Because I'm the dancin' fool that I am and have absolutely no problem with bustin' a move anywhere and anytime, I often end up dragging friends to places they don't particularly want to be--only to be yanked off the dance floor prematurely because they can't take staring aimlessly into their drinks anymore. Case in point: This week's excursion to Neighbours dance club--that place where many straight men fear to tread.
I was to meet up with a Stranger photographer at midnight, and he was already blowin' up my phone at 11:57 p.m. asking where the hell I was. (Didn't he know the rule of thumb is that dance floors don't go off until after 12:00 a.m.?) Also with me was a well-traveled friend who has danced under the sun in Greece, rocked the drum 'n' bass scene in London, and raved 'til dawn in Hong Kong.
Once we got inside, Neighbours' Wednesday night drag queen hostess Mark Finley was already doing her thing, mixing drag cabaret with pure slapstick comedy shtick. This was the pre-funk show before the dance party got started. I looked around at my friends and they seemed to be doing all right, though my photographer friend seemed to have an aversion to drag queens comparable to some people's phobias about evil clowns hiding under their bed.
Next up was just what I was waiting for--the dance party. DJ Trent Von cued up a record and it was on: pure Top 40 trance hits. So I started throwin' down on the dance floor, freakin' to the trance with absolutely no shame in my game. The crowd around me was a cross between underground rave kids, straight couples, dykes, chiseled über-gays, and guys that looked like my Dad's golfing buddies. I was happy, but when I looked around, my friends weren't havin' it. Once again my dance was cut short. NICOLAE WHITE
Mama's House with hostess Mark Finley and DJ Trent Von, every Wed 10 pm-2 am at Neighbours, 1509 Broadway, 324-5358, 21+, $1.
