gentrification where I least expected it

[sistawendy]

I found myself with a free Friday night, and as so often on such nights, ended up at the Mercury. There was a sizable crowd there early on because a (the?) local poly organization, NSPP, was having a little gathering there. By little I mean they took up half the joint. That's fine with me.

What's not fine with me is what I heard from one of the organizers of this shindig, D. Background: the elevated middle of the Merc is the best place to see and be seen in the establishment, especially what old schoolers used to call the cool kids' table, the one with the L-shaped booth seating. I remarked to D that it was odd that her group wasn't there. She said that was where they used to sit, occasionally wearing electrical tape on their nipples and making out. Motherhood and apple pie at the Merc, right? Well, they started getting attitude from other patrons. (The staff, to its credit, doesn't give a damn as long as you don't leave bodily fluids lying around.)

The nerve of them! Engaging in and watching that kind of behavior is why people go - or at least went - to the Merc. With condos mushrooming on most blocks surrounding the Merc, I cherish that goofy, freaky, tacky, louche, trans-friendly, and yes, a little sexy relic of Seattle's wilder past. How dare they stick their prudery like a cheap, phthalate-smelling dildo into one of the last places in the city where it doesn't belong?

I did see one instance of electrical tape on nipples last night. That made me feel a little better. Now that I have reasonaboobs I might just do that myself, and strike a much-needed blow against gentrification.

Comments

[inkandalchemy.livejournal.com]

How extremely unfortunate. I've never heard anyone complain, myself, but since I only run fetish nights at the Merc... well, it'd be more than a little silly for someone to complain about sexiness at a fetish party.

I sincerely hope that it wasn't a NSPP member who complained; I'm part of that group and I've never met a crowd more PDA-friendly.

I would like to hereby encourage you to come on out to Twisted this next Friday night and show all the boob you want. :D

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

I sincerely hope that it wasn't a NSPP member who complained

That it wasn't how it sounded to me.

I would like to hereby encourage you to come on out to Twisted this next Friday night and show all the boob you want.

That's all the encouragement I needed. It's on my calendar. See you there!

[dark-phoenix54.livejournal.com]

Do not even want to think about removing electrical tape from my nipples.

It's pretty ridiculous to go to an existing club and complain about how it's being run. They are the new comers, not the folks making out. That's like moving next door to an airport and then complaining about the noise.

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

Well spake. And the Merc's been like that since I've been going there, i.e. 2002ish. To hear former staff tell it, during the '90s when the place (then known as Machinewerks) was on Pioneer Square, there was some egregious flouting of liquor laws. It seems reasonable to me that clientelle's behavior was commensurately lewd. I'm sorry I missed it.

[xaotica.livejournal.com]

machinewerks was fun.

so getting shit from the clientele happened one night? or repeatedly? how many times?

just asking 'cause every night occasionally has a confused lame person show up...

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

Dunno. I'm appalled that it happened even once; I'd never heard of such there before. I would hope the NSPP folks would have at least some gonads about it.