WHEN
MANAGERS
AT
THE
former
dance
club
Jungle
considered
changing
their
format
in
2007,
a
country-themed
gay
bar
was
not
a
thought
that
had
crossed
anyone’s
mind.
But
after
Hoedowns
closed
unexpectedly
last
year,
Jungle
owner
Brad
Williams
and
his
staff
rethought
their
plans
and
realized
there
was
an
opportunity.
They
opted
to
provide
a
new
home
for
gay
country
western
fans,
and
then
decided
to
toss
in
some
variety
throughout
the
week.
Next
weekend,
the
Wild
Mustang
celebrates
its
first
anniversary,
complete
with
a
mechanical
bull,
a
line
dance
competition,
a
two-step
contest,
a
$500
balloon
drop
and
door
prizes.
“We
bring
the
mechanical
bull
in
every
so
often,
every
few
months
or
so,”
says
Cam
Murphy,
the
club’s
booking
manager.
“It’s
something
different.
It
takes
up
space,
so
we
can’t
do
it
all
the
time,
but
everyone
seems
to
enjoy
it
when
it’s
here.”
THE
CHANGE
IN
FORMAT
came
when
Jungle
management
saw
“the
whole
scene”
changing,
Murphy
says.
“We
got
a
sense
that
people
wanted
fun,
not
big
entertainment,
not
something
that
was
hit
or
miss,”
she
says.
“We
were
looking
for
a
format
change,
and
this
sort
of
fell
in
our
laps.”
The
staff
turned
the
place
around
pretty
quickly,
installing
a
wood
dance
floor
and
changing
the
decor.
At
the
time,
no
one
knew
that
a
new
establishment,
3
Legged
Cowboy,
would
open
at
the
former
home
of
Hoedowns
a
few
months
later.
But
Murphy
says
having
two
bars
with
a
country
western
flavor
in
town
is
not
a
deterrent,
noting
that
each
seems
to
have
found
their
own
crowds
and
niches.
“It’s
healthy
competition,”
she
says.
Murphy
notes
that
while
the
Wild
Mustang
is
most
known
as
a
country
western
bar,
the
club
has
“events
for
all
groups.”
“We
are
not
country
western
100
percent
of
the
time,”
she
says.
ON
FRIDAYS,
THE
CLUB
FEATURES
a
popular
Latin
Night
with
DJ
Carlito,
who
spins
high-energy
dance
music.
On
Mondays,
the
Wild
Mustang
is
home
to
the
Stars
of
the
Century,
an
African-American
drag
show
that
has
been
performing
locally
for
more
than
15
years.
During
off
days,
the
bar
hosts
events
such
as
fundraisers
and
pageants.
Still,
Murphy
says
that
“Saturday
is
our
country
night,
and
it’s
the
biggest
night.”
She
feels
the
club
found
its
niche
for
several
reasons.
“We
don’t
get
into
a
lot
of
mudslinging
here,”
she
says.
“Everyone
is
welcome.
There
is
a
lot
of
diversity.
Everywhere
you
look
here,
there
are
smiling
faces.
It’s
really
about
coming
here
and
having
fun.”
The
club
has
its
fair
share
of
both
men
and
women,
she
says.
“Thursdays
is
called
Ladies
Night,
but
to
be
honest,
we
have
women
here
almost
every
night,”
she
says.
The
Wild
Mustang
is
happy
to
be
one
of
the
few
establishments
in
town
where
gay
men
and
lesbians
can
co-exist
and
intermingle,
and
proud
to
offer
a
certain
intimacy
as
well.
“We
have
places
here
where
you
can
just
hang
out,
sit
and
talk,
play
pool,
and
escape
the
craziness
of
the
dance
floor,”
Murphy
says.
“These
spaces
have
a
sort
of
pub
appeal.”
WETbar
to
close
ThunderFlower,
the
conglomerate
company
that
owns
the
pub
Blake’s
on
the
Park
and
dance
club
WETbar,
confirmed
to
its
employees
on
Sept.
4
that
WETbar’s
last
night
will
be
Saturday,
Sept.
27.
Management
confirmed
the
closure
on
Tuesday,
saying
that
Blake’s
will
continue
unfettered
by
the
decision
to
close
WETbar.
Until
then,
WETbar
continues
its
format
of
special
guests,
with
plans
set
for
international
DJ
Gomi
on
Sept.
13
and
Samantha
Ronson
on
Sept.
26.
The
venue
went
through
other
gay
club
incarnations,
including
club
Blu.
It
re-opened
as
WETbar
in
2005
after
$900,000
in
renovations.
WETbar
was
one
of
the
few
gay
dance
bars
in
Atlanta
after
the
ballyhooed
closure
of
Backstreet
in
2004.
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
PrestonB on 9/13/089:47 AM:
WETbar closing is old news. www.OutAtlanta411.com has had this on their site since 9/4/08.
ForWhatItsWorth on 9/13/0811:59 AM:
ah, but has anyone other than yourself read it? :-(
PrestonB on 9/14/0812:50 PM:
I don't want to use this as that forum, but I'm sure that I am not the only person in Atlanta to read their site!
