Ohm's
"Flame On"
boogies Sunday nights.
31
NW 1st Ave.,
223-9919
9
pm Sunday,
Aug.27
$4
21 and over
Feed
QW: Send savory bits of information to Byron
Beck at bbeck@
wweek.com at least 10 days prior to publication.
|
|
I miss Queer Night.
Not long after we had taken the "q" word back into our
lexicon, LaLuna's Queer Night arrived, providing a heady
mix of alt.rockers, lippy lezzies and enough queer boys
to make you feel like there was an actual gay scene in Portland.
At the time, circa mid-'90s, homo-friendly clubs were under
siege by suburban types. All of a sudden, and seemingly
out of nowhere, straight boys had gone from wanting to beat
the crap out of us to shaking their booties (and naked titties)
in what was (until then) the gays-only hideout of campy
girls and boys.
D-J, a creative fellow who was working for Gus Van Sant,
decided it was time to make LaLuna the place to be on Monday
nights. And he did. It was an incredibly cool place--and
that's not just because I got to know my future husband
there.
Now comes word that a new Queer Night is hitting the scene.
Called "Flame On," this Sunday-night party has pegged itself
as the new Queer Night.
The press release reads: "Ohm brings you the return of
the popular queer nights that kept Portland enthralled for
so long.... It doesn't matter if you're queer, bi, straight,
into animals --whatever...get yourselves down to Ohm for
some...fun and kinky frivolity." Flame On also assures
it will bring in out-of-town artists committed to supporting
the community, as well as girls night and much more.
But the original night o' queers was something more, too--even
if D-J attributes its success to the fact "it was the only
thing in town on Monday."
Queer Night became a success because it was more than just
a party. It was set up in a way that allowed queers to try
something new to the scene: talking. LaLuna's Living Room
was a comfy place full of booths and great music. It was
an alternative to the norm: Open to all ages (the new Queer
Night is 21-and-over), genders and sexualities, it spanned
barriers within a divergent culture.
"The people who came out every Monday night are the people
I would invite to my own home," D-J says from his new pad
in LA. "It was my own private party in public."
But it takes more than just adding the word "queer" to
an event to make it a happening scene. The Ohm will have
a hard time trying to re-create a homey-homo vibe in the
middle of a nightclub.
I'm not trying to piss on Flame On; but I still carry a
torch for the old Queer Night.
|
|
