Players

"Drag Show Benefit for the Coulee Region Humane Society"

Yup, you heard me right.

That was my introduction to Players in La Crosse. Ok, they called it a variety show but all that meant was one drag king and one guy who used props to sing old tunes.

Coming from SanFrancisco the drag show was not the best I have ever seen but it was entertaining. There was a nice large crowd and everyone was very friendly.

Drinks were reasonably priced and the atmosphere was comfortable. There are pool tables in the corner and lots of high tables to sit at to see the stage. This leads to my problems. No backs on the chairs, after a few hours I was tired of keeping my back straight. Also, when the performers would hit the floor, the spot light kept shining in my eyes. I'm not sure how to fix it, but I didn't like it.

They allow smoking in Players but they have a great ventilation system. As a non-smoker, it didn't bug me. However, I did hear people complain about it. Hey - it's a bar/club.

When I visited players things seemed a bit sleepy... almost dead really for a gay bar and in La Crosse( a college town) to boot since it is a ways before you get to a bigger city with more gay bars. Reportedly the reason why this was was because Minneapolis was having their gay pride and many gay boys and girls drove up there that live in La Crosse hence the low amount of attendees. Despite it being very slow the drinks I ordered were very yummy and the staff was quite friendly and seemed to not have the bad attitudes that the big city gay bars seem to have.