Bay Area Reporter :: Barchive News

B.A.R.'s Bestie balloting begins

September 25, 2023

It's time for Bay Area Reporter readers to cast their ballots for the LGBTQ newspaper's annual Best of the Bay contest.

'P.S. Burn This Letter Please' — fascinating '50s New York drag scene told in new book

by Michael Flanagan
Sep 12, 2023

The discovery of a series of letters addressed to someone named Reno Martin from a writer using the name Daphne talking about drag in New York in the 1950s has led to a fascinating documentary and now a book by Craig Olsen.

The Brave Bull: Modesto bar's still kickin' at nearly 50

by Michael Flanagan
Jun 20, 2023

The Brave Bull opened on Modesto's South 9th Street in 1973, and became a gay bar a year later. At almost 50, it's been the home of drag shows since the '70s, where local and visiting patrons enjoy its inclusive appeal.

'Kids On the Street' - Joseph Plaster's queer Tenderloin history

by Laura Moreno
Feb 28, 2023

An important new scholarly book, "Kids On the Street: Queer Kinship & Religion In San Francisco's Tenderloin" by Joseph Plaster, has unearthed the queer history of 'outsider youth' that has long remained hidden.

Starr-gazing - 'Remember Me, Vicki Starr: The Visual History of a Trans Renegade' uncovers an unknown history

by Michael Flanagan
Dec 13, 2022

The 2021 photography book "Remember Me, Vicki Starr: The Visual History of a Trans Renegade" by Albert Tanquero and Lewis Rawlinson definitively answers the question of whether LGBT performers worked in historic North Beach nightclubs.

BARchive: Between the cities; an LGBTQ history of the Mid-Peninsula

by Michael Flanagan
Nov 1, 2022

Prior to Stonewall, one of the few ways we discover LGBTQ history is through encounters with the law, along with bar openings and closings, as in San Mateo and northern Santa Clara counties.

50 years in 50 weeks: BARtab's 2010 debut

by Jim Provenzano
Jan 6, 2022

When asked to create a nightlife spinoff mini-magazine for the Bay Area Reporter, it took editor Jim Provenzano only a few seconds to devise the title, BARtab. Putting out a monthly second publication took a lot more time.

Tripping through history: 'The Letters of Thom Gunn' as a roadmap to San Francisco's past

by Michael Flanagan
Dec 22, 2021

'The Letters of Thom Gunn' is both an intimate portrait of the poet and a window on the development of what would become gay and leather culture, and the rise of the hippies and drug culture.

50 years in 50 weeks; 2008's loved 'shack

by Jim Provenzano
Dec 21, 2021

In the second week of August, 2008, a beloved drag show reached its zenith, as host Heklina hosted the last weekly Trannyshack night at The Stud before exporting it to DNA Lounge and other larger venues.

50 years in 50 weeks: The Gangway, 'still here' in 2005

by Jim Provenzano
Dec 2, 2021

A classic neighborhood bar, The Gangway was a tiny yet cozy tavern noted for its exterior décor of a boat's bowsprit. Inside, colorful locals drank from the early hours.

Larry Townsend: celebrating the man behind 'The Leatherman's Handbook'

by Michael Flanagan
Sep 21, 2021

Being Folsom Week, we dive into the early roots of leather culture, specifically in California. 'The Life and Times of Larry Townsend: Saluting the 50th Anniversary of The Leatherman's Handbook,' by Jack Fritscher, is a festive romp.

GLBT History Museum to screen rare Gay Games videos

by Jim Provenzano
Aug 27, 2021

As part of its ongoing Mighty Reel series, the GLBT Historical Museum will screen excerpts from videotapes of the first two Gay Games, held in San Francisco in 1982 and 1986.

Romanovsky and Phillips: gay music duo's fascinating, groundbreaking history

by Michael Flanagan
Aug 10, 2021

Incredible as it seems, it has now been more than 20 years since Romanovsky and Phillips called it quits. Part of the reason it seems so amazing is that accolades continue to pour in about them all these years later.

50 years in 50 weeks: 1986 - Call me

by Jim Provenzano
Jul 22, 2021

Determined to pick some prominent arts event from 1986's Bay Area Reporter issues, what stuck out more prominently was the high number of phone sex ads.

50 Years in 50 Weeks: 1978, Glad to be Gay

by Jim Provenzano
May 27, 2021

While the Tom Robinson Band, then known for the inspiring folk-derived anthem, "Glad to be Gay," had a performance at the Old Waldorf (444 Battery St.), the venue's promoters used the ad to politicize their pro-gay presence.

BARtab :: BARchive