The Ft. Lauderdale and Miami scenes have changed a lot in the last year just like most clubs in America have shifted to a new phase of music and atmosphere. Ft. Lauderdale ranked as one of the world’s best clubs with Coliseum nightclub until hurricane Wilma ripped the roof, sound system, nitrogen system, and even the sign is missing. The drag shows from Daisy Deadpetals and T.P. Lords are not as frequent and the crowd is thinning out to surprisingly worse clubs. We noticed on our last trip to Ft. Lauderdale that people are going hysterical over a club in the Riverwalk/Los Olas downtown district called China White. China White is nothing to get excited about. It reminds me of the cheesy clubs you find in the West End of Dallas, TX. China White started out capturing the Wednesday night crowd taking that away from the recently closed down Cathode Ray. China White then went on to capture the Friday night hottie crowd from Coliseum. The gay scene has been begging for a new club in ft Lauderdale for some time but I think a club in the Wilton Manors area or something to have replaced the hurricane battered Copa nightclub would have been better. This club is located in the area that is in the center of the straight hangouts and clubs leaving some gays to feel uncomfortable walking around. I think China White should have made Saturdays the gay night because there is no where to go on Saturdays if you are under the age of 35 or so and want to meet someone around your age. China White was two levels with good music and hot bartenders revealing little clothing. I recommend Coliseum on Fridays since its more of a real nightclub and features the 2am drag show from Daisy Deadpetals or T.P. Lords. If you go out on Wednesday then make China White your hangout that night. The crowd is hot that night.
Saturdays in Ft Lauderdale for gay kids features no clubs that are 18 and up. Coliseum recently started some 18+ Saturdays but those are very rare. There needs to be a way for the 18-21 crowd to know what nights they can go out. If you are under 21 your best is to drive 45 minutes or so to West Palm Beach and go to Kashmir nightclub located on Forest Lane.
If you are 21 and enjoy the circuit crowd then check out Steel nightclub located on 19th and Powerline. Steel is located in a shopping center and features a video bar, dance club with boxes, good music, and an outside patio. The other Saturday night option is Coliseum where they book circuit dj’s every other weekend at least including Manny Lehman, Peter Rauhaufer, and more. You also get performances from T.P. Lords on Saturdays. China White is straight on Saturdays for now at least.
Saturdays in Miami are not at all what they used to be. I remember back when Salvation was open and Tuna Caserole paraded around the club. The straight clubbers always get the best clubs in SouthBeach and the gays are almost forced to do the straight club scene. Twist and score are the two gay clubs/bars in the Sobe strip. Twist is located on Washington where you have a circuity/jungle room, hip hop/r&b room, outside sports bar, and multi leveled places to shop for boys. All clubs in Miami and South Beach are 21 and up.
We took a cab ride from Twist to Ozone and that was a big mistake. We did not realize that Ozone was so far from the Sobe area. It was a $40 cab ride – do not make that mistake. It was not worth it either. The music was ok but was strange because they would play house music and never finishes a song then go to some retro and then reggaeton Latino music. The guys were mostly buff circuity crowd guys and it felt very strange when they busted out with retro music without any techno beat at all. Maybe this dj does not know how to remix or they were celebrating a retro night with the buff men. I did notice the lines to the bathroom got longer when the retro music came on.
Ozone was certainly far from everything in Miami and South Beach and I would not consider driving so far to party. Unless of course Madonna was expected to show up and I doubt she would stumble into this small of a venue. It was not nearly as large as I had expected and the drinks were outrageously priced.
Updated: http://www.gaypartyblog.com/south-florida-college-night-moved/
Leave a Reply