Bounce (Closed Permanently)

Feeling too old for this bullshit

Couldnt agree more with the comments about what in the hell happend to this citys gay scene. Im old enough too to remember U4ia and Legends and I wonder like many others why Clevelands bars have sunk to such an awful level. I dont remember when things have been this pathetic in either Cleveland or Akron. The men have disppeared. Bars now have extreme crowds of fugly gross unwashed so called people mixed with teeny twinks. The real bears and cubs, regular guys, and cute trendy boyz of the past have disappeared into thin air. There is no leather club left in town, despite the untrue claims of some bar owners. Club Cleveland is gone for good. The shit palace Flex is barely hanging on (and hopefully will do us all a favor and close soon). Bars continue to close or change names and owners for the gazillionth time but never get any better. Bounce was super crowded at one time with good music if a bit of a snooty crowd. Today its practically a joke. Some nights may be better than others but Ive stopped going. Down the street a few blocks Mans World is a grossfest. Cocktails is deserted most nights with a few drag queens (the ugly variety) hanging around. The Stallion is always empty. The Hawk smells bad and is filthy (and so are many of its customers). Bottoms Up is closed half the week and the 'guys' are so young it feels illegal to be in the place. Twist is an arrogant joke. Whats left, seriously? Straight bars are more fun than the gay ones. Many nights Ive given up and went to straight bars instead. By Clifton and downtown, you can find many gay guys (not the flamers or flamboyant twinks) in straight bars with their friends. Go to a 'gay' bar and you find bitches and homosexuals pretending to be straight or rough trade. What a town! The worst of it all is that most gay men in cleveland accept this state of affairs as normal and like it just the way it is. I think Cleveland is beyond hope. The citys good days are over and most gay young people head out of town for work and social life. If I were younger theres no way I would stay here. What a waste. My advice is skip all the bars and go to Columbus or Chicago when you have a long weekend.

Cleveland is suffering!

Cleveland is suffering and there is no end in site. I left almost 11 years ago and visit once a year, and it gets worse and worse! Gone are the days of The Cage, Rockies, U4IA, Legends, The Eagle, Detour, The Grid, Metronome, this is when Cleveland rocked. I'll always be grateful for Cleveland's gay bars (of the past) for providing me what I needed to be who I am today but it's so sad that today's youth can't experience the same thing I did.

Random

Probably the best mixed gay club in Cleveland. I've been going here since I was 18, and I come back at least once a year when I come back and visit friends/family. Drink specials aren't that great but it's usually pretty crowded and the drag shows are hella fun. Bounce should be open more nights every week.

Less Drag, More Dancing

I stopped visiting Cleveland because my friends and I were frequently disappointed when we went out to the clubs. I was in Cleveland a few weeks back for SynergyFest and came to Bounce to dance but instead had to suffer through a drag/stripper extravaganza that went on till just after 1:30am. The DJ only got to play a few songs before the lights came up and we were rudely herded out the door. I recently returned (against my better judgement) and the drag show was much shorter, though still far too long for a Saturday night. What blew us away was the DJ! He's not their regular dude and it took some detective work to find out that the guy is a local that goes by DJ Conspiracy. Beats were hot, set was tightly mixed, and the music was bumping. I felt like I was in another place while I was there. Aside from the new and improved music, the place is kinda dirty - your feet stick to the floor - the bathrooms are either too crowded or a petri dish of human filth. The drinks were great, and the staff was friendly for the most part. I'll be back - and so will my friends - if they stick to shorter (or better still, NO) drag shows on the weekends and play hot music like we heard that night! Hopefully it wasn't just a fluke!

Saturday Night Out was a SHOCK

OK, I USED to live in Cleveland, at a time when there were FILLED, fun, packed, dancing crowds, and a wide variety of bars and clubs that make everything in Cleveland now look like a great big boring WTF nothing. Recently, I paid a visit and went to Bounce on a Saturday night. Now, Saturday night used to be THE night to go out and dance and dance until you dropped. But on the night I went, it was like Teeny Bopper Night - Under 21. OMG!!!! First of all, how do they expect to make any money serving a crown that can't drink? But that's their stupidity. What we found was a COOL-looking club, with a nice long bar, booths with comfortable seats, tons of dancing space just BEGGING to be filled up ... a zillion infants running around, an occasional drag queen marching through, and a bare handful of people over 21. That handful varied from, say, 30 - 55. A few looked like frank predators there for the infants - creepy! The music they were playing was GREAT. The video screens were great. The bartender was really nice. It had so much POTENTIAL. Is there anyone out there who was around 1980 - 1990ish? Whe went to Traxx, Isis, Legends, or even TWIGGY'S (I got in at 15 with a fake ID from the Jupiter Store)? Now THOSE were the days! Everyone DANCED. Places were packed - even on most weeknights! I might add that we also went to other bars/clubs, gay and straight (desperately searching for a wild dancing crowd OVER 21), and we could NOT find a place that satisfied. I feel like moving back to Clevo and opening a club and showing you all how it's done.