The Ritz

I don't remember much about this club, other than it was another gay nightclub in the area.  I went there a few times to see concerts, as they had a stage.  Bronksi Beat played there one night.  I remember that night for a number of reasons.  It was the first night I really began hanging with Evan Ford, Jess, and the rest of the people who would form Lestat.

I also remember the men dancing in suits all around the stage during the concert.  All of them at some point stripped down to G-strings.  I remember it also being my first trip to a gay club (this was like 1987?), and I remember going to the men's room at first with some trepidation.  It turned out to be what I imagined the girl's bathroom to be: people holding conversations and fixing themselves up.  Most guys bathrooms are like cattle stalls; people try hard to pretend they're in there by themselves.

The Ritz was torn down in the late 80s.  I made a partial comeback as a concert venue (I saw the Beautiful South there, one of my favorite bands!) but eventually it made way for yet another parking lot next to Jacob's Field.