Downtown Roundup for Pride

Motor City Pride weekend is here!  I was talking to a bunch of friends last night and everyone is so excited - it's like we live in a different city.  Last year I was in San Francisco for their Pride, and while I readily admit the level of planning and number of festivities was much greater there, the anticipation for the event in Detroit this year seems about on par with that.  And if that's not progress I don't know what is.

The Pride Project was an overwhelming success.  Forty-five independent businesses from Corktown, Midtown, Woodbridge, Eastern Market, New Center and the Central Business District participated, and together as the Greater Downtown Independent Merchants we raised over $7000 for Motor City Pride. The group is a sponsor at the Gold Level, the highest sponsorship level this year!

Please visit our extra special website to see all the great downtown businesses that chipped in.  Visit them this weekend while you are out and about, and throughout the year!  They are our friends and a fantastically supportive community, and I can't send them enough love.

OK, so onto the festivities!  There is a lot going on at Hart Plaza, most notably a bunch of us city-dwellers will be hanging out at our booth in Sponsor's Row, just as you enter the festival.  Stop by and say hello!

But there's also a lot going around downtown of special interest for Pride attendees as well. Here is a rundown of things you'll want to take advantage of this weekend.

FRIDAY
Visit my little contribution to downtown's alternative gay scene tonight!  The very special Motor City Pride edition of Doggy Style takes place at the Park Bar from 9-2, with a painstakingly curated mix of highly entertaining music videos.  All the cool kids will be there!

SATURDAY
If you head downtown for the Saturday component of Pride, it's a quick two blocks to the Grand Trunk Pub.  They are always a good spot to visit and as a special extra for Pride, DJ GM (or as you may know him better, Greg Mudge, proprietor of Mudgie's Deli in Corktown) will be spinning all afternoon and evening.  They have a great patio, great eats and if you are a beer lover, they have fifteen craft beers on tap.  Which are also great!

Of special interest, Saturday is the date for the annual Historic Indian Village Home and Garden Tour, which is always lovely and you can hit before Pride starts Saturday afternoon.  Tickets are $20 there is more info at their website.  See Sunday's activities for more info on tours of the Villages!

Saturday night, another mainstay on the downtown scene, Fierce Hot Mess, is having its third anniversary party AND Official Pride Afterparty at Oslo!  "Messy dance floor decadence, fierce music and hot people, converging in one place to create a distinct Detroit experience that is sure to be remembered."   Our favorite dj's, Mike Trombley and Chuck Hampton (aka Gay Marvine) always play the most amazing music!

If you are looking to mix things up on Saturday night, you can also check out the Cupcake Collective at the Old Miami, where they present All OUT Detroit: A Very Special Cruise.  They will be playing electro, disco, house, hip-hop and soul all night, and part of the proceeds go to benefit the Ruth Ellis Center.

SUNDAY
Sunday morning is the all-new Pride parade!  It starts at Griswold north of Lafayette (think Lafayette Coney Island area) and goes down to Hart Plaza.  Who knows what it will be like?  Probably awesomely home-grown.  I'll be walking with the "Robert M. Nelson presents a Salute to Robert M. Nelson, with Robert M. Nelson and the Detroit friends of Robert M. Nelson" float.  Who is Robert M. Nelson?  Find out at 11am on Sunday!

When you are at the Pride festival, make sure you check out the DJ set by Macho City's Mike Trombley at 5 on Sunday!

Wind down after Pride at Cafe D'Mongo's!  Larry is opening especially for us "in honor of your parade" and I expect a lively afterparty at everyone's fave watering hole will be the perfect way to end a fun weekend.  Come by for drinks and Robert M. Nelson will show you how he puts the "easy" in "speakeasy."

SPECIALS
Some of the sponsors in the Pride Program are making special offers just for Motor City Pride attendees.

Wheelhouse Detroit is located right on the riverfront, and you can rent a bike and do a little exploring.  It's so fun to bike around downtown and Sunday in particular is supposed to be GORGEOUS.  If you show your Pride sticker (you know, the one they give you when you enter Motor City Pride) you can get 20% off rentals, so two hours is only $10 and a full day is only $25!  Those Wheelhouse girls are the best.

Avalon is giving a 10% discount off your purchase for the weekend if you tell the retail staff a piece of local or national GLBT trivia.  Which will be really easy to do if you read Tim Retzloff's great op-ed in this week's excellent issue of Between the Lines.  Buy cookies and bring them to us at Hart Plaza!

Inside Detroit, the downtown's unofficial chamber of commerce and home of the Detroit Segway tour, has a great retail shop inside the Welcome Center in Merchant's Row.  They sell tons of unique Detroit apparel and locally-made items, and they are offering 15% off in honor of Pride weekend!

ALSO
While you are at Pride, be sure to stop by the booth for The Villages of Detroit because they are offering three FREE one-hour bus tours that leave from Hart Plaza.  It won't be as in-depth as the Indian Village Home & Garden Tour on Saturday, but it will give you a great overview of all the Villages, and there will be one stop to visit a gay-owned home on the tour!

Also in the home tour category (but separate from Pride), Corktown is presenting their Historical Home & Garden Tour on Sunday from 12-5. It's not specifically for Pride but who doesn't love a home tour?

Finally, when you are at Pride, stop by the booth for the Spirit of Hope Church, where our friend Pastor Matt is running a GLBT trivia contest.  Answer questions on gay politics, music, society and religion and get a chance to win a gift card from a Detroit Pride Project business!

That's all I've got for now.  See you at Motor City Pride!

Fierce Is as Fierce Does

There are few things less inspiring than Michigan in February.  The holidays are over, the charm of a winter wonderland has worn off, and we're still two months away from any real signs of spring no matter what the groundhog says.  When the world gets like this, what's a guy gotta do to keep things exciting and fun? Get out of the house, that's what.  Fortunately I've got just the pill to break that cabin fever.

It's been a while since we chatted about Fierce Hot Mess, the monthly gay dance party at Oslo, and partially that's because FHM took a tiny break and partially because I took a tiny break.  But - FINALLY - things are back on track in all quarters and this Saturday is your chance to have a little underground winter fun!

FHM was a real breath of fresh air when it started up and one of the strangest coincidences of my life happened the morning after a FHM a few years ago.  It has been a fixture on the downtown gay scene for a while now and it has matured into what host Adriel Fantastique! describes as "a monthly celebration of Detroit underground culture."

click for larger image!

The addition of DJs Gay Marvine (Secret Mixes/Fixes) and Mike Trombley (Macho City) brings a crazy depth of cross-genre musical knowledge and you are guaranteed an amazing mix of House, Disco, New Wave and underground classics.

So if you want a little action in the bleak mid-winter then I suggest you throw some glitter on that hump, call it fabulous and hit the dancefloor - this Saturday and every first Saturday - at Fierce Hot Mess!

Fierce Hot Mess
Saturday, February 5
Oslo, 1456 Woodward, downtown Detroit
10pm to 2am, $5 cover

The Fall Forecast

The return of Doggy Style brings up an excellent opportunity to take a look at what's going on with the alternative gay scene downtown, because there have been some changes.  I'll start with the bad news.

First off, Detroit's Guerrilla Queer Bar, the long-running traveling gay bar that roamed Detroit for seven years, finally bit the dust this summer when the organizer, "Eddie Edwards," up and moved to Chicago.  Guerrilla Queer Bar ran hot and cold, but when it was hot it was very very hot, and it was kind of the original alternative to the old gay bar scene in the city.  "Eddie" was all of what, 22?, when he started this, and hats off to him for creating something so enjoyable and enduring in a city where the gay community just seems to become more and more disconnected all the time. 

Secondly, Scott and Darren from Atlas Global Bistro have moved on to greener, western pastures as well, and with the primary proponents gone the Wednesday gay night scene there has undergone an expected shift.  The later evening now involves a kind of electro-goth-dance music scene that is, while certainly not free of the gays, not the martini/wine bar scene you might be expecting.  The music is actually quite good, although in my visits there a bit too loud, and most of the time you may find yourself alone at the bar since all the young'uns are outside smoking.  If you are going to Atlas on a Wednesday to enjoy sophisticated libations with a mellow, conversational vibe, this is about the complete opposite of that.  And I'll be honest, I have no idea what they are thinking - great concept, weird venue - but if this is your thing you will like it.  Go early and you will get the Atlas bar you have come to know and love, with the caveat that gay levels there are about the same as any other night (come to think of it, not bad).

And thirdly, not that I've been a big fan, but the Detroit Eagle has closed. (EDIT: the following is hearsay, and I've heard conflicting stories) One story I've heard is that it has possibly been sold to Henry Ford Health Systems, who have some kind of master plan for the area south of the main hospital campus.  It primarily seems to involve demolishing the old buildings and clearing the entire area for development yet to be revealed, Ilitch-style.  The other story I've heard is that the bar is still for sale, but that one denies me the corporate overlord narrative and is less exciting.  Anyway, if you want to get a last look at a bar that may or may not have delivered you some good times, now would be the time.

Until we meet again ... Adios, Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersehen.

And let me be clear - there is no schadenfreude here.  I had some great times there over the years, and I went with friends more often than I have let on.  Even though each time in recent years brought new disappointments, the potential for something good remained and this fate is a crime. The last remaining full-time gay bar in the downtown area is The Woodward, which frankly isn't quite my scene, but I feel like I need to go just to make sure it doesn't become a total wasteland down here.

On to the good news.  First of all, have I mentioned Doggy Style is back?  OK, yes I did. Go to that on Tuesdays!

Secondly, my friend Todd has taken up the mantle of the Detroit Guerrilla Queer Bar with the new Metro Detroit Guerrilla Queer Bar.  As he puts it, "Same idea, just expanded!"  So I suppose that means more forays into Oakland County, and you know I'm never excited to drive in that county.  But the first meet-up went well at Centaur last month so check out their page on Facebook and let's see how it goes!

Next, word has it that Fierce Hot Mess has been off the hook lately.  I haven't been since I got back into town, but the buzz is things start late and burn brightly.  It is now on Saturdays, and the next one is this weekend!  I would probably describe the scene there in a few words: young, queer, hipster and rambunctious, but honestly I wouldn't be doing it justice.  There are all types there, including middle-aged award-winning bloggers wearing Polo shirts, and if you like a dance party you will have a great time.  Go and be pleasantly surprised. Get there after 11!  Maybe even after 12!

Macho City had a busy summer running semi-monthly and has taken a month off, but it's back at the end of November at the R&R Saloon.  Get back to where you once belonged. After a couple Macho City deejay appearances outside of their regular venue in the past month or so, I have to say I'm pretty excited to get down with them for an extended evening of sweaty fun.

And finally, I suppose I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Friday nights at D'Mongo's are getting a pretty nice mix including plenty of the downtown gays most weeks.  I am a little reluctant to even bring it up, because in general it seems that the more people who know about that place the more annoying it gets (case in point: the disastrous level of suburban hipsters who showed up for a couple weeks after Larry's appearance in the Palladium boots documentary). But you guys are ok, right?  God, I hope so.

Well that's it!  If anything else comes up, you can count on me to let you know!

Stormy Monday

Up early this morning and these April showers are kind of fantastic.  Lafayette Park is finally full-on green, the trees are almost filled in, the City has even already been out to cut the grass.  Remarkably even before the management at Lafayette Towers managed to cut their lawn, but that's a different blog post.

I had to clean off the old photos from my phone on this rainy Monday morning in anticipation of a replacement, and I came a cross a couple of unused photos I took for the blog.  So I'm catching up.

Cat mugs at the Indian Village Yard Sale. I guess it was time to move on.

A late summer night on Park Avenue, heading to Cliff Bell's.

A Macho City moment: someone got a Bedazzler!

This poor unfortunate soul didn't even get the courtesy of four blocks for his wheelless chariot.
This happened in early evening in a surprisingly busy area, which will remain unnamed.

Smoke break outside the State of Michigan offices in New Center.
A picture says a thousand words.

A joyful moment at the new dance monthly Private Joy, where Macho City meets

Fierce Hot Mess at Menjo's. Wrap your brain around that!

New Year's Eve at Cafe D'Mongo's Speakeasy.

Marche du Nain Rouge, a view from the rear.
What a day that turned out to be.

Now our rainy Monday morning has turned sunny, but I'll leave you with this morning's rain-themed soundtrack anyway.

The Final Countdown

Hey kids, only four more weeks to partake of the downtown excitement that is Tuesday Nights Doggy Style at the Park Bar!

Yes, you have to.

In other news, Fierce Hot Mess was a fierce hot frenzy on Friday night at Oslo!  You go girlfriend.

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The Scene

In my time in Detroit I have gone down many interesting paths, but I think the most unexpected has been my role in what I like to call the alternative downtown gay scene.

It's not really a new phenomenon, the way that dance parties and "gay nights" pop up outside the standard gay bar scene, but what is a little different here is that it's actually become a series of recurring events and a scene completely detatched from the regular gay bars. With downtown rather underserved in the gay bar department, it's turned out to be a terrific way for locals to get together and socialize, in a geographically-specific kind of way.

To put it a different way: it's really nice to not have to explain what Lafayette Park is to a homo who just told you all about the Barcelona chairs in his living room.

On a monthly basis you can experience the hipster joys of Fierce Hot Mess, which is held the first Friday of each month at Oslo (except in November when it is Saturday the 7th!). You can read how I have enjoyed FHM here, and while I sometimes feel a little old when I go, I do get over it pretty quickly. And the youngsters love it.

The underground disco celebration Macho City, held on the fourth Saturday of every month at the R&R Saloon, is a bit more my speed - partly because I am squarely in the middle on the age scale, and partly because the "old songs" being played weren't popular when I was in high school. I recently wrote about my love for Macho City here, and I am pretty sure that (and a few carefully chosen disco titles dropped casually into conversation with organizer Mike Trombley) landed me a spot as the guest DJ this month!

That's me!

I honestly have to say this is one of the most exciting things to happen to me in my adult life. If you are not a control freak like me then you can't imagine how many times I've fantasized about being the DJ. Well this Saturday night, you (and I) can find out how that goes! I will be playing two sets, and let's just say I am probably gonna pull the "macho" right out of Macho City. I love a big gay disco song.

Dreams can come true, I'm living proof!

On a weekly basis Latitude, the Wednesday night at Atlas Global Bistro, has been pretty bustling this summer! It's a sophisticated setting that usually keeps things classy, and you can have your lovely pinot noir or top-shelf martini, or you can have the weekly "$3 Bill" gay drink special!

My own little contribution to this, Tuesday Nights Doggy Style at the Park Bar, has been a much bigger hit than I ever expected. I hesitate to use the word "sensation" but you know, only slightly. Doggy Style enters its third season this coming Tuesday with a special Halloween Edition!


Doggy Style is really more of a "gay-er" night by design - we didn't want to take over the Park Bar, just switch the perspective. Every week there is a fun video compilation and lots of great downtown residents (gay and straight) come and hang out.

I do have to tip my hat to the Guerrilla Queer Bar, which (along with the now-defunct Sass dance party) was my first exposure to an alternative gay scene with a downtown sensibility. GQB still happens from time to time, like this Friday at the Midnight MASSacre party! Sign up to be on their e-mail list!

So that's what we've got going on, for everyone who doesn't already know, for people desperately looking for someplace suitable to send out-of-town guests, and for new residents still searching for signs of intelligent gay life. Come and hang out sometime.

[And for you Washtenaw County-based folks, be sure to check out Elbow Deep in Ypsi! It's the fourth Tuesday of the month (or is it the last Tuesday? Sometimes it's not the same) at the Elbow Room. The guys in charge are some pop-culturally-enhanced faggots so you know it'll be a fucked up good time!]
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