Blog Post #2 - STRUT Bar & Club

 

*Disclaimer: not sponsored content*

Some weeks ago, I visited STRUT Bar & Club, the newest addition to the LGBTQ+ bar scene in Orange County. In a rather unimposing building next to a Smart & Final, I was very surprised by the ambience that STRUT had to offer.

Note: I took the pictures above when I was dancing around gay men who were much, much taller than me, so I apologize if they are blurry. 

STRUT takes on a more modern and stylish approach to the bar and club ambience than its older counterpart Velvet Lounge primarily for its decorative and flashier atmosphere. Fluorescent lights and LEDs dominated the space, with disco balls reflecting light in various areas on the dance floor (top image) as well as in darker corners of the club (bottom right image). While not pictured, the general layout was dimly light by blue, purple, and green fluorescent lights along the walls as standard yellow electronic candles gave some warmth to the scene. The proscenium of the stage facing the dance floor changed colors quite rapidly, ebbing and flowing to the ambient club noises as well as to the "perky" gay men and drunk straight women colliding on the dance floor. In the bottom left image, the under-lit rainbow vodka bottles (of class notoriety) made their appearance as well. All these light installments, in addition to the haze of the club, functioned as well as one may hope for a gay club; while the music choice was adequate and only boppin' every once in a while, the lights more than made up for it through the LED follow lights casting a disorienting, yet sexy, ambience. I must have looked like a silly child on the dance floor pointing up the lights and commenting on them like I had a clue of what was going, but in any case, it was a fun time.