Whatever happened to that trendy, gotta-be-there every Friday night, hot spot once known as Bonham Exchange? If you're unfamiliar with this lost little gem, it used to be THE place to be for any gay man making his presence known in the Alamo City. I like to refer to it as the Daryl Hannah of this town, it was all the rage in the 80s. It was going places, then suddenly it just lost it's vibe, and who the fuck knows what's happening there now (just like Hannah's vagina). I'll tell you....big fat NOTHING is going on there. No one seems to care that this place was once like our own Studio 54, with people practically stampeding over one another just to get through those plush velvet ropes. Today, it's like leftover lasagna. It's there, you know it is, but you just don't wanna seem to touch it. You'd rather have that two-day old rump roast instead. No one blames you, so don't feel bad.
So this place came up the other day when one of my best friends mentioned to me an article in the San Antonio Current, talking about how I HAD to read it, as if someone I disliked had just died. I did read it, but all I could make out from the piece was "blah, blah, blah...who cares." It was a rehash of a piece I wrote for Spots magazine back in 2004. Yeah, so the likes of artists from Debbie Harry to Tina Turner to Taylor Dayne and even The Ramones once graced the historic landmark. But what's happening there now? Anything to keep the sinking ship afloat. Ugh, poor Hap Veltman must be turning in his grave as I'm blogging this. BX, as it's known to many in the LGBT community around here, was Veltman's baby. He fell in love with the building after his previous club, San Antonio Country had been sold to a conglomerate. After much needed renovations, Bonham Exchange was born. If you look at the website, it reads: "...we have been going strong ever since." Obviously someone isn't keeping up with that site, am I right (elbow nudge....to nobody since I'm sitting at this laptop alone)? Click on the link below for the previously referenced article in the SA Current.
http://www.sacurrent.com/sanantonio/has-the-bonham-exchange-sas-lgbt-mainstay-nightclub-lost-its-way/Content?oid=2448885
So I still haven't been able to figure it out myself. What DID happen to BX? It was a tradition of sorts. Every Friday night, I'd show up before 10pm for free cover, one....sometimes two drinks, and that oh-so-stylish wristband that let all the wannabes know I was a badass because I'd be returning later that night for $1 drinks! No bargains were getting past me. This little weekly ritual gave me time to go home, take a nice long shower, and put on whatever hot little number I had purchased to wear that evening (usually a really tight fitting tee shirt, and jeans that showed off my package). I wasn't the typical twink back then. For those of you not familiar with the term, let me get you up to speed. Twink definition: a gay twentysomething who often thinks his looks will get him anything at the club/bar. I didn't think of myself as some twentysomething little hottie, in fact, I wasn't all that crazy about my looks. They didn't stop me from getting free drinks though, and I was always polite and courteous to anyone who bought me a drink. Ok, let's get back on track....the issue here was the Bonham.
So anyone who was anybody would return to BX for $1 drinks until midnight, then slowly trickle out of the club with their cliques onto what we call here "the gay strip," and as of more recent the "gayborhood" (taken from every other gay friendly neighborhood everywhere). It's a block of Main Street behind San Antonio College where most of the other gay clubs/bars are hidden. For me it was usually the old Saint or Heat. You'd end up here and finish out the night with drinks and dancing. Like I said, it was tradition.
I don't think anyone can really give you a real answer. When I asked my friend, Michael Hernandez, senior morgue specialist for the Bexar County Medical Examiner's office, he attributed part of the problem to parking. PARKING? REALLY? I don't think so. Parking sucked even back in it's heyday, and no one complained. The article made reference to the smell in the building, but if you've been there recently (which for me was one day in April), the only thing I guarantee you will smell is tired and old....if that were ever to be a real scent. Smoking was banned from buildings like 5 years ago, so there's no smoke odor, and unlike a really bad bar known as Silver Dollar Saloon on Main Street, BX does not give that freshly puked aroma. I believe it was the GM Niecy Lewis who was quoted in the above mentioned article about how it's still jumpin at the BX. Of course an employee isn't going to admit their business is now the equivalent of a public library, where there isn't much action in the books anymore, and everything is dusty.
These days, the only twinge of nostalgia I still get from BX is their annual Fiesta San Antonio Battle of Flowers after party. You'll see all of the original (well from back in my day) regulars from the bar all gather there again for this huge party. Don't get me wrong, it's a blast, and I hate missing when I can't make it, but it's like back in it's 2001 all over again. If I had to put my finger on it (and ask anyone, I'm not a finger kinda guy), I'd pinpoint it to sometime around 2006/2007 when it began to fizzle. I don't know what happened, but after about a year hiatus for me, I remember going back, and not having to wait in line. I also noticed more and more heterosexuals frequenting the old gay stomping grounds. It didn't help that they were allowing a local radio station, KTFM, to broadcast there every Saturday night (very, very bad move....and if you don't believe me, ask Barbara what happened to the lesbian bar, Electric Company. What's that, you ask? Exactly!). Also, drinks got smaller, vet staff left to work at other up-and-coming clubs. They weren't dumb, they knew it was the end of an era (ahem....Vicki). Smart move....atta girl!
So to Luke Anthony Schulte who wrote the piece recently in the SA Current, I agree. The days of the Bonham are now a distant memory and it seems they're holding on to whatever they can in a sad attempt to bring in whatever traffic they can. Your lights have dimmed for now, BX, but I have a good feeling you're going to make a comeback. You have to! You can't let Veltman's dream just get buried (no pun intended....ouch!).
