Babylon Becomes Orlando

OK, so it's Saturday night, and I'm headed to Orlando's hottest gay nightclub, The Club At Firestone, when all of a sudden, my mind flashes to Liberty Avenue; the surreal avenue in Pittsburgh which is "THE" gay mecca on the enormously successful Showtime series "QUEER AS FOLK" where anything goes and nothing is out of the ordinary.

I find myself waiting on a long line with men and women all waiting to feel the frenzy of a real-life Babylon, but this time, in Orlando, Florida. Surrounded by red velvet ropes, the QAF fans and wannabes wait anxiously in line, and from the outside, we can all hear the thumping beats of music that one would expect to hear at an evening out at Babylon. It is this moment that it sinks in: We are about to experience the night of our lives as compadres of QAF's first-rate cast in the club that every gay man yearns to break free, have fun, and dance, dance, dance the night away.

It's almost my turn to enter the club when all of a sudden, my eyes pan to the side of the club where there is a beautiful fabric painting of Queer As Folk's

Brian, Justin, and Michael, the characters in the Showtime series, making me feel as if for one night, I'm one of the gang! It is then that I realize I'm about to enter a club that has been a part of my life in a way for the past four years, and that club is every gay man's sanctuary... CLUB BABYLON!

Upon entrance, my heart is pumping just as hard as the top-notch music which was provided by superstar Producer/Remixer and DJ MANNY LEHMAN. The club has been stunningly decorated by RKM, a production company known for its unparalleled eye-catching, colorful, and innovative decor. Lights in red, green, purple, blue and white moved across the club with calculated precision, and a potpourri of elements such as large hanging stingrays from the ocean, bursts of fog, a revolving disco ball with the caption "FUTURE BABYLON," paintings of the superhero named "RAGE"created by the shows characters Justin and Michael, as well as a fun sign that read "Backroom At Babylon" all serve as reminders that all of us in the club are indeed transported to the make believe world of Babylon with the guys and gals of QAF!

Looking around with amazement, I see a few "EMMETTs" dressed up in the snazziest, most trendy garb, the "MICHAELs"

wearing the blue jeans and the muscle tee-shirts courtesy of Abercombie & Fitch and Old Navy, a few "JUSTINs" with the blonde hair, boyish looks and skinny bodies, and as far as the women, whether straight or gay, I could spot a couple of MELANIEs and LINDSAYs, all coming together to celebrate the "coming of age" of Queer As Folk: The Fourth Season, for a spectacular night in Orlando.

With my attention now focused on the dancefloor, it was packed full of people from opening till closing, and the men that came in wearing spiffy, haute couture shirts found themselves taking it all off about an hour later after working up a massive sweat as a result of Manny Lehman's DJing prowess: Manny was on deck spinning one anthem after another, making it virtually impossible for anyone to take a break from the dancefloor. Every song played was reminiscent of what one would expect to hear at Babylon. In particular, the crowd went crazy-wild for Amuka's "Appreciate Me," J-Lo's "Alive," "Easy As Life" by Deborah Cox, and towards the end of the evening all inhibitions disappeared when Manny played "Everyday" by Kim English. The music had the crowd jumping, hands in the air, and voices screaming for more.

With Manny Lehman's awesome choice of club anthems, and RKM's brilliant lighting display paired with some of the RKM team donning skin-painted neon-green eye masks spraying the crowd with a clever machine gun, filled with the magic potion that created the illusion of dancing in the clouds! The evening was sponsored appropriately enough by MIDORI, the makers of the alcoholic liqueur that is unmistakably neon green in color with an invigorating taste of melon.

Due to the fact that no one wanted to leave the dancefloor for fear of missing a beat, the clever people behind this event had the bartenders come to the dancefloor! It was a nice added touch to the ambiance of the evening at Babylon to see some of the bartenders dressed up in scantily clad MIDORI-inspired, bright green bikinis and other accoutrements resembling QAF's many references to comic book superheroes, giving the patrons a sample of the refreshing taste of Midori to quench their thirst!