Looking for a place to dance or get a drink? Phoenix gay bars can be fun, but you have to make sure you go to the right bar on the right night, because the gay bar scene in Phoenix isn’t active enough to support multiple hot spots at the same time each evening. I’ve listed some of my favorites below, but you can also read some of my local Phoenix gay bar reviews on Yelp.
Saturday
Club Forbidden
One of the newest gay bars in the Phoenix area. It’s actually in Scottsdale, and I think it will continue to get better as it finds and develops it’s identity. Club Forbidden was opened just prior to Burn Nightclub closing in Phoenix, so many regulars from Burn now come to dance at this club. DJ Jeremy, who used to spin at Burn, now works here as well. Go on a Saturday and then head to Charlies, if you must, for afterhours dancing. Read the full Club Forbidden review
–and then–
Charlies
Currently the best (only?) gay dance club to go for afterhours in Phoenix on Saturdays. Don’t go before 1:00 AM because they’ll still be playing country music. A few too many drag shows for my taste on any other day of the week.
Friday
Homme Lounge
Party Foul is a mixed Friday Party at the haunted-house-style neighborhood lounge on Camelback Road and 3rd Avenue that has struggled for years to find its identity. Well I think it may have finally found it with the new wave of gay and reasonably tolerant straight hipster crowds that populate this place every weekend and dance to the type of electro previously only available at the deceased hangout GLAM. Read the full Homme Lounge Review
Amsterdam Bar
This used to be the perfect place to take your straight friends most days of the week, as it was the least threatening crowd and presented the best “image” to a gay bar newbie. But Fridays you’ll find it’s about half lesbian and half drunk queen. They sometimes have afterhours dancing in the “Club Miami” section, but it seems like this place usually starts to clear out pretty early as everyone heads elsewhere.
Thursday
Nothing here yet.
Wednesday
BS West
One of the best 2-for-1 nights you’ll find anywhere on Wednesdays. This video bar in Scottsdale also has the best gay Halloween event in the Phoenix area, when they expand the venue to the area around the parking structure.
Tuesday
Roscoes on Seventh
Another great 2-for-1 night. This gay sports bar in Phoenix is much better after the smoking ban took effect…for some reason this place has a terrible ventilation system, and even when I was a smoker I couldn’t stand the eye-burning smoky interior.
Monday
Amsterdam Bar
Yep, it’s back to Amsterdam on Mondays for “$5 Martinis and Manicures.” It’s pretty much like it sounds, where you can get any martini on their list (and it’s a very long list) for $5, and even a $5 manicure in the back. There are sometimes other services offered for $5, like tarot card readings and henna tattoos.
Sunday
Nothing here yet.
RIP
Burn Nightclub
Burn Nightclub closed on January 19th, 2008, and some of us were there to see it off into the abyss that so many great dance clubs have fallen into in recent Phoenix history. For me this started with Crowbar, then Boom, and now Burn. Read the full Burn Nightclub post-mortem
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