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Went this weekend, had a great time.. How fun was this weekend? Loads. I haven't gone out in a while but my friends said it was happening so I went to check it out. They have some hot bartenders!
Karaoke was fun. Good to have it back
Great show on Saturday. They held a great show on Saturday, really impressed with all the new additions to the audio and video equipment. The bar got packed afterwards and it was harder to get around but fun all the way through.…
Better off staying at home!. Granted the gay bars and clubs in Albuquerque have never been anything to write home about. As a matter of fact all of them have verged on the edge of sad and pathetic. And it's been years since I've set foot in any of them. But last night my partner and I and our 2 best friends decided to hit the old place known as the Ranch after dinner. Reason being is one of our friends told us that there was a story in the paper about them doing some $40 thousand bucks in renovations. If your thinking what could they have done with such a small amount, the answer is nothing! Well, apparently nothing you can see with the naked eye. It's still the same rat hole it's always been, with one exception. They took down the wall between the main bar and the small bar on the side that used to show porn. We figured they must have used the money to bring the place up to code so they could reopen.…
That's 45 minutes from my life I'll never get back. Sidewinders reopened under new ownership on 29-Sep-2011. I went last night (Saturday 1-Oct-2011) to see what the new incarnation was like. Best brief description I can come up with is "generic". It's neither the old Sidewinders nor a new bar. It was pretty much the same place, just stripped of any decor or memorabilia that gave it any personality. Even the same old misspelled "If you want to open a bar tab..." signs were still taped to the bar. The wall with picture window that used to separate the Wolf Pack bar was knocked down, and a fresh coat of paint was slapped on the walls, but that's about it. No decor whatsoever. No style, no charm, no personality. It was pretty much like the bar at a VFW hall. The bartenders all wear black polo shirts with white pinstriped cuffs and collars, so no one has any unique charm or style. The bartenders have to use a robotic portion dispenser so the drinks are all uniform, which robs them of any mix mastery or character. The staff always asked me, "How are you tonight?" and I always answered "Disappointed. The owner kept telling everyone it'll be worth the wait, and THIS is all it is?" And the staff always answered the same thing: "Hey, I just work here." So much for an attitude of hospitality. Would it have hurt to ask me, "What were you expecting?" The best was the doorman who said, and I quote, "I don't care! I'm just the doorman! I don't have to put up with all this negativity!" Also, the current crowd is so mixed as to be bland, perhaps even twink-ish. But that makes sense (sadly) because the new owner is a total twink. Overall I'd say the "new" Sidewinders isn't bad, it's just that it's not anything, really.…
