Jamesglue

Seriously?

Well, they've successfully killed the gay scene in Calgary. I am not a "disgruntled" customer or anything like that. I have been to Twisted MANY times. I still go once in a while if I need a dose of gay. This is my honest take on the place... This is now the only gay "dance" space in Calgary. They are extremely selective as to their crowd - if you look illegal, and twinky, you may even be walked in from the line. Oh, the line! If you are going to go, go early. The owners like to front a line. Bring in that fake exclusivity. To what end, I don't understand. They have killed ANY and ALL competition, but they still treat their customers like shit. The owner, RJ, is extremely political and takes any criticism or competition as a personal attack. They have a history of barring all staff members from competing establishments, barring regular patrons of other establishments, speaking out against pride and the community - in fact, they don't even enter a float into the parade for political reasons (oh, wait, they did that year Sapien opened - I guess to try to keep their edge - if you are going to stand on some moral ground it becomes pretentious when you change your mind when you lose customers). The bartenders will only pay any attention to you if they know you, or your as described above. The patrons are all "regulars." Seriously, it is the SAME people each time I have been. In fact, it is almost at the creepy point. Twisted toots themselves as the "best bar" (they're the only bar), but I would safely say that only 1% of the gay population is represented there. I RARELY see anyone new. I find most of the cliental to be your dime-a-dozen "I'm better than you" young gay brat. The young ones feel they own the space, and will ensure that you know that is how they feel. The owners encourage this behaviour by offering these patrons VIP services when the actual paying customer (i.e. not just out on drugs) are actually waiting to buy drinks. The DJ has never changed since their opening day. They play SOME top 40s, but mostly out-of-date dance remixes. I struggle to believe people when they say they love the music here - I would assume because they have never been exposed to "good" dance music, or have never been to another bar. They have never, to my knowledge, had a guest DJ or even shaken things up with different music types. I guess they just play anything they can get off torrent websites. It is unfortunate... They run their business with very dirty tactics. They bash and commit libel against other business - they spread any and all rumours to hurt other gay establishments. Twisted has the potential to be so much more than it is. The first thing that needs to change is the ownership. Perhaps an actual competing bar will finally put their inflated egos into check. Until then, I choose to find as many other spaces as I can. Once in a while I return for a gay dose - but am quickly reminded why I prefer a night in, than a night out at "Twisted."