West Hollywood's Rage Closes Permanently

Rage rage against the dying of the light

One door closes; another opens.

Wow. That was place was an institution. One of the first places to dance as it was 18+, not 21+ like all of the bars surrounding it. Very sad.

Outrageous!

Jackie Beat: I just heard that the iconic gay bar & dance club RAGE in West Hollywood has permanently closed. This is so sad. Even though I consider myself more of a Silverlake kinda queen than WeHo, there was a time – back in the day – when Rage was my stomping grounds. Rage opened in 1983 and I discovered it around 1986 when I came out of the closet. I went every Monday night, when they played the best alternative music and the crowd was much quirkier than the usual parade of tanned, bleached Ken dolls in Southwestern pastels. One of my favorite outfits I ever wore there (every Monday was a new opportunity to be creative) consisted of a white dress shirt with French cuffs & cufflinks, an Art Deco tie, suit jacket, dress socks with sock garters, ox-blood wingtips – all vintage, of course – worn with a pair of silk boxer shorts. In my horn-rimmed glasses, two-toned pompadour with cowboy boot sideburns and, yes, the ever-popular goatee, I looked like I had simply forgotten my pants. Rage was a place of so many firsts for me: I met my first boyfriend, Adrian, there. I had my very first art show there featuring grainy, photocopied green & rust-hued negative pics I had taken of nude men with my oh-so-serious poetry superimposed over it. My mom, Liliana, even attended the Sunday afternoon opening reception and when a guy in nothing but a neon green g-string skated up to the bar, right next to her, and ordered a Zima, she gave him the once over while sipping her vodka stinger and dryly said, “Thank you so much for dressing for the occasion.” Rage was also the very first place Jackie Beat ever performed – at an open mic talent contest, which I won. I would later perform my very first song parody there (“Vague,” a send-up of Madonna’s “Vogue”). My best friend Carl and I even shared an apartment on Larrabee (Angelyne was our neighbor!), right up the street from Rage so we could drink and dance and flirt with guys until 2 AM every night and simply stagger home, dripping in sweat. And when we weren’t dancing to songs by S’Express, Marc Almond or My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult at Rage we were at ACT/UP demonstrations or yet another benefit because lurking behind every amazing song, every cute look, every beautiful young man was the threat of AIDS.

Goodbye Rage. And thank you for being such a big part of what has made me who I am today.

In olden days of Rage forgotten,

Young hunks were look upon as hot

Then, Heaven Knows, Co-Vid BLOWS!

any bars left that have male strippers?

Are any bars in LA open now? Or not yet?

OMG.

Another institution.

R7, go-go boys? I believe Micky's and Fubar still had some. No place where they go all nude though. Somebody ratted out Micky's years ago for naughty behavior and the police raided the place and it was shut down for a month.

R8, no bars open now. They were allowed to reopen for like one week and then ordered to shut down again.

KROQ night 18+ on Mondays in the late 90's, early 2000's was so much fun. I hope these other bars can last.

Damn. That's where I got my first case of the clap.

We used to call it Rah-zhey. The sorbet between Abbey and Fubar/Akbar.

Jackie Beat elegy is dead-on. Such sad, sentimental news - if not unexpected. Want will survive this raging fire of pandemic?

Maybe Jackie could buy it and call it Beats?

sad.

Wherever else can I go to pick up on some of LA's finest twinks? Guess Tiger Heat is still around.

There are times when the go-gos at Fubar will pull out their dicks, depending who the dancers are.

I always get Rage and Mickey’s mixed up. They’re side by side, right?

RIP

R19, they're very close to each other but on different blocks. Fiesta Cantina is in between them.

Thanks R20. One of them I went to all the time and the other I went to never. I’d go to the two bars on each corner of Santa Monica and Larrabee and then I’d walk west and go to either Rage or Mickeys. You’d walk in on the right side of the front entrance. There would be a dance floor in back. The bar was generally a long island in the middle. You could turn left and sit out front on the sidewalk which was cordoned off. Sometimes, there would be a tiny enclosed bar out near the front patio on left side of building. I think there might have been an upstairs.

I feel like I could be conflating the two or describing them both lol.

R21, that sounds a little more like Micky's. The layouts are actually quite similar for both. Rage has two staircases though.

R19 / R21 - totally agree. In 20+ years of going, I still forget which one is Rage and Mickys. Hopefully at least one stays open - they were kinda interchangeable.

R478, Rage is the younger crowd, twinks. Micky's skews a little older than that.

Now that Rage is closing, no more West Hollywood 18+ night bars for you, college twinks.

Between Gym, Flaming Saddles and Rage is there any hope of at least one replacement when things settle down or whatever?

R25, when things get back to normal again, I have a hope/hunch there are enough enterprising people with money who will see that people miss these spaces and can fill that void.

The first time I visited LA was in1992 and I drove from the South Bay to Santa Monica Blvd and back then you could easily park behind Rage.

Going back and forth to Rage and Mickey's is mind-blowing to someone from a smaller town in the midwest or East coast where maybe there is one gay bar within an hour or so.

People still go to bars?

I miss the old days when "straight" guys would go to a gay bar if forced by their beard girlfriends. One of the best fucks of my life was a local college baseball player who swung both ways.

I'm with R27. I moved to LA in 1992 and came out in '94. Mickey's had an 18+ night that my college friends and I would go to; Rage was way too intense for me as a little burgeoning gaylet. And the gay bookstore A Different Light was along there, along with a little coffee shop called Six Gallery, which literally was the first gay place I ever went to. I'm really sorry to hear that Rage is closing. I ended up having a lot of really good times there.

I live in NYC now and Flaming Saddles in HK seems to be hanging on

Sad news. I had just moved to LA and remember dancing there to "Like a Prayer".....87 years ago.

I'm old enough to remember Uncle Charlie's. Sad, but the world goes on.

I remember when Gable and Harlow would come around the corner to Holloway and Barney's Beanery for some chili.

I'll be sad if Trunks or the Mother Lode go under. I hope they stick around.

There’s 15 versions of the same bar and then motherlode + Fubar. So the shutdown of the current iteration of Rage isn’t so sad? But I understand it from a sentimental perspective. WeHo is long overdue a revamp in terms of the type of gay nightlife it promotes. Insane rents don’t leave any room for variety. I‘ll echo R26 in that I hope the pandemic is going to allow new fresh gay nightlife to grow.

R13 - We used to call it Rage the same thing. Like the same with Target

One of the things that sucks about the death of these small dance clubs is the ability to meet people. When you are on the dance floor you can meet, dance and flirt with so many guys. There is no pressure to talk or order a drink. It's just dancing and then it can go to one of those things. Once the lounges came in (remember East/West where the old/new Revolver is - the posh gay bar), people became more cliquish. It's just easier to stay with the people you know. The Abbey used to be a coffee shop which was awesome as a gay teen to be around other gays. I'm 40 and I miss those days.

I remember when the Abbey was a coffee shop, too. I was there a lot 94-01. The Dustin Lance Black days.

Is there any place in the country with as high a concentration of gay bars and clubs in a relatively small area as Weho?

The Abbey coffeehouse was my favorite place to hang out in LA.

I knew it wouldn't last as it was though since there were so many large back rooms that led to more large rooms, which is what I loved about it.

I went to The Abbey for the first time in September 2001 after one of the Madonna concerts (we hit the Motherload as well). I was visiting from San Diego.

I didn’t realise it was so new!

God, I remember the talent night contests hosted by "The Lovely Carol" She was brilliant!

Agree R36 - I don’t understand the absence of little dance clubs. They were great to let loose, have fun and meet guys. If you can’t loosen up enough to dance, how do you let down your guard to talk to someone. The death of dancing is one of the most painful, sad changes of the past 20 years / internet age.

Was it Rage or Mickey’s that had the bartenders with the shitty stuck up attitudes? I’m thinking back to the early 2000’s when I would visit L.A.

R43, that attitude sounds more like Rage. They also gave watered-down, expensive drinks.

Mickeys was much more accepting with less attitude (by WeHo standards) - which is why it attracted older gays. Met a lot of fun people there over the years.

R45, once fame and hype got to its head, the Abbey also developed some attitude (bartenders and security). It was a kinder, gayer place in the early '00s.

Gay bars are so 2005.

R43 - It was definitely Rage. The old Mickeys that burned down was super chill, like a motherland vibe but a little younger. They had the best beer busts on Saturdays out on the patio. I think the new Mickeys was better than the Rage of today. It was a great place to go after hanging out at the San Vicente Inn pool - there were some hot naked guys. It was like a bathhouse but without the grit. It is now a private club Bungalow.

I'm surprised it held out so long.

So is anything open on the WeHo strip now? Are all the bars closed? Or are some of them serving food to get around rules?

R50, good question. I haven't been out there since well before the pandemic. I imagine Fiesta Cantina allows some limited outdoor seating and takeout.

Fiesta, The Abbey, The Bayou, Roccos, St. Felix, Pump, Hi Tops are all open for outdoor seating but you have to order at least 1 food item.

I lived at Rage and Mickeys in the late 90s.

Nobody went to the Motherlode?

So this is where Trump admitted what a liar he is? I did not see that coming.

Is West Hollywood as intimidating as I imagine it is?

R54 - Yes! It was the last place I went after they announced the pandemic, but before they issued the lockdown the next day in March. Everyone was on edge if someone even hinted at a cough. People still go there.

R56, no, not intimidating IMO. Most people are cool and just want to go out for a fun time. There are some cliquey and/or bitchy people, but who cares about them, and that's any gayborhood in any big city. I have heard other people from out of town express that same opinion however.

[quote]God, I remember the talent night contests hosted by "The Lovely Carol" She was brilliant!

I remember her, she was great! Like a drag queen but a real woman.

If I recall correctly, Rage was one of the very first gay bars in Los Angeles to come out of the closet so to speak and have doors open to the street. French doors where people could see in to a gay bar was shocking! In contrast, Micky's back then was called the 4 Star and all you could see was a wood door as the front entrance. That's how all the gay bars were. Partially for our own safety.

R56 - WeHo is not intimidating at all. People in LA in general are pretty friendly, even if it's just superficially. There are so many bars that there is really something for everyone. Different thread but I think the gay scene in WeHo overall is much more welcoming than NYC.

R60 I believe that when The Blue Parrot opened in the 70's it was the first bar to have plate glass windows that opened on to the street when all the other bars hid their patrons from view. From what I recall someone threw a Molotov Cocktail through one of the windows, after which the plate glass was replaced by glass blocks. That may have been when the Blue Parrot was replaced by Revolver in 1981. You can see the interior of the Blue Parrot in the clip below starting at 1:27.

Last time I was there it was all trannies. Weho is tranny central now. The real GAY bars are all in silver lake.

R63, I don't know what you are talking about because I have never noticed that once. I feel like people like you just make shit up without even knowing what you're saying.

And btw, Silver Lake, sadly, has been losing gay bars and they've been mainly turned into straight places. What gay bars are even still open there? Akbar (mixed), the Eagle. What else?

Silverlake was over with the death of MJ's. Is Faultline still around? It's Silverlake adj

Wow, thanks for that R62. I remember the glass block but I guess the window was before my time. I only knew it as Revolver and knew it was called the Blue Parrot but never saw it in person.

Notice how in the video they talk about Gay Liberation not LGBTQXYZ. Just saying.

r63, maybe you visited during a RPDR hosting night.

If you haven't been to Faultline in a few years, you will be Back to the Future shocked at how it has turned into a lame West Hollywood type place.

Gay bars always open and close. The fact that this one survived 37 years is a miracle.

More gay bars will come to take its place. They always do.

R71 - well, yes - but they are now less distinguishable from straight bars. Expensive drinks, hardly any dancing, everyone staring at their phones.

I weep for the death of our gay nightlife scene. I know it's dramatic, but it used to be SOOO good. There were a lot more places and things weren't insanely expensive. And there were crowds.

[quote] I weep for the death of our gay nightlife scene.

Mary!

You're just getting older, that's all.

There is a really fun bar in the valley called The Bullet Bar - it's like on the Burbank/Noho border. It's a drive over the hill, but they have a mixed crowd, cheap drinks, a big outdoor space, and events each night that are engaging. I hope they make it - the owners seem like good people and they've retained their staff for a long time.

In 1987. Getting out of a white stretch limo in front of Rage with six of my best buddies from Florida. Dancing and tooting the nite away. We picked up Nick Icona aka Joey Stefano and all wound up back in a hot tub in the hills with John Corbin.

Everyone was much more 'present' then. Things were more exciting in the bars because you didn't have your phone and the apps to fall back on. It was pickup at the bar or head to a glory hole establishment or a public park.

I agree about Bullet Bar. Some nights echo the way Spike in Weho used to be decades ago: Wild and fun.

Spike!!!!! I totally forgot about that place. I met a great love when I was trying to score coke before a rave.. I miss after hours. Is that still a thing? I don't think I could party all night anymore without the next week ruined.

Spike used to be the most fun place in weho. WILD. I loved it.

R72: I just turned 55 and I'm just happy I was able to go out and have a great time.

The Spike has been gone for years, like maybe a decade or so.

[quote]Gay bars always open and close. The fact that this one survived 37 years is a miracle. More gay bars will come to take its place. They always do.

NOPE! Sorry Gramps, you live in a bubble trapped in time. Gay bars are not coming back. They have been dying out for the past 10 to 15 years. Gay acceptance, straights going to gay bars and hook up apps have killed the gay bars. Younger gays don't feel threatened anymore and don't get or see a reason to go to gay bars. Older gays who owned the business are selling out literally to the highest bidder, holding out for a gay friendly buyer is not in their Boomer all about me and my retirement plan that they care about.

Lots of people blame the young gays for not caring about the bars, but there are two sides to that story. Every gay bar I know that has closed down was owned by older gay men looking for millions in retirement and NONE of them sold with the intention of keeping it gay. Oh, they gave it lip service, but in practice they went with the highest cash out. I'm looking at you Ripples LB and Boom Boom Laguna.

Wait, R75 - THIS John Corbin?

Isn’t this where Hollywood’s chicken hawks would send their people to pick up barey18 year olds? What will they do now? I suppose tik tok allows for online shopping now.

You have to be 21 and over to drink in California R84. That whole chicken hawk thing died out 20 years ago. Rage skewed 25 -35 something.

R83 Yep all 6'4" of him.

Remember Numbers??? I was to young for the OG one one Sunset but the Number above the now closed gym bar? That was during the Spike era. You could go there under 21 and old men would buy drinks, etc. Not having an open whore bar is also a loss. I've been to clubs all over the world, but there was something about the late 90's Numbers that was unique.

R83 R86 don't even know the correct name of the person they are referring to

Because Bo Derek's live-in boyfriend for the last two decades is always trolling Santa Monica Blvd

Ug. So sad.

I never had a crowd that hit the bars. I'd go myself and am an LA 4 and a midwest 6.

Couldn't connect.

There were a few trips to the Abbey and other places sometimes when the stars aligned.

I was always cautious back in the day, fear of AIDS. Now, it's fear of COVID.

Fear. Fear. Fear.

Sigh.

R84 Now they cruise high schools and check Grindr.

[quote]Remember Numbers???

Yep. I remember the original one on Sunset where the Laugh Factory is. You didn't go there so trolls would buy you free drinks Dear, they expected something in return. It was a true piss elegant hustler bar. Young men selling themselves to older men by choice. Supposedly, the bar tenders used to wear numbers on their shirt to easily identify them. But it was the patrons who were the hustlers. I went there a few times just to people watch as did others. So you never knew who was there for work and who was there to have a drink and dine in a gay establishment.

The space was kind of bazaar 70's glam. You entered from the back of the building into a pink mirrored room on all side where the bathrooms were located. Then a cheesy spiral stairway down into the main floor. Along one wall was the bar and across were red leather booths. Believe it or not, they served really good food. Fancy things like escargot in garlic butter!

It wasn't unusual to see really expensive flashy cars pull up around black like Rolls Royce and limos. (it was the 80's) Rumor has it that several boys never returned or seen again after tricking with some old rich closet gays. It was a lot of fun just to watch. I never made it to the new location across for the gym, that seemed like such a sterile location by compassion.

FYI there was a second hustler bar in the area also known for working boys at the time but not as popular. I think it was called The Carriage Trade.

Is Pump still open? Never understood what that bar was selling. Rich? White? Glam?

And the Abbey solders on.

R84, that would be Tiger Heat where, psssst, you could have gotten in with a Fake ID. Is that event even still around?

R93 Pump is a restaurant

R38: yes, the Castro in SF has 11 gay bars within a 2-block area. Six of them are open for outdoor drinking & dining, and two others are open for “to-go” service only. Only one (Badlands) has shut permanently due to COVID.

Thanks R97

So Pump is like SUR; primarily a restaurant with a bar that serves bachelorette parties. Looks like it’s on quite a prime corner location. Too bad.

I've never been to Pump -- it looks even less appealing that Here Lounge was.

Here Lounge closed? I alway liked it as a more low key option from Abbey. Now Hi-Tops is a good pace - relatively chill for WeHo.

Pump at least has stayed in business for six years. Every other business in that prime location has closed down within a couple years for decades.

Sid Luft owned Faultlne when he was married to Judy Garland and her signature in concrete is still behind the bar.

Judy's signature in concrete at Faultline

[quote]I've never been to Pump

Dont waste your money, Pump sucks. The ONLY reason it was popular is because the owner was one of the Beverly Hills Housewives (Lisa Vanderpump) and they filmed there once and a while. So of course all the wannabe discovered gays and straights flock there pretending it's just for the food hoping the cameras show up so they can look like an extra in the background of a shitty reality show.

LVPs restaurants were always crappy. Even before RHoBH, I never understood their appeal. Except hey were in the right neighborhood,

Never fear, the Bird Cage is coming near.

fascinating. I didn't know there were plans for that corner. It will certainly improve the look. Right across the street from the Abbey.

Everything on N Robertson is going to be so expensive. They are smart. The Abbey is already where gay and straight go. A bird cage theme style is going to have everyone wanting to eat there and then to the Abbey for drinks. I think there is a boutique hotel coming in.

I posted that Bird Cage thing, it's supposed to happen as part of the take down of Studio One. It's a distraction for bulldozing Studio One as a landmark and replacing it with a hotel and shopping center. Sigh.

The best comment I read about the Bird Cage idea was "It's absurd and garish the perfect city to put it in" LOL I am sure it will be popular.

[quote]Everything on N Robertson is going to be so expensive

Going to be? Have you been living under a rock? You cant buy a shitty 2 bedroom house there for under 2 million dollars. It's been that way for 2 decades!

That corner could use some sprucing up. That hamburger place is a dump.

Remember Faces in East St. Louis?

If anyone didn't know, Flaming Saddles is OUT

Flaming Saddles, Rage, The Brit in Long Beach, and Ripples are all out of business this year. I wont be surprised if more fallow. Some gay or gay friendly restaurants closed too. Cafe D'Etoile in West Hollywood for mysterious reasons without warning just before Covid. And in LB Cafe Piccolo permanently closed due to Covid.

Ripples just from poor management and greed selling out to the highest bidder. The two old troll made 4 million selling it to some burger and brew chain. It wont be gay. Irronicly, one of them just got Covid according to my Facebook connection with him. Dude was laughing all over FB about how they sold their place just before the pandemic.

I'm actually low key excited for Bottega Louie to open up.

R112 it closed down this year

Has Flaming Saddles ever done well? I moved to Europe for a couple of years in around 2013 and when I got back, Flaming Saddles was there. It has never seem crowded or lively whenever I have walked by. Was this a NYC bar import? What's going in it's place?

It's astonishing Cafe d'Etoile was still open until this year. It was there when I moved to LA in 1993.

I am bummed about Cafe d'Etoile, they had decent food and it was nice to know some places remain the same with so much turnover in the area. Lost of history there. I wish they would have at least just gave people a weeks heads up that they were closing so we could go one last time, hundreds of people chimed in about wanting to do that. But they just closed their doors without warning and said that's it.

R115 I am aware of no binding contractual mechanism by which a seller can demand a buyer keep a business gay, an Irish bar, a tea shop, or anything else. If these guys were selling to retire, they'd be crazy to accept anything but the most favourable terms.

OK Boomer. Well than you are not very educated about gay history R121 are you? There is no "mechanism" to demand anything, it was a gay version of a gentleman's agreement that once a gay bar was established, if you wanted to get out you would try to sell it to someone who would keep it gay. It's part of what the gay movement was about in the early days. Not just protest or parades, but establishing business roots in a community. It's not always about the money. But if you are a Boomer or their spawn, you probably don't understand that.

And by the way Irish pubs, Jewish delis and the like always seemed to have a way to keep it within the ethnic group back in the day without any mechanism either.

I'm sure there will be more to come.

Cafe d'toile was the worst. There were/are some eldergays that would literally eat there every single day. That place was so not good.

Rock Hudson's fave haunt was Cafe d'toile. He cruised us when we were young and pretty. As a cocky gayling I thought is was a snooze. Full of moldy old queens noshing before they hit Numbers. We called it Cafe d'toilet.

Rumors have been swirling about that Gold Coast and Oil Can Harry's are both never coming back.

Gold Coast closed permanently

I wish somebody would bring back Spike in all its sleazy glory.

Gold Coast is closed. They had a say goodbye to the bar 2-3 weeks ago where people could stop by. I wouldn't doubt Oil Can Harry's is on the chopping block. It's prime Studio City. Im praying the Bullet Bar doesn't close down. It's worth driving to the valley for.

I remember begrudgingly walking into Oil Can Harry's four years ago (looking for an excuse not to go initially), and I ended up having a blast that night. Not a fan of country music/line dancing, etc. but somehow, this worked on all levels, and we all had a great time. Even the cranky doorman managed a smile on our way out (maybe because we were leaving?)

So - you know what this all means?

We have to donate until it hurts to keep our gay neighborhoods and bars/restaurants alive.

This is an opportunity (once the plague is over). We have to create our spaces again - and now we can do it differently, in whatever manner it is.

We have to support re-openings wherever they may be.

Gold Coast had a parking lot. Though it wouldn't be the same, the could have moved tables outside if allowed. If you are going to allow "beer gardens" to operate in conjunction with a food truck for outdoor drinking, you might as well let the bars have a fighting chance.

[quote]Cafe d'toile was the worst. There were/are some eldergays.

Actually there food was pretty good for the price. And that's the thing that kept them in business for 30 years. I'v seen dozens of other restraints try and make it on that street, none of them seem to last more than a few years and 3 times the price. If I wanted to look at hot twink I could just go to one of the bars. It's a restaurant not a dating app.

[quote]I'm sure there will be more to come.

That's not going to happen. Gay Bars existed in a very special time in history when they were safe places to go for gay men to meet. Times have changed, gay people under the age of 40 don't feel the need to go to a gay only establishment. Plus even straight bars are going out of business because of Covid.

Good luck and try opening up a gay only bar where straights don't want to invade. What business person is going to limit their profits only to the gay community when they can cater to everyone? When those bars first opened decades ago, they were cheap to set up and run. And gays didn't expect much. Now it costs several million if you wanted to open one up in the same location.

When they are gone, they are gone. Sad.

Hopefully Motherload can hold on.

Also in Los Angeles .... Club Cobra over in The Valley Where that Slut Brooke Logan is from has closed permanently.

The owners are going to try to set up a studio where they stream go-go shows, etc. (I believe it's going to be subscriber-based like an OnlyFans thing.)

I went to Cobra once when I picked up some Aussie cub at The Eagle who was here on vacation because I wanted to fuck him and he and his friend were all wild to see the place. I hated it and left and went down the street to Bullet and went home with a couple.

Last time I stopped in at Club Cobra it was packed and everybody there looked like they were having a great time. Too bad it's closing. Although if you're looking for a good sleazy time, Bullet Bar is a much better bet.

Cobra is a dance club full of drag queens, fag hags and Latin boys. If that's your speed, have at it.

Yes. There were lots of trans girls there. And lots of very cute latin boys. I wonder where they'll go now?

Bullet Bar on the other hand can be really wild, with sex all over the place.

Are you sure about Bullet Bar? I used to live in Toluca Lake, so that was my go-to place when I felt like having a beer or if I was going to meet up with someone. I've been there many, many times. I found it a very low key, divey, neighborhood gay bar whose clientele leaned toward the bear variety. I've been there when it's been super packed and I've been there when it's been just a handful and I never saw sex all over the place. I stopped going about three years ago because I moved across town, and to get me into a bar it has to be super convenient and spur of the moment, so no more Bullet.

R134 this was referring to more bars closing

r141. Yep. You just have to know which nights to go. They put up a tent in back which becomes a backroom type thing and it's an orgy. I've also had guys tell me that there's sex at the Eagle on certain nights.

Bullet is fun. The only 'raunchy' bar still left. I hope they hang in there.

Yes, R141 - I was referring to the Bullet. Now with all the dive closed and the sanitation of Silverlake, there aren't that many bars like this left. It still has mix of all ages, the guys are really friendly, the bartenders are cool, and the drinks are cheap. Akbar sucks, MJ's closed a long time ago, Faultline I heard isn't fun anymore, and I'm not into the Eagle bear scene. What's left in WeHo - The Abbey, Motherload, Mickeys, Revolver, Bayou, Hi Tops, Roccos - the newer ones aren't that fun.