QUEER NATION Later on, Sisters BY TONY GIAMPETRUZZI

This past weekend, Saturday, January 29, Spectrum, Bangor’s only gay club and the most northern all-gay place to tipple in New England, closed its doors for good. A dispatch from the closing party said that the mood was festive, the joint was filled to capacity (surprisingly, Spectrum is larger and more impressive than anything Portland has to offer), and the guys and girls came from as far away as Canada and Houlton to mark the event.

And while the dirge in Bangor may have been "It’s Raining Men," gay folks in Portland also have plenty to weep about. At some point this fall, the (relatively speaking) venerable Friday nights at the Roxy dried up, the gay night at Studio 504 at the Stadium didn’t quite pan out and has been discontinued, and now the only all-girl bar north of Providence, Sisters, is poised to shutter in Portland after 10 years of continuous operation.

According to Audrey Luce, who has been a bartender and promotions director at Sisters for seven years, the bar was started as an oasis for women on February 19, 1994, and will welcome its last lesbian through the door on Saturday, February 12.

"Ten years later we will be closing our doors for good," says Luce. "Sue Pierce, owner of Sisters, opened the bar as a place for women in the Portland area to feel safe and accepted. When she opened it, there were plenty of places for gay men to go and meet others, but few women felt at home and welcome there. Sue created Sisters after feeling that same alienation of women in the ‘boy bars.’

"In our 10 years of business, Sisters has welcomed women and men of all races and sexual preferences. Yes, men are welcome in Sisters and always have been — just ask our male staff."

Of all the gay bars in Portland (there’s a tinge of irony in that statement), Sisters was, at one time, one of the very best if for no other reason than the fact that is was once the Treehouse, a bar that catered to a decidedly diverse clientele and drew in some decent bands. Sisters, for a while, maintained some of the charm that was the Treehouse. Owned by Pierce’s sister, Maryanne, the club was originally two floors, with a 360-degree balcony that offered striking views of the large dance floor and stage on the lower level.

It was the perfect spot for drag shows; it had a decent lighting system, plenty of nooks and crannies that make a gay bar special, and, perhaps best of all, a cocktail table Ms. Pac-Man, which really should be a requirement at any bar. Alas, at some point in the mid-’90s, Maryanne, strapped for cash, turned the second floor into an apartment, somewhat stripping the club of its character. No matter. There was still something about the place that had an edge. At one point, my then-boyfriend Colin and I even did our part to generate business, promoting a Sunday night called "Bizarro." The shtick was to make the place retro, wire as many TVs as possible, and do a musical cocktail hour followed by interactive music video images. My mother and aunt showed up, and that was about it.

Colin was pretty good, though, and Sisters hired him to spin a couple nights a month. One of those nights was August 31, 1997 — it was at Sisters that I learned that Princess Diana had been killed, one of the defining moments of my young gay life.

Soon after, Maryanne moved to California and sister Sue took over as manager.

Since, the club has remained open despite a falling-off of clientele, and has even had the pleasure of welcoming a celebrity or two — they have the photos and signed posters to prove it.

On the walls are photos of the likes of Kevin Costner and Robin Penn Wright, who chose Sisters as their place to imbibe while filming Message in a Bottle at a house just down the street from the club.

But, despite its draw even with celebrities, the closing, says Luce, was inevitable.

"It’s really just because times have changed. I think that after 10 years, the women who would come into the bar are buying houses and having kids," she says. "And the younger crowd that’s going out can really go anywhere and feel accepted.

"When Sue opened the bar, she knew that she wouldn’t have the same support that other bars had, she just really wanted women to have a place where that they could call their own."

Luce’s tale is also a bit cautionary. As co-chair of Southern Maine Pride, she says that women are abandoning the cause altogether.

"It’s not just the club, and I can understand that women want to have children and be home, but they need to get involved, too," she says. "I really see our community changing, and in some ways, not for the better."

For now, though, women and their friends can fete Sisters one last time with a two-day party marking the closing, Friday and Saturday, February 11 and 12. Luce is encouraging people to call all their friends and let them know that the bar is closing and to come and honor the 10 years that it has been chugging along.

"We’re gonna do it up for all it’s worth," says Luce. "Yes, it’s going to be a big party, so call everyone you know! We will not mourn the passing of the only women’s bar north of Providence. No, we’ll do what we do best — party and celebrate the friends we have as a result of Sisters."

Sisters is located at 45 Danforth Street in Portland. For more information, call (207) 774-1505.