back to bed (club & bar )

By Mikee dela Cruz

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BED BAR
PUBLISHED: APRIL 2010

http://www.outragemag.com/web/BedAnniv.html
 

Many (particularly the young ones) may argue with this, but the earlier part of the 2000s (say, 2001 to 2004) may be reflective of how much fun GLBTQI Filipinos can have in the often dubbed as the gay capital of the Philippines, Malate in the City of Manila. There were then the likes of Joy, arguably the first gay bar – Western style – in the Philippines; Mint, which mimicked Queer As Folks’ Babylon, complete with the sex den at the back of the bar; somewhat pretentious Acquario that wanted to give life to Sex and the City in Metro Manila; Red Banana, more a sex club than a bar (which, for a while, even became a lesbian bar – an absence obvious in Malate now, as it lacks representative venues of the other colors of the GLBTQI rainbow flag); Biology Café, which didn’t actually offer coffee, just a venue for groping (and more); et cetera.

“The boys from Bed's early days still drop in from time to time, but we don't see them as often as before. As with any city, newer developments spring up, and because of these newer venues there are more places to explore where people want try to drink and play.  But we're lucky that after seven years, we remain the only night club that is 100% owned and operated by gay men, catering to gay men. And a few women.” JAY SANTOS RESIDENT DJ, BED BAR

Decadent, perhaps.

But fun, definitely.

Mid-2000s was when these started folding up – first the cafés (Batavia, Breton, et cetera), which were taken over by Korean restaurants; then the bars (Joy, Red Banana, Mint, et cetera); then the GLBTQIA shops; et cetera.

People who started going to the “gay Malate,” as the place has often been described, only after 2004-2005 may only be familiar with, among others, Sonata (even this has changed – name: Storyboard – as it has turned into a Karaoke bar), Che’lu, and O Bar.

One venue is a remnant of the glam past, though, even as it has remained relevant (and fun) in these somewhat tamer times.
Head to Bed Bar.

OLD AND NEW

Back in April 2003, when Bed was opened, “it was quite a smaller bar (competing with) plenty of bars around the area such as Acquario, Fidel, Mint, et cetera,” says Jay Santos, resident DJ and VP for operations of the venue.  But the owners were clear in their intent: To market the venue as a dance club.

“Our concept was to have an open floor, no chairs, and a pumping sound system powered by two awesome spin-meisters, DJ's Travis Monsod and Cocoy Puyat. Needless to say, the formula was pretty successful. We were packed to the rafters every single night,” Santos says.

This success led to Bed’s expansion within a year of its opening, with the changes including doubling the size of the venue (which has, by then, “become an integral part of the nightlife romps of the LGBT community,” Santos says); a new DJ booth decked out in Pioneer CDJ-1000 MKII's, an Allen & Heath Xone 6, and double Technics turntables; state-of-the-art lighting system with two new scanners and four moving heads; inclusion of TV monitors and a big video wall; installing of a new Martin Audio sound system; and the addition of a new lounge area on the first floor, as well the putting up of more cushy seats all around the club.

The growth also led to the hiring of gay DJs – Toy Armada, Brian Cua, Ohm, and Santos – so that it became completely gay-owned and operated. 

CHANGING WITH TIME

As with any club, age is also Bed’s biggest challenge.  “The boys from Bed's early days still drop in from time to time, but we don't see them as often as before. As with any city, newer developments spring up, and because of these newer venues there are more places to explore where people want try to drink and play,” Santos says.  But “we're lucky that after seven years, we remain the only night club that is 100% owned and operated by gay men, catering to gay men. And a few women.”

Santos, though, believes that “luck is only part of our long time success,” he says. “We work hard to keep you partying hard. We're on a non-stop quest for the perfect cocktail, the best house and tribal beats, the most fun events, the funniest drag shows, the sexiest all male modeling competitions. It's a full time job what we do, and the most important thing about it is that we absolutely love what we do.”

Santos adds: “(Our vision) still holds true today.  We are, and always will be Manila's hottest, sexiest, wildest, raunchiest, wackiest, loudest, hardest, biggest, silliest, funnest dance club for gay men and women, their admirers, and the city's tourists. We will always serve the best tasting drinks and churn out the most awesome house and tribal sounds at par with the best clubs around the world. We are out, proud, and very, very loud. We are Bed.”

PARTYING AS ADVOCATING

For Bed, its existence goes beyond merely providing a venue to party. “We're not as advanced as the West. We don't have a gay newspaper. We don't have a gay TV network. There are very few places where you see positive images of gay men and women in this country. We are still struggling to catch up with the rest of the world in that aspect. It also doesn't help that we are the only country in Asia that is almost completely Catholic. And I think we can all agree that their church hasn't been very nice to our kind. So with the lack of outlets here in Metro Manila, we felt strongly that we had a responsibility to act as an instrument to reach out and get (GLBTQI) advocacy across,” Santos says. “If Bed (is a) place where gay men and women will, at one point in their life, step into even if only to check it out, then we feel we have an obligation to (give them pertinent GLBTQIA information), to be the messenger of change.”

Thus far, Bed’s outreach activities to the GLBTQI community in the Philippines include sponsorship of charities, participation in the Pride celebration, and hosting of events of various GLBTQIA groups and organizations in Metro Manila.
And, no, Bed is far from resting just yet – new plans are being made to make the venue “bigger (with what will) get you moving,” Santos beams.

With that, seemingly in time with the renewed emergence of the GLBTQIA community in the Philippines, Bed, too, “is about to soar.”

Bed Bar celebrates its 7th anniversary on April 30.
Visit Bed Bar at M. Orosa-J. Nakpil Courtyard, Malate, City of Manila; visit bed.com.ph; call (+632) 5363045, or email: info@bed.com.ph.