Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.06.2007, Side 20

This exciting new multimedia exhibition tells the story from an island’s dramatic
birth from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean through its forty year history to the
current day – and beyond, glimpsing the future 120 years hence.

The exhibition explains the Government’s decision to submit an application
to UNESCO to designate Surtsey a World Heritage Site.
The Culture House - Þjóðmenningarhúsið
National Centre for Cultural Heritage
Hverfi sgata 15, 101 Reykjavik
Telephone 545 1400 www.thjodmenning.is
Open daily between 11am and 5pm
The admission fee grants entry to all exhibitions at the Culture House. Adults ISK 300. Senior citizens ISK 200.
Students ISK 200. Free entry for children 16 years of age or younger. Admission is free on Wednesdays.
SURTSEY – GENESIS. EXHIBITION AT THE CULTURE HOUSE
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include ‘Bears on Ice’ weekend, when members of the Lon-
don Bear club Come to Daddy visit Reykjavík, Leather Pride
days and last but not least, the annual Icelandic Indepen-
dence celebration of December 1, which has been a steady
MSC tradition since the beginning.
The club is in fine spirits these days, and those members
the Grapevine talked to all expressed a good feeling for the
summer of 2007 and its many planned parties. Things were
quite different during the mid-nineties, when the club had all
but ceased to operate following some heavy blows. As the
secretary tells it, “Aids had taken a huge toll on the commu-
nity and we assumed the club was all but over. There was a
two-year interval where gays didn’t really have any sex at all;
people were scared of the virus and the threat it posed.
“In 1995, I was travelling in Europe and stumbled into an
ECMC conference in Amsterdam, there I saw that the scene
was in full swing and you could say we instigated a sort of
renaissance for MSC in the wake of that realisation. Now we
have around 50 steady members [up from 15 in MSC’s first
years], and another 50 that frequent the club regularly, not to
mention all the casual visitors that pass through. For some of
Iceland’s international visitors, and I’m referring to business-
men and diplomats as well as casual tourists, a visit to our club
is as essential as a trip to the Blue Lagoon.”
They All Get Drunk and Laid
As our conversation progresses, attendants in various states
of fetish gear start showing up for the night’s social activi-
ties. A doorman will monitor those seeking entry, carefully
checking if they live up to MSC’s codes of dress and conduct.
MSC’s clubhouse isn’t a bar after all, it is a private social club,
much the same as any Freemason or Lions-Club, and many are
thus refused admittance. The secretary doesn’t like the looks
of some suited-up guys who pass us on the club terrace and
yells at his brethren inside to “make sure they lose the tie and
shirt as soon as they get in.” We speak of Iceland’s gay scene
in broader terms:
“Gays are always complaining that their scene is too small,
their club isn’t good enough. They hate it all, and yet they go
out every night, it’s just a staple of every gay scene, everyone
complaining. I think it’s different for Icelanders who’ve lived
abroad however, as opposed to those who have only briefly
visited big cities. Living someplace is very different from casu-
ally visiting it. The scene here is fine; at least we’re trying our
best to uphold a regular gay scene. We’ve been participating
in the Reykjavík Gay Pride since the beginning… you know, in
many ways it’s like the scene’s been over-advertised, much the
same as the Reykjavík nightlife in general. Journalists come
over for Pride weekend and are filled with awe at the tradi-
tional Icelandic weekend-drinking culture. They’ll write raving
reviews filled with exclamation marks regarding nightlife crazi-
ness.
“That reputation is in some ways warranted. One of our
past Gay Pride visitors, a South-American boy, saw Laugavegur
at night and thought an actual revolution was at hand, so
there’s that. Icelanders aren’t jaded with tourists yet, like peo-
ple in Amsterdam and those tourist places are. Our visitors
are welcomed wholeheartedly, and they get a lot of attention.
They all get drunk and they all get laid, that’s the secret to our
‘legendary nightlife’ more than anything.”
Our talk is concluded by the secretary telling me the story
of several gay clubs and bars that operated in Reykjavík since
the eighties (in various states of officialness). Aside from the
previously mentioned Jón Forseti and 22, clubs such as Mou-
lin Rogue, Hótel Borg, and Mannsbar are mentioned along
with the various adventures conducted there throughout the
years. He professes a liking for Q Bar (aside from the screech-
ing girls) and their policy, although he says he’d like to see
some traditional gay activities there, such as drag shows.
“We now have a sorta holy trinity here in 101 Reykjavík. You
can stand on the corner over there with us on one side, Q Bar
on the other and you can view Café Cozy over there in the
distance. It’s promising.”
Q Bar-stravaganza
We bid farewell to our friends at MSC and make our way to
the now bustling Q Bar. It is 2:30 AM and the mood is vi-
brant. Deep House is blasting through the PA, drinks are being
bought and there’s hardly any room to move around, whether
you’re in the outside smoking area or moving on the dance
floor. The following Tuesday, the club’s proprietor, Óli Hjörtur,
will tell us of his experiences running it since February. He tells
me the gay community really took a shine to Q Bar from the
start, and that it is usually filled to the brim on any given week-
end. “It’s been great so far. We’re trying to create a suitable
weekday feel here, as well, we’ll start operating a full-blown
kitchen here soon, offering up a Spanish-style menu of Tapas
and the like.”
Late Saturday night, no one seems to be thinking of Span-
ish cuisine. Many patrons are sitting at tables, deep in con-
versation, while others are dancing on those same tables. Big
smiles and a drunken sort of joy are all around. I poll several
of those attending on their views and experiences from the
Reykjavík gay scene. All of them agree that a place like Q Bar
had been sorely missing for a long time, although many of
them professed a need for even more such clubs. “Too bad
there only seems to be room for one gay club in Reykjavik,” a
striking young blonde boy tells me. “We could really do with a
more diverse nightlife.” Another speaks pleasantly of his Lon-
don experiences, where there is “a different club for any pref-
erence, thousands of them.” He does, however, acknowledge
the benefits of a certain camaraderie and security that stem
from the relative smallness of Reykjavík’s scene.
Chaos at Café Cozy
I ask about their social lives in the city. Many of them recount
experiences of hooking up with people on-line, through IRC-
chat, classified ads and MySpace. “Scoring that way takes way
too much time, way more than simply going out.” We speak
of Reykjavík’s main cruising spot, Öskjuhlíð, and the fact that
Vesturbæjarlaugin swimming pool has lost its status as such,
even though listed in many gay guides. “I’ve hooked up at
Öskjuhlíð and enjoyed it, even though the experience leaves
a lot to be desired. It’s rather basic, and only a certain type of
guy will go there.” Some of them think no one dares go there
anymore for fear of gay bashing. We drink many beers and I
hear many stories of coming out and moving away from small
towns, of big city dreams and optimism. As a steady stream
of alcohol takes us further into the night, a move to the final
destination, Café Cozy, seems inevitable.
When we get there at close to 5 AM, we’re greeted with
a more traditionally gay music than we’ve heard all night at Q
Bar. Eurovision high-points blend seamlessly with disco clas-
sics and soft-rock anthems. As usually when you stay up late
enough, the night has evolved to a point where conversation
seems both impossible and unnecessary. Most communicat-
ing is done through shouting, waving of hands, dancing and
the occasional ass-grab. It’s glorious, if you’re into that kind of
atmosphere.
Outside of Cozy, early Sunday morning, a final conversa-
tion with a gay nightlife regular seems to sum things up quite
nicely. “What I like about the gay nightlife scene here in Reyk-
javík is much the same as what I like about Reykjavík nightlife
in general. It’s friendly, welcoming and people aren’t afraid to
let go of themselves. I’m really looking forward to this sum-
mer.”
Where are the lesbians, You Ask?
Since this article is exceedingly heavy on the Y-chromosome,
some of you might be wondering why lesbian social life goes
largely unmentioned in these pages. Early on in researching
‘Gaykjavík!’, we decided to place the focus solely on the gay
(read: male homosexual) scenes, especially since many of
those interviewed (male and female) commented that, even
though paths will cross, there is a fundamental difference be-
tween gay and lesbian approaches to nightlife activities, and
social life in general. Icelandic lesbian nightlife surely warrants
an entry all of its own, and you can be sure that such an article
is forthcoming. For more information on lesbian life in Iceland,
visit the website of Icelandic lesbian organisation Konur með
Konum (‘Women with women’) at www.kmk.is.
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