So think back a few years (or decades) and remember when you were under the age of 21 in San Diego. At the time, you probably complained about the lack of nightlife options available to you, and talked about how one day you would open up a nightclub in San Diego that allowed the 18 to 20 crowd to party alongside those of legal age. Some of you searched for a fake ID, visited TJ on a few occasions, attended the college gay dances and spent most of your evenings complaining there was nothing to do.

But then you turned 21 and those dreams of opening that all-encompassing nightspot faded, because suddenly it didn’t matter anymore. After turning 21, you couldn’t care less what the poor 18 to 20-year-olds suffered through on Friday and Saturday nights.

As we grow older, so do the kids, and there is always a group of under age adults whose social sphere is much smaller than ours. They long for a gathering spot other than the Starbucks on University Avenue. Where else can they spend their evenings while the 21-plus crowd gays it up at Rich’s, Universal or Bourbon Street?

Options are sparse but not non-existant. Just last night, Club Lucky, based in Orange County, rolled into town and threw a special one-night only party at Downtown’s House of Blues. The evening promised to provide a space for more than 1,000 of Southern California’s hottest boys partying to the music of DJ Zach Moos and enjoying the eye candy of the BoyU.com dancers. Club Lucky’s weekly Orange County event is incredibly popular with its weekly Club Lucky Sundays parties at Irvine’s Tia Juanas club, and monthly Club Lucky events at Downtown Disney’s House of Blues. The party here promised to be even bigger and better!

Should Club Lucky San Diego turn out to be a success, I have been told that the promoters will consider making this a monthly event. Consider checking out Club Lucky should it make an encore appearance in San Diego again.

We have seen a few attempts at reviving the 18 and up gay nightlife scene. In the late 1990s, when I was a confused adult teenager, Club Elements opened in Hillcrest in the space that is now vacant next door to Yog-Art. Unfortunately, not enough people visited it to keep the place in business. More recently, Static Lounge in Downtown offered a gay night on Sundays, and while a large part of the under 21 crowd attended regularly, more stayed away. While Static still offers events on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, including May Star’s monthly Pop Noir party, there is no official “gay” night.

The 18 to 20-year-old is tough to please. You hand them a silver platter and they want gold. Such was the case with Elements and Static. In my opinion, these two clubs were fun and made bold attempts to reach out to an underserved market, and failed because their customer base wasn’t loyal. Then again, when you have a country with different drinking laws just 20 minutes away, offering a few high-energy dance clubs that cater to the 18 and over gay crowd, does San Diego’s 18-20 gay crowd really want a nightclub of its own? If they have to choose between a convenient, local, safe club where they can only drink bottled water, red bull, and soda pop, or a short journey across the border to a club where “anything goes” and the drinks flow cheap, it seems young adults choose the latter.

But will Club Lucky San Diego succeed? I attended the event and will fill you in next time. I also anticipate all of the feedback, praise and criticism that my 18-20 year old friends have about the night, and see if it is something they will continue to patronize, should it happen again. Oh, and if you are over 21, I didn’t mean to ignore you this week! You are more than welcome to attend Club Lucky’s events and party it up with the young ones. They need responsible, mature guys like you to take care of them. All of Club Lucky’s events take place at venues that have full bars for those 21 years and older with valid ID.