Return of the cruise

Sure, the Internet's fun. But what about the real thing?

By Marke B.

ACCORDING TO THE Oxford English Dictionary, the word cruise, in its most titillating sense, means "to walk or drive around looking for amusement, a sexual partner, etc." Pardon me, good sirs of The OED, but I thought that was consciousness. The example given is just a smidgen less stilted: "The habit of cruising – picking up boys for casual sex." Bo-ring.

Where in that definition – and it's impossible not to sound like a queasy '60s gay pulp novel here – is the anxious bob and weave of prolonged flirtation, the blush and breath that rises when you catch a sexy stranger's eye, the feel of a man's rock-hard stare, like two rough hands, slowly sliding up your thigh? Where is that thrilling moment when sidelong glances finally lock into cocksure place, just as you hear last call? With due respect to the well-educated folks of the big dictionary cited above, "picking up boys for sex" sounds like running out to the gas station for a three-for-one Kool Milds special and a pint of purple Gatorade. (Not that one can't score that way.)

Where, in fact, is good old-fashioned mano a mano cruising these days – with all the delectable '70s gay stereotypes the word brings to mind? Less and less in bars, it seems. This year, three more of San Francisco's famously cruisy gay haunts shut down: My Place, the Loading Dock, and the Detour. Sources close to the management of all three of those bars, who spoke to me anonymously because they feared "more gay press bashing" or "reopening old wounds," cited a combination of health authority crackdowns, the disappearance of "classic leather culture," the effects of HIV, rising real estate prices, and a rash of "shiny gay lounge openings." But mostly they blamed the Internet. "People just stopped coming. They were all sucked up online," one said.

The few sleazy gay bars left in the city are feeling the pressure too. "People all went online, and that's been a struggle for us," said Scott Peterson, manager of notorious cruiser hangout the Powerhouse. "I think it's a cycle, and people will start to realize what they're missing, but in the meantime we're doing all we can to keep ourselves open."

In order to stay in business, well-established cruisy bars like Daddy's and the Edge, in the Castro, and the Powerhouse, Hole in the Wall Saloon, and the Eagle Tavern, down in SoMa, have proved themselves extremely flexible in welcoming all sorts of crowds and interests, actively programming nights that appeal to varied fetishes, experimenting with different music and promoters, and even welcoming mixed crowds on occasion. In the process, they've kept alive the possibility of a good, stiff drink and a hot and dirty pickup.

As with any new technology, the Internet's overwhelming, hypnotic attraction may be slowly wearing off. "Online cruising is totally different from real cruising," said veteran cruiser Josh, 34. (Many of the people I spoke with asked me not to use their real names.) "For one, there's too many tweakers. It's starting to feel harder to meet new people I want to actually have sex with online. I mostly go on sex sites now to see if my regular hookups are available. It's just a tool."

"In bar situations, you get to see more of what a person's like – how they act and talk. You get to make your own judgment," he added. Another veteran cruiser, Lars, 36, agreed. "In a real-life bar-cruising situation, you can make your own decision about someone," he said. "Online, you have to do it based on the information they present to you."

And then there's the resurgence of interest among younger gay kids in old-school cruising culture. The macho underground gay aesthetic – cruising, leather, denim, pre-condom porn – is rippling back into gay club fashion, and a new generation is enthusiastically adopting the imagery, if not exactly the lifestyle maybe, of the '70s cruise-queen look and feel. Recent documentaries like Gay Sex in the '70s (2005), which takes a fond look back at New York's cruisy gay underground, and That Man: Peter Berlin (2005), which celebrates the era of pre-condom porn through the biography of one of that era's most popular stars, have piqued the curiosity of many junior bargoers. And mainstream bands like the Scissor Sisters cheerfully revel in '70s gay fashions and a sleazy gay underground vibe, striking a chord with younger gay audiences.

Interest in the old days and ways, as well as Internet fatigue – "Oh god, it's such a timesink," is how one 25-year-old put it – is inspiring a current wave of club promoters to harness the sleazy shorthand of big mustaches, supertight short-shorts, lube-stained Wranglers, and kinky accoutrements to generate buzz. Flyers and visuals from successful recent clubs like Tubesteak Connection (at Aunt Charlie's Lounge), the Rod (Deco), Faggot (Daddy's), now on-hiatus Macho, and several other parties push to the fore old-school queer imagery and create an arousing atmosphere of naughtiness. It's difficult these days to find a successful underground queer club that doesn't have snippets from old Colt porns playing on the video screen. And more mainstream gay nights like Drunk and Horny, at Underground SF, and Industry, at Mezzanine, also seem open to reviving a '70s sexual vibe.

"Cruising cuts across all economic, social, racial, and sexual boundaries," said DJ Bus Station John (of Tubesteak and the Rod), a leader among the new wave of promoters. It's important, he added, to maintain actual, physical bar cruising as a basis of cultural congregation and an important introduction of the recently come-out to the history of the gay community. "It's the most vital part of what brings us together as gay men," he said.

Whether or not the heat of the pre-AIDS bar-cruising scene will be revived (or redefined) by the intentions of these new club promoters seems a little too much to ask. But it's awfully nice to have a few more places to go for old-school sleazy fun.

The bars

Powerhouse 1347 Folsom, SF. (415) 552-8689, www.powerhouse-sf.com.

Daddy's 440 Castro, SF. (415) 621-8732, www.daddysbar.com. (Faggot is first Wednesdays, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.)

The Edge 4149 18th St., SF. (415) 863-4027.

Eagle Tavern 398 12th St., SF. (415) 626-0880, www.sfeagle.com.

Hole in the Wall Saloon 289 Eighth St., SF. (415) 431-4695.

Tubesteak Connection Thursdays, 9 p.m.-2 a.m., Aunt Charlie's Lounge, 133 Turk, SF. (415) 441-2922, www.auntcharlieslounge.com.

The Rod Second Fridays, 10 p.m.-4 a.m., Deco, 510 Larkin, SF. (415) 345-9832.

Drunk and Horny Every other Saturday, 9 p.m.-2 a.m., Underground SF, 424 Haight, SF. (415) 864-7386, www.drunkandhorny.net.

Industry Occasional Saturdays, Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, SF. (415) 625-8880, www.industrysf.com.