MATT SCHAFER
& RYAN LEE | 9.24.2008
WETBAR SOAKS ATLANTA one last time with big-name talent, a packed dance floor and stylish hotties before what was once Atlanta’s chicest gay bar locks its doors for good. DJ Samantha Ronson takes the tables on Sept. 26, and Billy Carroll, the DJ who opened the club in 2005, appropriately brings us full circle with the final set on Sept. 27
WETbar general manager Krystee Manifold confirms that the venue's ownership has taken on a new partner and will return in a few months with a new name and a new concept. What that new concept will be is being kept under strict wraps.
“We’ve heard rumors,” Manifold says, mentioning various bits of gossip including a re-branding of the prime spot as a straight club, and possibly incorporating live music in some fashion.
She also told David that WETbar’s closing would not affect the owner’s other iconic gay bar, Blake’s on the Park, in any way.
But WETbar’s closure marks the end of a long, perplexing run by the nightclub at 10th and Spring Streets. Several generations of managers pumped thousands of dollars into the club’s décor and entertainment over the past couple of years, transforming WETbar into one of the sleekest nightspots in Atlanta, gay or straight.
Despite the glamour, the nightspot struggled to attract regular crowds throughout the week for new ventures like drag shows; eventually even signature WETbar events like College Night began to lose steam, and gay patrons began to murmur about WETbar beginning to chase heterosexual crowds.
THE CLOSING WEEKEND PARTIES aren't going out with a whimper. Friday night features a bit of Hollywood glitter, and Saturday closes out Atlanta's WETbar Era with an old friend.
Ronson, Lindsay Lohan’s rumored fiancée, may actually have Lohan in tow. Atlanta promoter and blogger Jonathan Jaxson is credited with bringing Ronson to WETbar, something he has been working on since mid-summer.
“She has an eclectic sound, she has some great things on her MySpace page, you can get a great, great idea of what she sounds like on her MySpace,” he says.
There is no official word if Lohan will end up actually making the appearance, but Manifold says two tickets were purchased for Ronson's trip. Jaxson says Lohan will make a business trip to Atlanta with her alleged soon-to-be spouse.
“Lindsay will indeed be with her; she is looking at getting back into music, and we have a big music scene here in Atlanta, so she will be here doing some work, making some connections,” Jaxson says.
As to whether Lohan will stop by WETbar, that’s a little more in the air. Manifold refuses to spill any details, but Jaxson says there’s a good chance.
“The club isn’t paying for her, but Lindsay travels a lot with Sam, especially on the weekends,” Jaxson said. “They’re a young couple in love, and they spend a lot of time together.”
After Ronson finishes her set at WETbar, Jaxson says he’ll probably take the ladies to Einstein’s or Joes on Juniper for an afterparty.
INSTEAD OF CHOOSING TO END the club's notable run with an out-of-town entertainer, WETbar gives us the first DJ to touch the club’s fabulous sound system. Management thought it was more than fitting to also make Billy Carroll the last.
“He’s been active with the bar since the beginning, and it was one those things where he was family and we’re all saying goodbye and what better way to do that then with family,” Manifold said.
Now based in New York City, Atlanta boy Carroll said he’ll miss the room, but believes the club's closing is part of a larger trend.
“Unfortunately it’s a little typical of what’s going on in the country at the moment," he says. "I think some of it is changing tastes, and I think the other part is I’m not sure how viable gay clubs are anymore, and I hate saying that.”
Carroll laments the demise of gay dance houses across the country in favor of pubs and lounges, and in favor of mixed, rather than strictly gay or straight vibes. Not that he's letting it stop him.
“There are always people who want to go out and dance, but clubs that market themselves to one orientation might be tough, this new generation is very mixed,” he says. “The gay kids and the straight kids all mix together because they have a common bond and its not their sexuality, its their music.”
Carroll travels the country and says he has to adapt to a new crowd united by music. As a result, his new album is marketed to a broader audience.
“It’s more party like and less anthemy,” he says.
Manifold laments the end of light-night party scene that began to wane after the closing of Backstreet.
“People used to go out until 5 or 6 a.m., and they go out at midnight, and with the city making us stop pouring earlier, it really hurts us,” she says.
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