Michael Ciriaco

The dance floor of West Hollywood's newest nightclub

Everyone Is Welcome at New West Hollywood Nightspot the Chapel

Michael Ciriaco
David Cooley has long prided himself on welcoming everyone into his establishments, whether gay, straight, trans — or this week, presidential. As part of the soft opening for the Chapel, Cooley's spinoff of iconic West Hollywood hotspot the Abbey, the nascent nightclub popped its cherry with a fundraiser for the......
article placeholder

Best Geek Party

Michael Ciriaco
Geek is chic, and the adorkable Chris Riley, mastermind behind this summer's cosplay takeover of Downtown Art Walk, taps into that zeitgeist with his monthly superhero-themed party, Geek Pride. Like a comic-book cabaret, these nerd nights feature live musical and burlesque performances, as well as screenings of original videos, such......
Credit: Mega City One

Best Comic Store

Michael Ciriaco
In a city where a majority of millennials spent their summer hunting Pokemon, it's safe to say L.A.'s geek culture has evolved into a mainstream zeitgeist. Angelenos seeking to slake their nerd thirst need look no further than Melrose's Mega City One. This longtime comic book purveyor edges out its......
article placeholder

Best Gay Bar

Michael Ciriaco
With the shuttering of Here Lounge back in February, and the Abbey's inevitable devolution into a nightly bachelorette party, West Hollywood has been thirsting for a traditional, quintessential gay bar. Like nectar from heaven, Bar 10 has come to wet the gayborhood's collective whistle. Rejecting the garish camp of nearby......
Gym; Credit: Michael Ciriaco

Best Gay Jock Bar

Michael Ciriaco
One of the biggest criticisms of West Hollywood's bar scene is its lack of variety. Although the physical layouts may differ, the mood, crowd and ambiance of nearly every establishment along the Santa Monica strip are pretty interchangeable. As one drag queen once put it, "It's just the same songs......
Queen Kong; Credit: Courtesy the Boulet Brothers

Best New Gay Party

Michael Ciriaco
Two years ago, DTLA was devoid of gay bars. Now, not only does the culturally resuscitated neighborhood flaunt a troika of queer watering holes to choose from, but one of them hosts the hottest new gay party in Los Angeles. Supplanting the traditional muscle shrines of West Hollywood and homo......
The Bullet; Credit: Michael Ciriaco

Best Secret Fetish Bar

Michael Ciriaco
Hidden behind a taxi garage on a dead-end street in North Hollywood, the safe word for the Bullet is "anonymity." Pull back the blackout curtain at the front entrance, and you're transported into a pre-Grindr time capsule of assless leather chaps, handlebar mustaches and amyl nitrate. This gay dive bar......
The Pack marquee on Santa Monica; Credit: Karen Krantz

Hollywood's Newest Improv Theater Has a Mission: Never Be Boring

Michael Ciriaco
Between UCB, iO West and the NerdMelt showroom, you're not likely to hear people complain about a dearth of improv options in Hollywood. But veteran improvisor Miles Stroth still saw room for something new.  The Pack Theater has joined the ranks of Santa Monica Boulevard's theater row to offer audiences......
Front cover of the most recent issue of Froniters Magazine.; Credit: Frontiers Magazine

Frontiers, L.A.'s Longest Running Queer Magazine, May Cease Publication

Michael Ciriaco
Los Angeles' LGBT community may be saying "Bye, Felicia" to  Frontiers Magazine. The staff of Multimedia Platforms Worldwide's five publications, which include Next Magazine, Florida Agenda, and SoCal's own queer rag Frontiers Magazine,  has been laid off, according to Wehoville.com. While Frontiers has yet to officially announce it will be shuttering, and its most recent......