Gay/Lesbian entertainment in San Francisco
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A
Badlands
The Castro’s primary dance bar gets packed with gay college boys, their screaming straight girlfriends and a few chicken hawks. If you’re over 30, you’ll feel old. Weekends, expect a line, which no self-respecting local would ever wait in.
reviewed
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B
Blow Buddies
When it’s time to get laid, head to the Disneyland of cock. The original owner was a Disney fetishist and set out to recreate, with exacting detail, Disneyland-like attractions, with mazes and specialty-fetish rooms spread over 6000 sq ft of indoor-outdoor warehouse space. New owners aren’t detail-oriented, and rarely put money back into the club (the outdoor camouflage-berm tore away years ago, and the play area under the stairs closed eons ago when the barber’s chair broke), but for a sex club it’s the best in town. Some nights are positively dreary: count coats in the coat-check through the barred window by the entrance; if fewer than 30, don’t go in unless it’s early.…
reviewed
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C
Twin Peaks Tavern
Don’t call it the glass coffin. Show some respect: Twin Peaks was the first gay bar in the world with windows opening to the street. The jovial crowd skews (way) over 40, but they’re not chicken hawks (or they wouldn’t hang here), and they love it when happy kids show up and join the party. Ideal for a tête-à-tête after a film at the Castro, or for cards, Yahtzee or backgammon (BYO). Expect impromptu sing-alongs if Judy Garland starts playing. Learn, child, learn…
reviewed
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D
EndUp
Anyone left on the streets of San Francisco after 2am on weekends is subject to the magnetic force of the EndUp’s marathon dance sessions. It’s the only club with a 24-hour license and remains best known for its Sunday tea dances, in full force since 1973, though the club has branched out with reggae and other changing parties (check the web). You’re not a local till you’ve seen sunrise at the EndUp. Expect lots of gnashing teeth and saucer-sized eyeballs by night’s end.
reviewed
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E
Underground Sf
Underground SF is made for being yourself (be it hippie-dyke, trannie, pretty boy or college kid) and letting said self go. Highly danceable sounds range from new wave to dark electro to drum 'n bass. The small dance floor can get overpacked, but no one'll push you out, and you can always escape to the smoking patio. In darker corners of the club things can get even steamier. Saturdays, the hottest boys in town head to its infamously messy dance party, Drunk & Horny.
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F
$3 Bill Cafe
Squishy couches, strong coffee, free wireless and smiley staff invite you to join San Francisco history in progress: sparkle subversively with Radical Faeries; organize Green Party bake sales with moms' groups; and stitch and bitch with SF's sharpest knit wits. Don't be shy about stepping up and out on Queer Open Mike, the second and fourth Fridays of the month - you're among friends here.
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G
The Café
The pool tables were just replaced because go-go dancers tore them to shreds - uh-huh, it's that kind of place, has been for decades. The eclectic mix sometimes lapses into interminable house numbers; grab a test-tube shot and pace yourself until the samba whistles kick in. Anyone in hot pants is welcome, though Fridays favor fellas and every third Saturday is an all-lesbian tea dance.
reviewed
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H
The Transfer
Once seedier than the guy trying to sell late-night Muni transfers out front, this divey joint has gotten prettified in a smeared-lipstick Courtney Love way. Your Muni ticket will expire long before you figure out the various orientations of the crowd gyrating to rock-hip-hop mash-ups. On Mondays, that defunct ticket will get you any drink half price.
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I
The Bar
Mini-playground for the Castro's mixed young and restless, this bar walks the line between trashy and cool. Hanging from ceiling poles you'll find cocktail tables, not strippers; cheesy red padded walls oddly counter the screensaver-esque backdrop at the bar. But the flirts here are more interested in each other than the decor.
reviewed
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J
Stud
The Stud has rocked the gay scene for over 40 years, but it’s hit-and-miss and as of this writing had few weekly parties worth writing about, except Monday-midnight’s weird drag show Tiara Sensation, and Tuesday’s Pink Slip, a gay-kids’ dance party. Check the website.
reviewed
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K
Wild Side West
Grrrlfriends make out in the overgrown garden, while others pony up to the noisy saloon bar. The paint’s peeling, but to fix it would ruin the place. Dig the pin-up-girl art, then flirt with the crafty gals at the sewing-machine table by the fireplace. Best on weekends.
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L
Aunt Charlie's
Total dive. The city's best classic drag happens Fridays and Saturdays at 10pm. Thursday nights, art-school boys pack in for bathhouse disco at Tubesteak ($5).
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M
Powerhouse
Thursdays to Sundays are best at this sometimes-hot, sometimes-not, slutty-men's cruise bar. Weird smokers' patio.
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N
Cat Club
Thursday's '1984' lures '80s pop lovers; other nights vary, but are usually way cool. Check the website.
reviewed
