Every now and then I like to get my Brokeback Mountain on, and Charlie's gives me my fix. It's honestly more of an urban cowboy experience with tons of no-attitude gay locals (of all scenes and persuasions) and a smattering of REAL cowboys. This is def. a gay Phoenix must-do when out-of-towners visit.
The real cowboys tend to go during the week, but Thursday - Sunday nights bring out the weekend warriors and its largest crowds of the week. That's when they open the other 3 service bars as it soon becomes after-hours central. My favorite day is Thursdays when they do TWO-for-ONE drinks.
During the week at 7 PM they offer FREE (did you hear that? FREE!) dance lessons -- line dancing and two-step. Sunday afternoons bring out the sand volleyball players in their back patio, and really BAD Pussy LeHoot drag shows (they're almost so bad that they're good, if that makes any sense).
The restrooms are MUCH nicer since the remodel / expansion. The rest of Charlie's is really DUMPY inside, but I LOVE it. The crowd here is much more down-to-earth that other gay bars, and is more of a destination bar than the rest - attracting people from the suburbs.