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NeverMind is the kind of club you might see in the movies: flashy and urban chic, beautiful lounging areas (including a chillout bar within the bar), truly unique toilets, interesting lights and dance space, and bartenders who actually know (and like to display) their craft. And of course, because of these amenities and comforts, it attracts a generally quite handsome and fun-loving crowd. The music, too, is not the usual Sydney house, but combines a bit of variation and originality while still keeping it danceable. Friday's "Disgraceland" is the best night to go: the men are the hottest, the music fastest and the mood most boisterous. If you feel nervous or uncomfortable around the "beautiful people" crowd, this may not be your place. And while they do charge a ten dollar cover and the drinks are some of the priciest on the strip, it does prove the old adage: you get what you pay for. NeverMind is a cut above most of Oxford Street.

A large venue, with a huge beer garden out back, the Beresford is becoming increasingly popular. On Sunday nights, you can see a varied and generally very good-looking crowd. Generally a chill scene, a nice place to meet friends and make new ones.

...and yet almost everyone comes through the doors. Stonewall, named in honour of the more famous (and more dilapidated) bar in New York's West Village, is the "young" club. Boys and girls coming out for the first time inevitably come here. As such, it has its detractors, and the criticisms are those you would expect of those who are not fans of "twinks." But it attracts a surprisingly diverse crowd and there are three levels with different vibes to each. In general, the crowd is out to have a good time; the dj's, drag queens, and dancers all do their best to ensure that. There are some negatives: it has notoriously filthy toilets, the crowd can get out-of-hand and they have in the last year started charging a five dollar cover. But overall, if you go in with a positive attitude, you can have a really good time. One last note about another visitor's charge of "racism/homophobia" amongst the bouncers. I know two bouncers there--both straight--who have been there for years. Quite apart of the improbability of management keeping on staff who antagonize its gay customers, I have in fact seen them go out of their way to help gays both inside the club and outside. Indeed, they are some of the best and most professional on the strip.

Although the new, renovated club has not reopened, those of us who remember when the Impy was one of the best spots in Sydney think the owner of this institution, Shadd Danes (also owner of the aging ARQ and The Sly Fox), has frankly generated enormous animosity amongst the clientele he seeks to attract. The Imperial closed in September of 2007 for "four to six months" of renovations. Constant claims that he's been hampered by Council and local residents simply don't add up, and he has positioned himself as a victim of homophobia to mask his cost overruns, mismanagement and his own ego. Now the promises of a fourth of September opening (about the sixth or seventh announcement in the three years) will be a big test as to whether the wait has been truly worth it. One thing's for certain: the glossy makeover means that it will NOT be the Impy of old and its former clientele will probably not be pleased. The lights are on, the bottle are full and the drag queens are ready to perform. But so far, the doors are still closed.

Once the doyen of gay clubs in Sydney, ARQ has seriously let herself go. The interior has not been updated or renovated since I first started going there in 2004, the drinks are some of the most expensive on the strip, the music has gotten increasingly dissonant (the dj's call it "variety"), and of course the ubiquitous faghag/straight girl quotient is making this club more straight than gay. Drag shows still have a prominent place downstairs, and they are better than the common Sydney fare, but that's not enough to drag ya in. Their recent day club, Eclipse, doesn't seem to be making much of a difference, either. With newer clubs like Slide, Never Mind and 169/Haus, ARQ just needs to step up its game or go the way of other perennial Sydney "where are they now" clubs.