The Great Lesbian Review of Australia

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Girl Party USA

This is a rundown of my recent travels by night in New York and San Francisco. I’m sure you understand there were more adventures than I’m willing to share so this will be a review of the regular girl parties I attended, minus a few intimate details...

Be wary that if you are off on a trip to the USA, the parties and venues do change. The scene is competitive and new events are added all the time.


No sleep for Indie in New York City


Arriving in New York from Philadelphia on a bus, I promptly got lost using the subway, eventually found my backpackers, dropped my luggage and went out for food and drinks, of course. I didn’t know a soul but I had done my Google search: “lesbian New York” and found out that on Tuesday nights there was Snapshot in Union Square. Internet. Amazing stuff. My plan was to party Tuesday through Saturday and see as much of this crazy massive city. No time for sleep on this adventure.


TUESDAYS:
Snapshot
Bar 13 in Union Square
13th Street at University Place


Walked into Bar 13 and ordered a beer. I was obviously too early. There was a mixed crowd. I heard some dude say he loved being here on Tuesday nights: I think he was referring to the fact that there was a trickle of our lesbifriends walking in. It never got packed that night, but it does at times I’ve heard and they have special events. As far as I’m concerned, if anything at all is happening and I can get a drink all night on a Tuesday, I’m one happy Kiwi. Another girl was by herself at the bar. She was from Amsterdam. Hmmm...promising…until she left to head to another lesbo bar, Henrietta Hudson, to get hit on by oldbians. I ended up chatting to the bartender, the professional lesbian, Sabrina. Turns out Sabrina is quite the local celesbian and is one of the frontrunners in lesbian party promoting in New York. Sabrina gave me a list of night spots for my stay in the city and I was set. I read on AfterEllen.com once I got home to Canberra that there was an Evan Rachel Wood sighting at Snapshot the night I was there. I didn’t notice. Uncanny really, since I’m a big fan of lesbian vampires. I must have been distracted. All I know is that I was there until closing and found myself getting lost on the subway at 3am and entering a completely deserted Times Square in my attempt to find ‘home’. Never thought I’d find an empty place in New York.


WEDNESDAYS:
Crème de la Femme

Union Square Lounge, below the Coffee Shop
30 E 16th Street (at Union Square West)


Crème de la Femme is a Sabrina creation, along with her “twin” Nikki and Maggie C. It was their intention to provide a party for women that played music beyond top 40 and the expectation that the girls would dress better than in flannel – you’re in the big city now, sweetheart, “dress to impress”. As a result it is a little on the pretentious side, but that’s probably all good if you’re with your posse. A little old kiwi and outsider found it hard to get in with these classy ladies. But then again, I’ve always liked them a little rougher around the edges. New York isn’t all class and the seedy underbelly is just as fun, which I found the following night – it is far too incomprehensible in my head to put into text. Sorry ladyfags, that one is all mine.


FRIDAYS:
Lesbo-A-Go-Go
Stonewall Inn
53 Christopher Street


That’s right, the Stonewall. Boys downstairs. Girls upstairs. Sabrina on bar. Go-go girls on the stage. Go-go girls. Seriously need them in Australia. It ain’t a girl night without them. So Stonewall is a massive historic landmark for the gays (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots). Pretty sure I thought it would be a good idea to make my mark on this landmark by having sex in the toilets, or at least try... Sometimes I’m not so smart. These toilets were definitely not up to Speck's shagability rating.


New York is full of all of the stuff. There’s something for everyone: the ‘A’ list lesbo at Crème, the slutty lesbo at The Cubbyhole, the hipster in East Village, the crack whore and her band downstairs at The Delancey. There’s nothing like this place.

Updates of the scene at:
http://www.gomag.com/
http://www.afterellen.com/taxonomy/term/6605



San Francisco, be sure to wear flowers in your hair

I was sad to leave NYC so soon but I know I’ll be back. I’m a beatnik at heart so San Fran was for me but I won’t bore you with the details of my obsession for Jack Kerouac and the City Lights bookshop.

You’re not really gay until you know about the Castro, the gay rights movement and Harvey Milk. Seriously, watch the freaking movie if you know nothing. Yes, the Castro is definitely boys town – think Oxford Street but smaller with rainbow flags lining the street. Most of the clubs are mixed but there are some definitely strictly men zones and there are girl night dance parties in the Castro. The only lesbian bar in San Fran is in the Mission: dirtier, poorer and hipsterish compared to the neighbouring Castro. The Mission is drug-laden with Hispanic gangs, thrift stores and secondhand books. Dirty, run down: so Indie. It’s where I stayed for a week. (Get the lowdown in Michelle Tea novels like Valencia.) The lesbian bar, The Lexington Club (3464 19th Street), is a dive bar with a jukebox and pool table. It's pretty small and can be found on a side street between Valencia and Mission. There were a bunch of regulars who were not too hard to have a chat to. ‘The Lex’ is your “friendly neighbourhood dyke bar”. NEVER KNEW SUCH A THING EXISTED!

Toilet of 'The Lex'


2nd SATURDAY OF MONTH:
Cockblock
The Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell Street


I arrived in San Francisco totally hungover from my night at Stonewall in New York. I hadn’t slept except for the times I passed out in the airport and on the plane and on the BART train in San Fran...I’m lucky I got to my hostel at all. I was so tired but I had to do it. I had to see San Fran lesbians on a Saturday night. There was a party called Cockblock on. Gotta say, not keen on the name. This party’s major draw card is that if you pay a little more on entry you get a cup and endless amounts of beer refills. Messssssy! And these girls GRIND! They don’t dance. I’m sorry, I don’t know your name and we’re not hooking up yet and I’m not sure that we’re gonna, so why are we grinding? I felt like a 13 year old again, pressed up against some unknown teenage boy. Yes, I was that uncomfortable with this. Look, if you wanna get that close to me, we’ll just go out in the alley and have a root, okay?

Go-go you good thing, She said... @ Trigger

TUESDAYS:
She said...
Trigger
2344 Market Street

I don’t care that the music sucked, yes, let’s listen to Rihanna over and over again, because this party rocked. It’s brand new in the Castro and it’s taking over the whole girl scene apparently. Pretty sophisticated really considering how completely slutty the whole affair was. I don’t know how slutty can be sophisticated but it just was. Three or four go- go dancers on the bar with one in a cage in the centre of the bar. And they were HOT!!! Yes, I objectify women. SO FUCKING WHAT?! My poor little eyes didn’t know where to look. The music can suck if I’ve got plenty of entertainment. Sorry Lesbo-a-Go-Go, for dancers Trigger has it going on and is a party above the rest. The place was packed, everyone was drunk, and I was starting to get the hang of this grinding thing by the end of the night. It’s a shame to get kicked out at 2am. But that’s pretty normal in America. I plan on bringing this to little ol’ Canberra.

That's enough of my shenanigans for now. Happy summer loving lesbos. More from us in that place that you know and love, Canberra, soon.

Indie