Missoula Spotlight: AmVets

There is a dungeon in downtown Missoula and it goes by the name of AmVets.   By definition, a dungeon is a labyrinthine subterranean setting, but to define it in such grandiose terms is to give it false representation.  There is nothing remotely grand about Missoula’s only gay bar. 

Even though, as the name suggests, it was intended to be a bar for American Veterans, AmVets has turned into a smorgasbord of small town gay culture that is truly one of a kind.  Situated between a few bars that have been deemed “hick” establishments, the entrance to AmVets looks more like an abandoned hut than a welcoming nightclub.  The wooden enclosure is a gateway to a rock staircase that looks jack hammered and unfinished and is usually scattered with smokers out for a quick puff in the frigid winter air. 

The bar scene has been the last place on my mind over the past ten months, but when Blaine and David showed up in Missoula, I knew that I would have to make an exception.  Being sober in AmVets presented it in an even scarier light than through drunk-goggles, so my two trips opened up my eyes in new ways. 

Once you pass through the rickety wooden door, you are met by a bouncer who scans ID’s with the commitment of a supermarket attendant.  His lackadaisical nature is made evident by the abundance of underage patrons who float around the cavernous space. 

Both Blaine and David were immediately overwhelmed by the enormity of the bar, which has no natural light and is big enough that it could exist in a hollowed out mountain.  Upon entering, there is a bar that offers Jello shots, Jaeger on tap, and cheap drinks served in plastic cups.  Just beyond that is a collection of pool tables and if you step a little further you reach the dance floor, which plays a variety of top-40 pop. 

It’s on the dance floor that the diversity of the crowd becomes apparent.  Grinding against one pole you’ll find a lesbian couple dressed in overalls that are in no way an ironic fashion statement.  Next to them you’ll see a leather daddy with a handle bar mustache observing the toothless men smoking continuous cigarettes.  Every now and then a drag queen will make her rounds, cavorting with the crowd with an explosion of hair topping off a rainbow colored gown.  Peppered between these icons of gay Montana are the college students with popped collars and beaded necklaces straight out of 1997. 

(Jes and Blaine tear it up on the dance floor.)

Since I first discovered AmVets at eighteen, I’ve often wondered where these men and women are during the day.  The diverse crowd meets only in the way that they party with such ferocity.  Even though Missoula is a liberal college town, it’s not uncommon to be given dirty looks, get mocked, or at times even assaulted because of ones sexual preference.  It’s a town that prides itself on being diverse and accepting, but one whose actions sometimes overwhelm its intentions.  The suppressed nature of homosexuality in Missoula has only a few outlets where pretenses are disrobed, and the main one is AmVets. 

To me and my friends from New York, it can seem like a very uncomfortable experience.  Whereas we are free to be ourselves, sexuality and all, in our everyday lives, in Montana it’s still legal to be fired for sexual preference.  Once ten o’ clock rolls around, the bar becomes scattered with people who are free to be themselves for a while. 

Due to my sober lifestyle at the moment, I took the time during my past two trips to observe the crowd as much as possible.  If I ever become a documentary filmmaker, AmVets will be one of my first subjects.   It’s a fascinating study in gay culture on the brink of acceptance and the freedom that an overtaken bar can possess; it’s a genuine Montana experience.

(Blaine joins me at my observation post.)

Comments

[Deb]

Okay, this post made me laugh out loud. This is good stuff, Matt, with snatches of excellent descriptive writing. FORGET the documentary: here is the basis of a brilliant novel, don't you think? I mean the setting alone redefines irony.... More! More!

[philip]

You can still be fired in Montana for "sexual preference"? It sounds positively medieval. But then so much of the world clings to the Dark Ages.

The idea of homosexuality being a preference is pretty silly, too. It's sort of like saying, "I could have been black but I prefer to be white."

Sometimes I think about the gay kids in the little town where I grew up; I doubt seriously if things have changed all that much there since I had to deal with all the fear and self-doubt of being 'different' in high school forty years ago. Is it any wonder that we end up escaping to Gotham or some other relatively safe haven? Not that anyplace is totally safe...

Great story...

[timur]

I think now is a great time to start shooting a documnetary.......

[Kiska]

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[Carlane]

Thank you for your post...at least I will know where to find the whole in the wall now. :) My partner and I just moved here from New Mexico and have heard about how "gay friendly" Missoula is, however, we are having a hard time figuring out where to go to meet other couples. We find ourselves just hanging out at home and not really feeling like we can be ourselves in public quite yet. Hope to meet other couples and any help would be great! :)

[Mija]

AmVets is a shit hole & I am creating a Boycott Amvets on Facebook... join if you like. Oh, & I've got plenty of stories if you ever get to that documentary.

[Ty]

I stumbled across this completely by accident while searching for the Amvets phone number. (I left my wallet there last night; it was a classy sort of night.) What a hilarious and sadly true depiction of this bar and of repressed gay life in Missoula - though I certainly hope that in your stay here you didn't only find non-ironic lesbians and pooka shells, as there is much more to be found and many exceptions to the rule. Still, hysterically funny article and you should think about doing a follow-up and spending more time in Missoula. It is a place that will continue to surprise with its complexity.

[So Incredibly Gay]

I love being gay and being able to feel comfortable.

[bon]

Is gayness good?

[jorge]

ok so i was asking some frieds if that is a good place to go, but he day it was if a whanted to seee gays so i am asking now if that tru?