Event Review: Comfort and Joy's "Lucid Dreams" at The Cinch

On Saturday night Comfort and Joy took over the regular Spunk night at The Cinch on Polk Street for their "Lucid Dreams" party, an auction and raffle event to raise money for the queer Burning Man camp. With blacklight art from resident artist Chickpea, Spunk's regular go-go boys (including one very tasty young man with a green mohawk), big white projection screens on the wall, and classic tunes from DJ Mermaid, The Cinch was more festive than I ever thought possible, and I believe this may have been their largest crowd ever on a Saturday night.

For me Lucid Dreams was mostly about an opportunity to socialize with friends. Though they have an okay DJ set up that you think would mean more dance-oriented events at The Cinch, the actual sound system is, in their own words, "kinda janky," and in the back area, where you have the most room for a dancefloor, the sound comes out of what seem to be old car stereo speakers. Given these pretty severe limitations Mermaid was still able to impart a fun, easy-going mood to the party, and when Juanita Fajita and Winona Juggs toppled up onto the stage for the auction portions of the evening, the crowd was loosened up enough to part with a considerable wad of cash for "experiences" like hanging out with Adrien and Mysterious D of Bootie fame, getting a playa make-over from the Metamorphosis Salon, and a nude photo shoot, among others.

The Cinch is really starting to grow on me as a venue - it's very laid back, I like that there's a back patio area, and the drinks are easily the strongest on Polk Street. There's a punk rock vibe to all the events I've attended there, and I saw scads and scads of queer burners, artsy types, and Polk denizens. It would be nice to see them upgrade their soundsystem and get a little more dancing and less pool shooting in the back area, but in the meantime it remains high on my list of great queer hangouts.

Lucid Dreams Photos by The Boyfriend


The unsinkable Miss Juanita Fajita.






Somehow this photos says it all. Fancy footwear by Misses Juanita Fajita and Winona Juggs.






Ummmm, limber go-go boys. Can I be your back door man?






The devilish DJ Mermaid.