In our next instalment looking at nightlife outside our fair capital, we take a sleazyjet across the continent for a little jaunt round Italian fashion capital Milan. Our tour guide for this queer-excursion is none other than Protopapa, resident DJ at the infamous Le Cannibale parties, promoter in his own right, and self-proclaimed match-maker and magician.
As someone who’s played secret underground parties and big clubs sharing the booth with nightlife luminaries such as Planningtorock and Azari & III; the lovely Protopapa will be your consummate host in all things gay and clubbing as we find out where the bears are, where to have that “quiet” glass of prosecco and what constitutes a Milanese faux pas.
Milan is a global fashion hot spot, how does this impact on your LGBT nightlife in comparison to other Italian cities?
Fashion helps Milan be an international LGBT centre in Italy, more so than other cities, and some people live their nightlife like a catwalk or a challenge for who’s dressed more extravagantly. Sometimes it’s just too much for me to see in clubs; I prefer trans queer punks with a good attitude, they really feel like dancing.
You are resident at Le Cannibale at Tunnel Club; sum up for us why we should be dancing next to your DJ booth.
Le Cannibale has been the coolest underground party not just in Milan, but also in the whole of Italy, and I’ve warmed-up or closed parties with the biggest names from the international scene. As Vogue Italia said: “Le Cannibale isn’t a party, but a synaesthesia”, a beautiful mess for the senses. The crowd is mixed and you won’t see a tacky person in there, just nice people who care about music. Soon Le Cannibale will be a club, not just a party, and I’m going to share the decks with Horse Meat Disco and The 2 Bears, amongst others.
But what if we just want a quiet glass of prosecco, a tasty snack and somewhere to sit and stare at beautiful people? Where would you take us?
I would take you to my favourite bar, Leccomilano. It’s a special place in Milan; you feel a good energy and the cocktails are tasty and original, titled with LGBT word parodies. People are relaxed, open-minded, fashionable enough, but still have their own style.
Is there a nice gaybourhood to stay in? If so where should we be air bnb’ing?
Although Milan is like one big gaybourhood, there’s a “gaythering” area from Piazza 5 Giornate to Loreto with Porta Venezia that has entire condos full of rainbow flats. The self-styled sophisticated fags are around Isola district, and you’ll find young hipsters (heteroflexible ones included) close to Navigli and Ticinese.
Is the scene super integrated and inclusive or do people stick to their tribes, genders, sexualities etc, and does this affect the types of queer nights on offer?
It depends. There are some places where you can still find bars or clubs only for men/women, but they are like a (bad) trip in a queer history museum, with old drag queens, vintage oiled muscle toys and trashy music. There are some pleasant places where people are just people and everyone is mixed but we still need to work on this, and I’m really trying!
Talk us through a typical Milanese afterparty: hot mess or unbearably chic? Drag queens on drugs or friends sharing music or hot guys hooking up or all of the above?
I don’t think there’s a “typical” Milanese afterparty. I’ve been under bridges by the suburbs, dancing with zombies close to a motorway and endless posh ones in bourgeois houses with weird international people. Some clubs do after-parties with guys looking for sex and drugs, but the atmosphere usually isn’t so welcoming or warm and sometimes police come in, suddenly switch on all the lights, and you can imagine reactions at 8am.
Where is the best place to meet a nice boy and the best place to meet a bad boy? And where to find the bears please?
Maybe a nice, shy and cute boy at Mono Bar or Glitter Club or q|LAB but, you know, devils could be everywhere…! Company Club is the oldest gay bar/club of Milan and is the perfect place if you’re looking for bears (there’s a darkroom too) and the best bear party is, undoubtedly Cockette, which every month has a big international guest from the techno scene plus very cool residents.
What would be a total Milanese nightlife faux pas? We’ll try to remember through the mists of alcohol, promise.
Stepping on someone’s new shoes, “It’s Gucci, you know?!”. Or being too friendly to a stranger or dancing too wildly to your favourite song, but don’t listen to me on this, I’m the king of faux pas, especially in Milan!
And finally, why do you love Milan?
She can be a first class stressy bitch with you, but she knows how to pay you back, like a typical Italian partner.
• Like Protopapa on Facebook to find out where he’ll be when you finally reach Milan.
www.facebook.com/protopapa.page
