Post by GayCities D.C. editor Scott Wallis
Gay bars come and gay bars go faster than ever these down economic times, but in the case of EFN Lounge & Motley Bar in Washington, DC, it wasn’t the economy that closed the hip clubs this week, as Advocate.com speculated. Instead, it was the bad location. We enjoyed the unique space upstairs and down, but it was situated on 9th Street, NW, where even hailing a a cab with that cutie you just picked after a night of drinks was a lot harder than, well, picking up that cutie.
Despite the loss of a key venue, DC is hotter than than the summer humidity. Theme night and specialty parties are plentiful, the the biggest obstacle to great nights on the town is decided which of the fabulous restaurants and clubs on any given evening. I rounded up a few of my own favorites:
Cobalt and 30 Degrees, an anchor of 17th Street, NW’s gay central, feature several events each month. On the third Saturday chicks take over with BARE, a party for the ladies that brings together go-go dancers, ice loges, wet t-shirt contests and the hottest dance tracks around. The last Saturday features Shift, where indie rock, electro and pop get together to make dance-floor babies. Back the beginning, the first Saturday brings out the latin beats with Rumba Latina and the second features Zen for the city’s Asians and their friends. It’s diversity, people.
Not to be outdone, Apex Nightclub to the east of Dupont Circle celebrates latin influences each and every Friday night with their Caliente Grande dance party complete with a weekly drag show upstairs. Apex gets all circus-y on Saturday nights when the main arena becomes Under the Big Top with the best of dance/pop, latin, and drag going on all at once. And we can’t forget College Night every Thursday, provided you like ‘em young.
All the way across town near Eastern Market in SouthEast (and all the way down south, y’all) pull on your boots and kick up your heels to the best of classic and modern country music at Remingtons, 6,000 square feet of dancing, two-stepping classes, karaoke, pool tables and one of the best happy hours around. But it’s not all country all the time. On Friday nights go hear the DJs spin mainstream and throwback for their No Attitude Dance Party.
And where do the bears go on Friday nights now that Motley is closed? Where on earth are they going to get that free pizza that brought the boys out to the yard? Two places have stepped up to the plate this week: Green Lantern, off 14th Street, NW, offers up beer (not bear!) specials until 10:00pm and all you can eat pizza at 8 o’clock sharp.
TOWN Discoboutique, at 8th Street, NW is opening its doors early Friday’s, too, to welcome our furrier friends. Happy hour starts at 6:00pm with super drink specials and their free pizza is at 7 o’clock. (The migration is beginning now.)
See Scott Wallis’s fantastic complete guide to Washington, D.C.
