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Not just a Phase

Iconic D.C. lesbian bar celebrates 40 years

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(DC Agenda video by Steve Fox)

Time is a blur of memories for the Phase 1 “back-in-the-day” old school crew. It’s not senility or old age — these D.C. lesbians are only in their 50s and early 60s. It’s just that events and dates blur together for them like they do for everyone else.

It’s Sunday night about 8:30. Phase manager Angela Lombardi has gathered a few women whose histories are inextricably linked to the bar for interviews in anticipation of this weekend’s 40th anniversary festivities. The subject nobody can manage to agree on is when longtime manager Mary Knowles, who ran the bar for about 13 years, died.

Pam Porter, who tended bar at the Phase from 1975 until about four years ago, tries to pinpoint the date by whom she was dating at the time. She met all her girlfriends at the Phase and half of them worked there with her — Cheryl Gordon for 17 years, Ellie Seelow for four years, Keri Boyd for two-and-a-half years and PJ Felt for the last 12 years. Porter and her longtime gal pal Jean Homza, another former Phase employee, try to nail down the year.

“I know it was November,” Homza says.

“I’m trying to think who I was with at the time,” Porter says with a giggle.

“It must have been the early 2000s,” Homza says. “Because, well let’s see, she was here, what, 13 or 14 years? And she started in, what, about ’84?”

They pause and just stare at each other for a second while the memory wheels keep turning.

“No, that doesn’t make sense,” Homza finally concludes, the memory of some other life event suddenly throwing her chronology into a tailspin.

“She just didn’t come in one day, which was very unlike her,” Porter says of Knowles, who had died in her sleep of heart disease. “She was always in here early, cleaning, getting ready.”

Knowles’ sudden death was a shock to all who knew her. Porter says Knowles was “just amazing.”

“Mary really tried to bring energy and events in here,” Homza says. “Over the years the energy ebbed and flowed. Lesbians aren’t very loyal.”

Some must be. The bar has operated for 40 years, a milestone being celebrated this weekend with a bevy of activities (see phase1dc.com for details). Homza insists it’s because owners Allen Carroll and the late Chris Jansen were committed to keeping it going.

“They’re the ones who kept this bar open and I really mean that,” Homza says. “They’ve just been dedicated to the women.”

So why and how did two gay men happen to open a lesbian bar in 1970? Carroll and Jansen, veterans of the Marines and Air Force respectively, had been dating a few years and worked at adjacent bars on Eighth Street, S.E., a D.C. gayborhood before Dupont Circle was gentrified. Carroll was at Joanna’s, a lesbian bar. Its brother bar was Johnny’s, where Jansen worked. They were owned by the same person but Joanna’s was closing so Carroll and Jansen sensed a need. Carroll says the Phase is the oldest continually operating lesbian bar in the country.

Carroll and Jansen had always had lots of lesbian friends — many from Joanna’s — so it didn’t feel a stretch to open a women’s bar. They eventually opened the Other Side, a larger lesbian venue that was more a club than a bar, which eventually morphed into the male-focused drag/strip club Ziegfeld’s/Secrets in the mid-’80s. It eventually closed when the Nationals stadium was built but reopened a year ago on Half Street.

Phase 1, though, has been the constant. It’s still at its original location. Carroll says there have been ups and downs over the years but he and Jansen never thought of closing it.

It made sense, for instance, to transform the Other Side into Ziegfeld’s because several D.C. bars by that time had started lesbian nights and had stolen some of Side’s thunder. The Phase, though, “always felt like home base,” Carroll says.

“We had hard times and good times, but it felt like home,” he says. “We always held on. They always come in and always say, ‘We know to come back here.’ It’s a good feeling.”

‘Girls, Jell-O, bikinis, kick-ass drink specials, awesomeness — they all go hand in hand,’ says Phase manager Angela Lombardi. (DC Agenda photo by Michael Key)

Phase 1’s popularity has a lot to do with lesbian life cycles, long timers say. It’s common, they all say, for lesbians to be regulars for a few years, disappear, then come back years later.

“Let me tell you how the women work,” Carroll says with a knowing chuckle. “They get a lover and they disappear for three or four years. And then they come back when they break up. I know it before they even say it. I know they broke up with their girlfriend.”

Lombardi says the trend continues though she’s worked hard to alter it.

“Lesbians definitely fall into the trap of sitting at home,” she says. “Gay boys like to party. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule. Still, the fact is women make less money. I know so many people. ‘Oh, I live in Columbia Heights and work for a non-profit.’ Yeah. We make less money. Lesbians like to stay home with their girl. It’s part of why we have so many events and try to really mix it up. We’re trying.”

That’s not to say that the Phase hasn’t changed. It has. Drastically. When Homza looks around the room, she can’t help but notice how different it looks since Lombardi took over.

“It’s changed a lot but in the same way, it’s the same,” she says. “I mean when I first came here it had shag carpet up the wall … so physically it’s changed. We went through a lot of looks because of Chris, he was a very, uh, the pink flamingo of the pair. He had pink and white tile in here at one point, like a candy store. So this is much different.”

The decor now is mostly red and black. A pair of giant silver pumps sits above the bar, the one nod to femininity in an otherwise leather-and-punk aesthetic. Lombardi calls the 10 staff members “the coolest group of queer girls working ever.” She says it runs like a well-oiled machine.

“We rarely get a whammy card,” Lombardi says. “Patrons are the same and know what to expect. There’s fun dance music and the occasional random indie song. Drink prices are cheap and it’s a chill environment. Our little 10-by-10 dance floor gets a lot of action. You can see the handprints on the mirror at the end of the night.”

Part of the appeal, Lombardi says, is that Phase doesn’t try to be something it’s not.

“At the end of the day we’re kind of a dive bar,” she says. “You wanna go out and have a super fancy, I mean try to order a drink with fresh muddled fruit at Phase 1 — it’s not gonna happen. So if you wanna go out and have your fancy drink, if you want a capriana or whatever people drink nowadays, you wanna go to a fancy bar and pay $14 a drink, that’s not us. Here you get a three dollar PBR pounder.”

Porter says the bar is so different now she doubts younger lesbians could fully fathom what it used to be like. She says the late Linda Brown, the bar’s glam first manager, was something of an Eighth Street legend.

“Back then it was butches and femmes, very territorial,” Porter says. “You had Linda Brown, with her high blonde French curls, she drove a pink Lincoln and her rival Margaret Majors drove a white Cadillac. And they each had their entourages. All women dressed in men’s clothes. It was just a totally different world. … They were rivals. Rivals because of the bar, rivals for women, everything. Always dressed to the nines. There was lots of violence. If there wasn’t a fight or beer bottles thrown, the night really wasn’t considered a success. And I threw with the best of them. I loved a good fight. As long as I had a beer bottle or a cue stick, I was good to go. We had lots of fights in here.”

Carroll sees signs of that era in today’s younger lesbians.

“Girls have changed over the years,” he says. “When we first opened, if you had a butch girlfriend, you didn’t bother with her girlfriend and they took it very seriously when they were involved. No one could even talk to them. That’s the way women were back then. … Then in the late ’80s and ’90s, you couldn’t tell who was butch and who was femme. But I guess it’s no different than with the men. Like at the men’s bars, if you have a real queeny queen, you just knew that was a bottom. It’s all the same. And let me tell you, the girls were just as promiscuous as the guys.”

Porter’s ex, Cheryl Gordon, was dating Linda Brown when Porter arrived at Phase. Everyone who was around in the early years remembers Brown, who saw Phase through the ’70s, fondly.

“She was absolutely beautiful and hard ass,” Porter says. “She would take off her stiletto and pop you in the head if you needed it. Just a wonderful person.”

Carroll calls her “the greatest person.” He agrees those years were “just different.”

“We used to all party together,” he says. “We’d have fun and go to the beach. We’d be at my house at the pool. It was like a big family and it’s just not like that anymore. Everybody loved [Brown].”

The late David Easterday, who eventually succumbed to AIDS, Pat Sullivan and Sue Ross each managed the bar a few years before Knowles came along. After Knowles died, Keri Boyd, Dale Childress and Porter co-managed the bar. Lombardi came along five years ago and picked up a few bartending shifts to help a friend. Sarah Brasher was managing then but was just doing it to help out and didn’t feel it was her calling. Lombardi sensed major potential and brought the bar into the ’00s. She built the first Phase web site and started signature Phase events — Phase Fest, a large queer music festival that happens every September, and Jell-O wrestling, which is the second Wednesday of every month.

“People love it,” Lombardi says. “Girls, Jell-O, bikinis, kick-ass drink specials, awesomeness — they all go hand in hand.”

“A lot of where it is today is because of Angela and all the crazy shit she does,” Homza says.

Carroll pretty much lets her do whatever she wants.

“She really breathed a lot of new life into it,” he says.

A more low-key staple of the bar is Senait, an African-born lesbian who declines to give her last name. She’s been in Washington 11 years and stumbled on the Phase six years ago. She has a day job but spends her evenings here.

“I used to hang out here and I was here, like, every night so they said, ‘Hey, you wanna work here?’ I said, ‘Why not?’ I’m a workaholic. I wouldn’t know what to do with my free time.”

Carroll says it’s people like them who make Phase what it is.

“Senait is a loyal and good person,” he says. “So much more than an employee.”

The long-time employees have equally high regard for Carroll and remember Jansen fondly.

“Alan was the serious business-minded one,” Porter says. “Chris cared about the business and wanted it to succeed, but he wanted to have fun. His favorite phrase was, ‘Who has more fun than people?’ If he said it once he said it a million times a night.”

They were together as domestic partners for 16 years but broke up in 1988 and remained business partners and best friends.

“It was tumultuous,” Porter says. “On and off, but they always held the businesses together and were complete best friends. Nothing could have ever stopped that. … They’re both wonderful people in different ways.”

Carroll says they eventually became like brothers. Jansen bought a second home in Thailand and started spending half his time there. He died of heart disease in 2007.

What would Jansen think of Phase’s milestone?

Carroll, who says he misses Jansen immensely and thinks of him daily, says Jansen would be “tickled to death” and “very proud.”

Homza says they should be praised for their commitment to D.C. lesbian nightlife and culture.

“I think it’s important to have a place to call your own instead of depending on the kindness of the Helix or, you know, a men’s bar, or Apex, or whatever,” she says. “This is your bar.”

Phase 1
525 8th St., S.E.
phase1dc.com

Miss Phase 1 Pageant
Friday, Feb. 26, 8-10:30 p.m.

Celebration of the Decades
Feb. 26-27, all night

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Bars & Parties

MAL kicks off Jan. 11 with Bootcamp

Mid-Atlantic Leather begins with party at Bunker

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MAL Weekend kicks off next week. (Image courtesy of Bunker)

Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend arrives next week with a kickoff event Thursday, Jan. 11 from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. at Bunker. Organizers at Kinetic promise a surprise drill sergeant who will whip you into shape. Joshua Ruiz DJs the event. This event is for VIP pass holders only; visit kineticpresents.com for details.

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Bars & Parties

A roundup of New Year’s Eve parties in D.C.

Celebrate the start of 2024 in style

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Xavier Entertainment LLC will host the seventh annual Times Square NYE Celebration at 10 p.m. at Ivy City Smokehouse. Tickets start at $20 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

New Year’s Eve 2024 at Lost Society will be at 7 p.m. at Lost Society. There will be unique entertainment all night along with a journey of the senses through captivating light shows and LED displays, music, and bottle service presentations throughout the evening. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Busboys and Poets will host New Year’s Eve Open Mic and Party at 10 p.m. at 2021 14th St., N.W. This will be an evening of poetry, live DJ, dancing, food, and good company in a vibrant atmosphere where local artists take the stage, showcasing their talents in various genres. The night will be hosted by the talented Charity Blackwell and will feature award-winning poet Black Chakra. Dyanna Monet will deejay. Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased on Eventbrite

QueerTalk DC will host Sapphic New Year’s Celebration at 8 p.m. at FigLeaf Bar & Lounge. The event will celebrate Sapphic, trans, and non-binary communities and feature complimentary hors D’oeuvres, a Champagne toast and DJ sets by DJ Clamazon and DJ Q. For more details, visit Eventbrite

The Queers Upstairs will host Heels & Ties: A Queer New Years Eve Surprise at 9 p.m. at Aliceanna Social Club. This evening will be an unforgettable LGBTQ New Year’s Eve party where you can sip your favorite cocktails and enjoy small bites while dancing the night away with music from DJ Rosie & DJ Missy. Tickets start at $30 and can purchased on Eventbrite

BuffBoyzz Gay-Friendly Male Strip Clubs will host a male revue that caters to men and women at 8 p.m. at Buffboyzz Male Strippers. The event will be an exciting, entertaining and sexy show of exotic male dancers in that will entertain your pants off. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased on Eventbrite

International Events Washington DC will host the 2024 Black Tie New Year’s Eve Gala at 7:30 p.m. at the Willard InterContinental Washington, D.C. There will be free-flowing Champagne, an open bar, a spectacular balloon drop in the Euro Discotheque Ballroom and live bands and DJs. For dinner, guests can choose from an elegant sit-down, three-course dinner with Champagne or a dinner buffet of international cuisine. Tickets start at $189 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Social Architects will host the 12th Annual New Year’s Eve Casino Night at 8 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Arlington, Va. There will be six rooms of entertainment spread across three floors. The DJs will spin hip hop, R&B, salsa, Afrobeats and old school music. Tickets start at $60 and can be purchased on Eventbrite

Pitchers and A League of Her Own will host a NYE party with complimentary Champagne toast at midnight, party favors, and a DJ all night long.

Shaker’s plans a drag extravaganza with Tatianna and Crystal Edge among others starting at 10:30 p.m.; the $10 cover includes a glass of Champagne. 

Bunker hosts a 12-hour masquerade ball with several DJs, including Joe Gauthreaux. The party starts at 9 p.m. and goes until 9 a.m. on Jan. 1. Tickets start at $45 and are available at bunkerdc.com.

DJ Alex Love spins NYE at Dirty Goose with drink specials at midnight.

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Bars & Parties

Labor Day sees return of SunFestival to Rehoboth Beach

DJs, live auction, comedy and more planned for end-of-summer bash

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A scene from previous SunFestival celebrations. (Blade file photo by Daniel Truitt)

Labor Day Weekend in Rehoboth Beach brings more than the end of summer — it brings the annual SunFestival celebration benefitting CAMP Rehoboth.

The weekend promises two nights of revelry with entertainers and nationally known DJs creating the “ultimate party to close out summer” Sept. 2-3.

Saturday’s $45 general admission tickets are sold out but you can join a waitlist at the event’s website. That ticket grants you access to a comedy show and an auction where you can bid on six experiences like an eight-day boat tour through Belgium and the Netherlands or a week’s stay in Lisbon, Portugal. Organizations have donated these experiences to CAMP to auction off, with all proceeds going to the organization.

The $95 pass to both nights is also sold out. But general admission tickets for the Sept. 3 dance party starting at 7 p.m. with DJs Robbie Leslie and Joe Gauthreaux remain available. CAMP Rehoboth promises a “state-of-the-art club-like atmosphere,” with new design elements and video imaging.

Visit camprehoboth.com for tickets and more information. The weekend’s schedule is below:

Saturday, Sept. 2: A Night of Comedy, Drag, and Song, plus a LIVE Auction! (Doors Open at 6:30 p.m. Auction and show promptly start at 7:30 p.m.) Featuring Dixie Longate and Randy Roberts.

Serving up Tupperware lady realness, join in Dixie’s living room party and all its hilarity. Randy Roberts brings thrills with uncanny impersonations of iconic female vocalists and cabaret.

Experience a night filled with laughter and song as these talented performers will lift your spirits and tickle your funny bone. And not to be missed: the live auction. Check out the live auction items camprehoboth.com/sunfest2023live.

Sunday Sept. 3: A Night of Dance. (Doors open at 7 p.m. Dance ends at 1 a.m.) Featuring DJ Robbie Leslie and DJ Joe Gauthreaux.

Both DJs will offer an unforgettable musical journey starting with classic mirror ball memories, dance floor anthems, and the latest club beats, according to a CAMP Rehoboth statement. Events are held at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, which CAMP promises will be transformed “into the ultimate dance party to close out the summer.”

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