natasha. Definitely an act to bring back in following weeks. The live aspect really made the atmosphere much more vibrant. After her set the regular vocal house music began, and the night felt like it was slipping back into stock standard mode again.
Focus group: (wrap up from the attending reviewers)
I received so many mixed responses from my friends I’m not actually going to post them in this review. Some, particularly the ones who had never been to Luxe before, loved it. Others found the night much of the same old. I do think you should save up at least the $5 cover charge and see for yourself. It’s quite nice for the occasional semi-extravagant night out with friends, but drinks are very expensive, so unless you’re bleeding money attending every week may be a bit much.
Update: There’s a fair amount of gossip making circles about some trouble later on during the night. Apparently the regular Luxe crowd showed up and were very unhappy their venue had been hijacked by gays without prior announcement. Sounds like it ended with staff yelling at patrons and vice versa. Details as they come into the newsroom.
June 10
New bar nights for June / July
You can tell winter is coming; a whole crop of new bar nights and events in Perth are making their debut (or return) over the next two months. Here’s some suggestions for your diary:
Gay friendly: Love Sundays (fb) starts this weekend at Luxe Bar as a weekly Sunday sesh. Putting aside my little huff at their resident faux DJ, the evening will be worth checking out. When it was first promoted on Facebook we all assumed it was a gay event, but after reading their very self indulgent press release I’m going to have to downgrade it to ‘gay friendly’. Public Relations 101: List the performers before you name the venue owner and PR director in a media release! No offence, but the public don’t give a rats who owns Luxe and who does their PR.
Gals only: Cocktails and Girls (fb) is a new quarterly event for lesbians and their friends starting 18 June at… Luxe Bar! (is the gay community getting a bulk discount there?). Described as ‘a place where you can relax to some funky tunes and talk with your friends over a beautifully made cocktail’. $1 from each ticket goes to the Breast Cancer Foundation WA.
Everyone: Cabaret night Voix de la Ville (fb) premieres on 28 June at The Castle. The evening is a platform for new and established performance artists of all varieties to showcase their work. You can expect musical, drag, magicians, clowns, burlesque and more. More details in my interview with Ash Baroque.
Guys and gals: After taking a few years sabbatical, Fruits in Suits (fb) returns to Perth on 2 July. It’s a relaxed sundowner affair for gay professionals, and yes women are welcome too. To be regularly hosted at Bar 138 on Barrack Street, and is a fundraiser for Pride WA.
June 7
Review: Harry’s Bar
Harry’s Bar (web | fb | tw) found me on twitter before I found it. It’s located on Francis Street in Northbridge and has only been open for just over a month, but has already gained quite a solid following. I dropped by with my reviewing associate on a Friday night. The crowd is mainly mid 20s to mid 30s. Dress is smart casual, so everyone was looking a little extra flash.
The draw of this place is it’s atmosphere and imported drinks - mainly Tiger Beer. The venue owners seem to have a very strong liking of Tiger as they’ve named their outdoor area the ‘Tiger inspired laneway’ (pictured). Actually, the laneway was my favourite part as it gives you good break area from the noise and music inside.
On a Friday night at least, it’s a very relaxed affair. Francis is one of the quieter streets in Northbridge and most of the dickheads turn off onto Aberdeen (that’s where The Deen and Shed are, of course) so Harry’s Bar almost feels like an isolated oasis in the middle of town. That’s not to say it’s quiet though. Bar staff were friendly, although I found drink prices a little above average. The venue also closes at midnight, so Harry’s should be one of your early stops in a night out. They do food, but I haven’t had a chance to test this out yet.
Focus group: (wrap up from the attending reviewers)
Tim: Very relaxing and genuine venue, it’s everything that Tiger Lils tries but fails to be. Would highly recommend for drinks with friends.
David: City drinking in a great atmosphere (questionable Saturday band…) without the pretentious crowd.
June 3
You and me, we’re the same
I’m back in Perth and unfortunately my hopes of being swine flu quarantined to get out of going to work have been dashed. But in all of my stupid health, I do have some travel tips and gay scene comparisons for any Perthians looking to head to Singapore on holiday. It’s a nice break from Perth that isn’t Melbourne… and we all know how the gays of Perth love to fly to Melbourne.
The somewhat anti-gay view of Singapore is far less physically forceful than people (and the Australian government) tend to think. Sure there is homophobia in Singapore, but it is much more subtle, and comes in the form of homosexuals not coming out of the closet until they are well into their 20s (if at all), or movies like ‘Milk’ being banned from DVD release, or a state-run newspaper feature I read which sprawled across many pages on how wonderful the traditional family unit is.
As for public displays of affection; I never did actually see two same sex couples kiss in public, but I picked up on plenty of subtle hand holding. In one instance an obviously puppy-love struck couple couldn’t keep their fidgeting hands off each while sitting outside a mosque. Another time I saw two guys holding hands walk past police officers outside a gay club.
In the same club I struck up a conversation with a chick who told me if it’s only two people and they’re not causing a huge commotion, most others won’t care. If it’s three or more causing a group disturbance of sorts, you may start to arouse the wrong kind of attention. It’s this kind of modesty that defines much of Singapore’s culture - right down to bus stop ads that tell you how to be graceful.
Cross cultural lesson over; now on to the gay things to do as a tourist. Singapore has many more gay (friendly) bars and clubs than Perth, and almost all of them are located in Chinatown. In the grand scheme of things, Sing gay venues really are just like the Court and Connections you’re familiar with, it’s only the specifics that are different. Among the nightspots on my trip I went to the club ‘Play‘ (photo above) with friends and local friends-of-friends.
I can give you a one sentence review: It’s just like Connections, minus all the bullshit, minus all the rude people, minus anyone over 30, and every second song is Britney Spears.
And I can say that in all honesty. That photo above may look crowded, but everyone politely moves aside for you. I struck up a conversation with three strangers on the dancefloor. I randomly met the chick mentioned above and we talked about the differences between Sing and Australia. The patrons are just plain nice. Compare that with the Court or Connections, you start to see the cultural gap.
So, here are my tips if you’re going gay clubbing in Sing:
- If at all possible go with a friend who lives in Sing. It always helps to have some one to navigate you around the cultural differences you may not even realise exist. eg. Some bars have a special cashier system, others you’re only allowed to place orders with the ‘hosts’ who hover around the edges of the bar.
- Expect a cover charge everywhere you go, and expect it to be expensive. In most cases the cover charge will include a drink (but hey, ‘Play’ was less expensive than Connections and included the drink)
- The Sing government don’t have harsh restrictions on liquor licensing, but place huge taxes on alcohol. This means drinks are fairly expensive. On the flip side, it’s very common to order jugs of spirit mixers. Yes that’s right… a jug of Red Bull and vodka.
- Take enough cash. For whatever reason venues hate foreign credit cards. I watched a bartender take my card, stand by the cashier without swiping it, and come back to say it had been declined. Suss!
- Most local gay guys wear shorts in clubs (probably safer not to test this out)
- Learn your Singapore slang. At the very least, if you’re asked “are you AJ?”, you should know what they’re talking about!
- Quite important for the guys: Young Singaporeans are very sophisticated consumers, and straight guys will check you out, but they’re looking at your clothes and nothing more! Do not misinterpret this.
May 28
New gig guide + what to do this weekend
Thanks to the suggestion from my bestie David, and some hard work, I am very proud to present the only source you’ll ever need to schedule your social life: the gayrage gig guide … for gays (G4). It’s a very convenient collection of gay community, commercial and gay friendly events, plus other happenings around Perth which may be of interest to you.
Why is it better than all the other gig guides? Because I made it, fool. Actually it’s so you don’t have to go trawling through street press papers and get yucky ink all over your hands. It’s also electronic so it’s always up to date and geeks can download event details to their computers or yuppie phones. LOOK NOW.
My picks on what to do in Perth this long weekend:
Events:
- Friday: Get dressed up for the SPANK! Beauty and the Beast party (tickets and outfit required, see website) at Bar Open
- Saturday: For something different check out SEXY, opens just after midnight, Shafto Lane
- Sunday: Rozalla Live at Connections - this is a fundraiser for Pride WA!
Music:
- Saturday: If you scored tickets, check out how awesome Lady Gaga’s set, stage and costume designs are, and laugh at how bad her singing is. Apparently a group of whorish strippers are also performing at the same event.
- Sunday: Head along to We Love Ministry of Sound and pop some E, maaaan.
Shopping
- Check out the last days of the Millington Street Popup Shop: lots of trendy discounted streetwear brands: 454 William Street in Northbridge.
Arts
- Check out the Year 12 Perspectives show at the Art Gallery of Western Australia. I went last week and there are some great pieces from around WA, and some on exchange from Japan.
- While you’re there head across the road and check out the Nick Cave exhibition at the WA Museum.
- And if your brain is overloaded and needs something light, check out Lesbian Vampire Killers at the movies.
My gay picks for June (so far):
Can’t go wrong with Soho Nights on the 9th and 23rd. The launch of Love Sundays on the 14th will be worth checking out. And definitely the next SHAMELESS Party at Connections on the 20th. It’s a Viking ‘Roped and Pillaged’ theme… those spiky Viking helmets make me so horny… shit I’m original with my jokes.
May 24
New gay sunday sesh
Update: Apparently my promo isn’t positive enough for Luxe Bar, who deleted the link to this post from their FB event page. Oops, did I anger people by pointing out the obvious?
This event sort of came out of nowhere. Remember a while back I posted a rumour Trick had moved to Luxe Bar? Well instead Trick has apparently been killed off completely and in it’s place is Love Sundays held at… you guessed it, Luxe Bar!
The theme is grandeur and opulence, and the event sports quite a big ego since Luxe have created an entirely new ‘Love Sunday’ cocktail especially for the sophisticates…
“Luxe bar’s legendary cast of sultry sophisticates, charismatic up-and-comers, high maintenance boys and luscious lipstick beauties are reborn this June in quintessential Sunday style.”
Big promises to live up to when it launches on Sunday 14 June. While it’s great to see an increase in anti-scene start up events, Perth’s gay community is still relatively small. It’s a shame that Love Sundays could be cannibalising the ZOO Sundays crowd, an event which has been going strong for a while now.
In the next version of the event flyer I would like to see Johnni P’s name a little higher up. Actually, I would like the names of all the talented Love Sundays musicians put above the faux DJ. Plugging in a Dell laptop and hitting play on iTunes is not DJing. You all know who I’m talking about. Everyone thinks it but no one ever says it.
As a final note, don’t forget about Sunset Coasters: the other, other anti-scene event on Wednesday 17 June at Bar 138.
May 11
Get yourself a job and a life!
The moment we were all waiting for. How ironic the person who asked the question is part of The Court’s customer base! I kind of get the feeling she knew that, though. I LOVE Bree’s dramatic emphasis on the word ‘life’.
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