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| - Along with nearby BS West, Club Forbidden is only one of two gay bars/clubs in Scottsdale.
Anderson's Fifth Estate was transformed into this gay club a short time after owner Tom Anderson settled a relatively high profile dispute with a transgender woman, whom he removed from the former club after complaints about her and other transgender individuals using the women's restroom. It is unclear if this new club is a direct part of that settlement, or simply a result of Tom Anderson having some sort of epiphany during the negotiations, but I suppose it really doesn't matter.
I'm going to be gentle with this review because the club is new and I think it will continue to get better as it finds and develops it's identity. Club Forbidden was opened just prior to Burn Nightclub closing in Phoenix, so many regulars from Burn now come to dance at this club. DJ Jeremy, who used to spin at Burn, now works here as well.
Physically the club is the same as Anderson's. It is split into two main rooms, one much bigger than the other. I came here on both a friday and a Saturday, and on both nights the larger room was playing more mainstream dance and hip hop music, while the smaller room had what could be described as more electronica/circuit (what you may call "techno") dance music. I enjoyed the music in the smaller room (where DJ Jeremy was spinning) but found the music a bit unpredictable and annoying in the larger room - where the DJ played everything from Timbaland to the B-52's.
As far as the crowd, it was sparse and not very pretty on the two fridays that I came here. However, things were much better on the Saturday night that I was here last weekend - relatively crowded and attractive. Everyone seemed really friendly and social, with none of the attitude you'd obviously expect to see at many of the straight dance clubs in Scottsdale. The attitude and look of the crowd was definitely the highlight of the club.
The low-light of each evening was how long it took to get drinks. It surprised me how long I had to wait each time, because the club actually has four bars in it. But at each bar, the staff seemed to struggle to keep up with demand - even on the relatively uncrowded Fridays. I think the management may still be uncertain how much they want to staff the club on each night, and the staff may still be training.
Another critique I had was with the lighting. It's a personal pet peeve of mine to hang out in a club and be blinded by cheap "Spencers Gifts" quality strobe lights and other lighting gimmicks, which was the case here. Burn Nightclub actually suffered from the same problem, and I'm not sure why quality lighting systems are such a rare sight in the Phoenix area.
There was no cover on any of the nights I went, and the drinks all seem to be low to moderately priced. As all gay dance clubs, dress is casual.
Overall I'd still recommend this club - unfortunately we as gay men in Arizona don't have very many options, and this place is as good as any of them. Although lighting, music and bar efficiency could be easily improved to make this a four or five star night club destination.
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