It is just gone midnight on a Saturday night as I climb up a set
of stairs in central Sheffield. I push open the double doors and am
greeted by a dance remix of Lady Gaga's Born This Way. Buff men are
grinding up on each other on a platform in the middle of the dim
room and girls are making out on the sofas further in. There is no
doubting the fact that I have reached my destination; this is
Sheffield's own Gay In The Attic.
As I make my way to the bar it is clear to me that the event,
that only set up at the end of last year, has managed to attract a
respectable amount of South Yorkshire's finest community
members.
Sheffield University's monthly, massive and mainstream club
night Climax, as well as the notorious Dempsey's, with its
offerings of cage dancing and cherry Lambrini, have long dominated
the South Yorkshire gay scene. Although other venues exist (Lions
Lair, Infinity, Penelope's and Sanctuary, to mention a few),
another city centre club night has long been longed for by Steel
City's LGBT party animals.
Stepping into GITA, the 4am establishment comes across as a
bastard heir of Queen Climax and Dirty Dempsey's; a wild child with
big dreams and naughty tendencies.
Cheap drink offers are a hit with the merry customers and
promiscuous dancing is a given. Anything goes, as the slogan
says.
The dance floor is darker than your average night club, the bass
is making my whole body vibrate and bouncers struggle with ladies
insisting on dancing in their underwear. Not that the rest of the
crowd would have anything against that sort of behaviour, mind.
Time flies as my friends and I pull shapes to fresh remixes of
club classics and the latest party tunes. For those who are tired
of the same old music in every rainbow bar, this is a breath of
fresh air.
However, GITA still suffers from a few teething pains. Although
the bar has some impressive offers on, everything from missing
mixers to tiny cups feels very DIY. And where does the DJ keep
running away to? My friends claim they have heard several songs
more than once throughout the night and when I ask for Azealia
Banks' megahit, the elusive DJ doesn't have it.
These are of course problems that can be overcome but they leave
a sour taste - entry was a fairly steep five pounds, after all.
As I grab my coat to head on home, the majority of the crowd has
trailed off and someone suggests GITA might be more of a
pre-drinking place. Maybe this is the case, or maybe more people
just need to give the club a chance. After all, it isn't every day
that you get to be merry, naughty and extremely gay in the
attic.
For updates on the next Gay In The Attic event,
follow Team GITA on Twitter: @gayintheattic
Follow Bella on Twitter:
@bellaqvist
IMAGE CREDIT: courtesy of Gay In The
Attic
