Greg Wood

Katy Smith, left, and Holly Myers are all smiles on a recent evening at Sassy Ann's.

Greg Wood

Chip Morris, left, and Hannah Daugherty enjoy a drink at Sassy Ann's in North Knoxville.

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No two people will tell you similar accounts of their Knoxville gay bar experiences.

The fact of the matter is that many straight people end up at gay bars for whatever reason. And the gay crowd doesn't frequent gay bars exclusively - there are plenty of other fun clubs in town.

I've been gathering information about the gay bar scene recently, and have made two interesting discoveries.

For example, Sassy Ann's is becoming a popular gay hangout. I've been going to Sassy Ann's for ages and within the past year the crowd has gotten more open.

Their new Friday night karaoke brings in quite an open and colorful crowd, which is mostly male. Many of the karaoke performers address themselves by equally colorful names, making their sexual preference no mystery. The crowd is similar for the insanely popular dance nights on Thursday and Saturday.

This is not to suggest that Sassy's is a gay bar, though I've seen the straight crowd be the minority some evenings. What brings the gay crowd in is the fact that it's an open, friendly and fun environment.

I also recently I headed to Rainbow Club West for the first time. I was surprised at what I found.

The main bar area doesn't look much different than any other bar in town. It's a smoky, dark environment with a few random tables sitting around. And with a smattering of pool tables, it doesn't look much different than the small neighborhood sports bars around.

Not all patrons were of the same race or ethnicity (uncommon for Knoxville bars), but calling it diverse isn't correct, as most people were white males. Everyone looked to be in their late 20s or early 30s, minus a few of the drag queens performing in that night's show.

A handful of small cliques stuck together at tables. Some were wildly dressed. Two or three men were dressed in women's clothing, a couple females had combat boots, and some men chose wild (and clashing) pairings of shirts and ties. It was like a grunge music video, minus the long, stringy hair.

But Rainbow Club has a strange juxtaposition, as down the hallway is a dark performance room with a small stage, runway and a few tables. Loud dance music blasted as a young male did a revealing dance around the stage prior to the drag show.

The two parts of the club have drastically different vibes.

Not everyone was in the showroom, in fact most people hung out at the bar area and opted for a tamer evening.

It seems Rainbow Club serves as a gay-friendly hangout with the same open and friendly environment as Sassy Ann's. But it also has the exciting and provocative back room for those daring to head into it.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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