#homotown

[frazzlednerves]

Old Town was pretty cool.

[djtikkamasala]

The Joy of Queer Parties: ‘We Breathe, We Dip, We Flex’ (Published 2019)

Gay clubs and safe spaces have historically offered a place for experiences and road-testing new looks, identity expressions, desires and or

[dykebarchronicles]

Homotown Refelctions

Nightlife... is a place where a lot of survivors work. Ex-cons, undocumented folks, people who face hiring and housing discrimination, a lot of people going through gutting circumstances and keep breathing. I frequently feel like it’s one of these containers for aspects of human experience that are varied and difficult. And the contrast between the revelers we serve and the people who work there... that contrast is what glues the team together sometimes. We are struggling, while they are partying, but at the same time we have a lot of symbolic power on a given night. That and social freedom to build chosen family. AT WORK.

I must say the staff at my nightlife workplace, our ACTUAL stories... I’m not going to be able to tell them for a while, but these narratives have taught me so much about how community actually builds capacity internally outside of capitalism. We become each other’s diaries and witnesses over time. Intimacy happens fast when a crew deals with traumatic things together all the time. Poor people, artists, ex-cons, undocumented folks, people in recovery, like I said... warriors all...

I feel more protected by my nightlife peers than any other work environment I’ve ever worked in. There’s no strictly formalized code of conduct, because it gets defined over time and by any given team for that weekly event. If someone doesn’t fit, they’re not going to make it through a shift. If they do fit, it’s up to their situation to determine longevity. Each shift basically has it’s own rules about how we’re going to treat each other.

So far on Thursdays I’ve had 4 different crews over 5 years. The bartender and security tend to rotate based on their life circumstances, how patrons are treated by them, and how their values manifest in a room of service. So far the dj (me) has stayed consistent. I guess since I pick the music all night, I also end up transferring team values (aka party energy) from one iteration to the next.

In the first iteration, the bartender and the security were exes unbeknownst to me. In the second iteration, with new security, the bartender and I got involved and when we started breaking up it got tough to be there without bringing that energy into the space. In the third iteration, my now best friend and Sunday bartender took over the bartending, which ended up being a huge growth period in our friendship, and that was also when the current security started. In the fourth iteration the bartender is someone who used to go-go on Fridays and then I dj-ed her wedding, and I feel like she’s my niece and the current security is my brother. So far, three different bartenders and three different security.

I get attached to every single team in that way where we have to become family from experiencing so much together. So I’ve had 4 families in 5 years on Thursday nights. That’s a lot of family at Homotown: Weekly Queer Old School Night at the oldest standing dyke bar in the country.

[dykebarchronicles]

She/Her

Tonight one of my regulars came out to me as trans. Because I told her I really appreciate the consistent support, and the conversation got a little emotional because it ended up being about where one goes to find support in a sometimes alienating metropolis.

I just told her that if you know who you are, you’re blessed, and I’m all about not having to qualify the situation when ur clearly blessed compared to these confused motherfuckers running around telling other people who they can and cannot be, as a result of not knowing who they are themselves. It’s a spiritual issue that’s been politicized. by economics.

The good news is that she pulls up every Thursday cos she knows... that regardless of the language of the day... the people in this room protect you more and more every time you show up for the ritual, with respect in your heart.

[djtikkamasala]

Every Thursday night

[dykebarchronicles]

Boker and Jordan. Homotown turned 2!

[dykebarchronicles]

There's no such thing as too much of letting yourself have a good time with people you love. It's a revolutionary act when it's done right and everyone goes home feeling better about life.

Big ups to Henrietta Hudson, and the fabulous team that brings you Homotown: Weekly Queer Soul, Motown, and 90's Hip Hop Night every Thursday. You'll find Booker Garrett mixing potions, Jordan Fernandez (papa bear) protecting the room from evil forces, and me, your favorite time machine conductor/shaman steering you through the night. We've become experts together, so please come celebrate with us!

We're embarking on a new year with love and revolution in mind. That means laughter, good music, gentle people, and cultivating an evolving sense of wonder about universal magic and community care altogether NOW. See you tomorrow night darlings...

[henriettahudson]

HOMOTOWN- HAPPY HOUR TIL MIDNIGHT

HOMOTOWN- HAPPY HOUR TIL MIDNIGHT

  Homotown at Henrietta Hudson is an EVERY Thursday night weekly party in the West Village for queers who want to listen to some old school music together and get down. This means soul, motown, good hip-hop, requests, and evolving set list by DJ Tikka Masala Never a Cover & Happy Hour until midnight with funky bargirl extraordinaire, Booker! Address: 438 Hudson Street [btwn Morton & Barrow] New…

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