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The Power Company: Tired or Trendy? X
The Power Company of Durham. Mention
that bar to p»eople and you're likely to
get a variety of responses--from flawless
to scary.
Recently, a group of UNC students and
Chapel Hill residents were asked about
their impressions of the night club, which
is located in downtown Durham on the loop.
Open 9-until Wednesday to Sunday, it is
the closest gay bar to the UNC campus.
The bar is at press time in the process of
remodelling, which brought cheers from
those interviewed. The old decor, in
Don's eyes, was “nasty and dirty."
Several hope the dance floor is improved.
One consequence, of the renovation was that
no one from the bar was available to
comment on this article.
Of the pteople questioned, about half
considered themselves frequent goers, at
least once every two weeks. Most of the
others were at one time frequent goers but
felt as if they had "outgrown" the bar
scene. Molly said she was tired of the
endless pick-ups and come-ons.
Alex felt the gay bar serves a useful
purpose for the gay and lesbian community,
but that this purpose is exhausted in
time. "Many times it is a person's first
exposure to the gay lifestyle. Those
first coming out tend to go to the bars a
lot because it gives them a place to be
themselves. People can display their
feelings without fear because they know
they are not alone. But generally once a
person becomes more secure with his/her
sexuality, they no longer feel the need to
go out to the bar often."
Most people saw the bar as a place to
dance and meet friends. Others cited the
hope of finding Mr. or Ms. Right as their
primary reason for going. But only a few
said that they went, looking for a one-
night stand. As Tom put it, "If sex
happens, that's great, but I don't go
their looking for a man for the night."
The music played at the Power Company
was mentioned often, with most liking the
mainstream disco usually played. But many
liked the Thursday night set of "alter
native music." Says Jamie, "The bar has
finally learned that not all college
students like disco."
Virtually everyone agreed that the Power
Comp»any was not a place to go alone. Greg
states, "I never go alone, if for no
other reason than to be guaranteed a dance
partner." Those who go alone tend to feel
isolated because the bar tends to be very
cliquish, with a high level of "attitude"
on the part of the patrons. Leon says,
"The only people you'll find there are
pretentious, fake people." But. others,
like Garrett, had no trouble mingling
among the cliques.
One of the more controversial subjects
discussed about the Power Company was its
racist reputation. Some people say that
blacks are not encouraged to go. This is
not to say that Blacks are not admitted,
but that "the bar caters to the most
lucrative crowd, which is white males,"
according to Angela. One person claimed
that the bar had a quota--so many Blacks
are let in, but no more. Such a claim
could not be substantiated. This person
went on to say that if too many Blacks
were admitted, then people would perceive
the bar as a "Black bar" which is not what
the staff wants. Robert, a Black male
who goes to the bar rarely says that
although he knows the bar to be racist and
sexist he has gone a few times and "paid
for his own oppression." Once inside, he
says the bar is "tired, just plain tired."
Some of the white people questioned were
not. aware of any racism on the part of the
bar. Mike, however, said, "If you want to
change the bar, then you must change the
attitude of the racist people who go
there, not the racist owners." Jim sees
that although the bar is not perfect, it
has made recent strides to try to improve
racial relations there, more so than the
bar in Raleigh, the Capital Corral. "I
would not lay one penny on the counter of
the CC," he said.
Another area of controversy is the
apparent lack of community involvement, on
the part of the bar. Besides providing a
place to dance and socialize, the Power
Company does not get involved in community
action, like many bars in other cities.
As Alex said, "As much money as that bar
takes in from gay people each week, you'd
think they could put. some of it back into
the community. But do you see the Power
Company holding AIDS benefit shows,
sponsoring health clinics, allowing gay
groups to hold meetings at the bar, or
donating money to the gay organizations in
the. area? No!" Robert claimed that the
bar did nothing at all for the community
except "adding to our dependence on
alcohol." While most people feel that
this situation is unlikely to change as
long as the bar is owned by a straight
man. It must be noted, however, that the
bar does distribute literature by the
Lesbian and Gay Health Project and that
the bar's advertising in The Front Page
has kept that newspaper going.
Rumors continually spread that a new
gay bar will open in the area soon, but
for now, like it or not, the Power Company
is the only bar we've got without driving
to Raleigh oR Greensboro. -Ja»es Mills
SINCE 1960
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