The Future of Entertainment in Bars

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Dodger
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Re: The Future of Entertainment in Bars

Post by Dodger »

The Future of Entertainment in Bars

What does History tell us?

Burlesque first started back in the 1840’s as comic parodies of well-known topics or people, and then evolved over time to include more-and-more exotic elements including partially nude dancers. Much like the fate of Vaudeville, the public’s tastes changed over time and burlesque show managers (and most of their performers) failed to adjust to those changes and it disappeared.

We can see the same thing happening to Gay Entertainment now (like it or not) and history, as always, seems destined to repeat itself. Social media has made it too convenient for both the entertainers (sex workers) and customers (punters) to communicate and hook-up via the numerous gay dating apps which are gradually forcing traditional “Entertainment Venues” into extinction.
Coupled with this shift created by technology comes the fact that the younger generation gay male, much like the rest of the younger generation, prefers communicating “on-line” versus having these types of communications in a public setting. A lot of recent focus has been on the decaying level of social skills exhibited by the younger generation for this very reason.

Young gay men in this category prefer hooking up on-line to arrange the type of entertainment they want. Where a fairly high percentage of the older generation still prefers being entertained by naked dancers, with a certain percentage having one foot in each world – where they sometimes rely on the apps for convenience sake, but still like the old-style of entertainment.

If History has its way I imagine we’ll see even more people transitioning to using the gay dating apps over time – while the gay entertainment venues of the future will continue their transition to more casual and relaxed settings intended more for socializing than anything else. We can see evidence of this shift in dynamics right now in Pattaya.

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Re: The Future of Entertainment in Bars

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Dodger wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 11:01 am If History has its way I imagine we’ll see even more people transitioning to using the gay dating apps over time
That very well may happen, but I see it a little differently, especially now since farang are reporting more and more boys in the various go-go bars. People seem to think it's one or the other - that the boys will choose working in the bars or "working" the gay apps.

I don't think it is so cut and dry, black or white. I think a lot of the boys will be doing both - and many are already choosing to do just that.

If anything resembles "Vaudeville is dead" I believe it is cruising. When was the last time anyone heard about cruising the parks, especially the Bangkok parks? When was the last time you heard about anyone cruising public toilets? When was the last time anyone went to the beach to cruise boys? Or cruising anywhere else. Most, if not all, of that seems to have disappeared.
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Re: The Future of Entertainment in Bars

Post by Dodger »

Gaybutton wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 12:05 pm
If anything resembles "Vaudeville is dead" I believe it is cruising. When was the last time anyone heard about cruising the parks, especially the Bangkok parks? When was the last time you heard about anyone cruising public toilets? When was the last time anyone went to the beach to cruise boys? Or cruising anywhere else. Most, if not all, of that seems to have disappeared.
I wonder if the "apps" aren't having an effect on this as well.

What always surprises me is why more of the working boys don't cruise the gay beach anymore as you mentioned. Right now all I see are a few homeless freelancers - but you'd need a can of bug spray and a fly swatter to engage them.
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Re: The Future of Entertainment in Bars

Post by Undaunted »

Dodger, your assessment of the state of “gay entertainment” particularly here in Pattaya is spot on as one only need look at the decline of the GoGo scene and the rapid growth of Jomtien Complex, the only thing that maybe somewhat unique here is that most customers are elderly. Apps have never really worked for me I want to see and touch the “full Monty” hence my remorse over the demise of Sunee when it was at its peak.
When I first came here everyone I knew was in their 50’s now just a stroll through the complex quickly reveals almost all are in their 60’s and up, what will be here after this group slowly thins out as even in the good old days young gay customers where few and far between?
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Jun

Re: The Future of Entertainment in Bars

Post by Jun »

As most of us are suggesting, there's an underlying trend towards apps taking more of the dating business.

When competition increases, businesses need to make sure they're doing a really good job to survive.
I think the gogo bars are also not helping themselves, as if they put boys on stage in clothes, the gogo bar is now like a host bar, except they don't cut the drink prices to host bar levels.
Not everyone shares my view, but I reckon enough do for the gogo bars to lose 30~70% of their farang customers, if there is nothing interesting to see on stage.

On the current trajectory, most of the gogo bars will die out.
We will be meeting boys on apps and some of us will go to Jomtien for a drink. Which is what some of us have been doing during the covid restrictions anyway.
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Re: The Future of Entertainment in Bars

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Dodger wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 5:22 pm I wonder if the "apps" aren't having an effect on this as well.
I think the apps are exactly what killed off cruising. Using the apps is certainly much easier than cruising - for the customer and the boys. And on the apps if one dislikes the other, there is no need for awkwardness. You simply stop chatting with that person and move on. There were a lot of things about cruising I used to enjoy, but times, along with technology, have changed. Now cruising has simply become obsolete. I don't know what might be coming next, but I believe in a few years the apps - at least in the format we see today - will also become obsolete. And a few years after that, whatever is next will sooner or later become obsolete too as technology improves and advances.

Those who cannot, or will not, adapt to the changes are going to be the ones left behind and left out.

And one thing I've noticed, as I'm sure many of you have - the boys can be the poorest of the poor, but somehow they all have smartphones and internet access.
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Re: The Future of Entertainment in Bars

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Undaunted wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 6:11 pm When I first came here everyone I knew was in their 50’s now just a stroll through the complex quickly reveals almost all are in their 60’s and up, what will be here after this group slowly thins out as even in the good old days young gay customers where few and far between?
This touches on something that I don't understand. I've been here 20 years, and obviously, there isn't any aspect of life in Thailand that hasn't changed. The demographics of tourism (pre-Covid) have changed -- less Americans, more Asian and European country visitors (China, India, Russia). But why are the gay tourist aging out? Where are the younger replacements?

In 20 years, the gay traveler should have flourished; should have increased in dramatic numbers as it become more accepted and acceptable to be bi or gay. But that doesn't appear to be true in the Pattaya region. Where are those gay tourists and why are they not here? Are they "against gay-paid-sex" and traveling to gay destinations that don't promote money boys? Maybe looking for love instead of looking for sex?

I use the gay apps extensively, but it doesn't mean that I am very successful. Just last week, a guy (money boy) I wanted to hook up with would not answer my messages on two apps, yet I could tell he was regularly logging in. Over the weekend, I went into Winner Boys and of course, that is where he worked and was happy to see me and wanted me to bar fine him. There were NO customers. His answer to why he didn't reply so we could hook up the previous week was that (in summary) the apps were boring and too many people just want to talk.

[Edit] I wonder if they bar boys feel more power as a big fish in a small pond (only 3 boys in the bar, where they don't need to compete, or try hard), vs thousands of boys on the app, some better looking, all competing for the same customers -- where they must actually try, rather than sit back and wait for bar visitors.

I recognized two of the other boys in the bar as being on the apps also. These guys are on the apps every day. Even if they don't want to meet outside of their "work hours", they could be messaging everyone who has messaged them asking them to visit them at the bar and buy them a drink. Korean owned girl bars in the Philippines do this -- the girls work the foreigners on their FB and other apps, trying to get them in the bar, and it has been successful.

Here, LBs aggressively work the apps looking for customers whether they are freelance only or work out of bar-fronts. Girls are also working the apps like Thai Friendly and generating substantial business, if the volume of reviews online are indicative. But boys don't appear to be trying.

And so I have gone full circle to my original question. Why is gay tourism to Pattaya dying?
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Re: The Future of Entertainment in Bars

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bi-top wrote: Mon Aug 22, 2022 9:44 am the gay traveler should have flourished; should have increased in dramatic numbers as it become more accepted and acceptable to be bi or gay.
Maybe that is the reason the younger set doesn't go to Thailand as much as before. Now that it is acceptable, gays don't have to live in the closet anymore, like years ago, and they find what they're looking for right at home.

Also, a holiday in Thailand is so much more expensive now that the prices deter the younger set.
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Re: The Future of Entertainment in Bars

Post by Dodger »

Why is gay tourism dying?

I think GB was spot on when he said the following..." Now that it is acceptable, gays don't have to live in the closet anymore, like years ago, and they find what they're looking for right at home."

My daughter and her fiancé' just returned home after enjoying a 7 day cruise to Nassau. Several of their friends joined them including a gay couple (guys) from my daughters work. She said they all had a great time, especially her gay friends who hooked up with a whole cadre of other gays on the cruise who, in my daughters words, were the life of the party and a riot to be with.

You would never have heard of anything like this happening back when I was growling up - or even as recent as 10 years ago for that matter.

The days of traditional gay bars being tucked away in secluded dark allies in the sleaziest parts of town are over. There's still an element of homophobia in society..no doubt about that, but in most modern (democratic) countries being Gay is more than just being acceptable - sometimes it's even in fashion.

This being the case, Thailand, with its historical openness towards gays, isn't so unique anymore.
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Re: The Future of Entertainment in Bars

Post by windwalker »

Undaunted wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 6:11 pm
When I first came here everyone I knew was in their 50’s now just a stroll through the complex quickly reveals almost all are in their 60’s and up, what will be here after this group slowly thins out as even in the good old days young gay customers where few and far between?
I was 62 when I first came here; those were the days!
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