E-Mail This Article to a Friend NIGHTLIFE Toasting ‘Ladies’ Night’ BY DEIRDRE FULTON

Last week’s rumored cancellation of "Ladies’ Night" at Somerville’s Toast Lounge was enough to cause a certifiable hullabaloo — suggesting just how sorely gay nights for women are needed in the Boston area, and just how fragile the current situation is.

Every Thursday for 15 months, the club has hosted "Ladies’ Night," when scores of young, hip women meet, dance, and make out in the club’s cavernous, dimly lighted rooms.

But at 11:30 p.m. last Thursday, the Union Square establishment was only half-full at a time when patrons typically have to throw elbows to get some breathing room. Pop and hip-hop music still pumped on the dance floor, and a few of the front lounge’s velour couches were occupied, but the vibe just wasn’t the same.

Though it was a snowy night, the lackluster crowd had more to do with a change in promotion — and the surprising chaos that followed — than with inclement weather.

Mid afternoon on February 2, a torrent of Toast-related posts took over the Boston section of the Craig’s List online bulletin board. One screamed that "Ladies’ Night" was canceled, effective immediately; another assured the worried posters that the night would still happen. Part of the confusion resulted from the fact that two Web sites were telling different stories (the bar’s info was at www.toastlounge.com; the word from the night’s promoter, Wendy Kelly, could be found at www.toastboston.com). Gradually, the story became clear: Toast’s "Ladies’ Night" would go on, but not with 33-year-old Kelly at the helm.

About 10 of her staffers (three bartenders, a coat-checker, security personnel, and the popular DJ) followed her out last week, Kelly says, and she’s eager to put the bad experience behind her.

"It wasn’t handled in a professional manner," she said on the phone Tuesday. "I built that night — I paid for the cups, I paid for the Web site, the prizes, the decorations."

In letting Kelly go, "we took a calculated risk," manager Sean Sullivan admits, because he’s sure she will take some business with her. Sullivan claims Toast’s management wanted to start additional women-only nights, leading to friction with Kelly, who he says might have lost money as a result of such ventures. "It was basically just a difference in the way we saw things," Sullivan says.

Clearly. Kelly’s take: "He shot himself in the foot with his greed."

Last Thursday, the first "Ladies’ Night" without Kelly, the two leather-jacketed men checking IDs at the door were none other than Sullivan and Toast’s owner, Ken Kelly (no relation to the promoter). No one had to pay a cover charge, which Sullivan explained was an effort "to thank people for coming out tonight," despite the rumors. Many of those who did show up said they weren’t aware of the brouhaha. On the dance floor, however, it looked as if the buzz had taken its toll. "Toast is dead," one dancer proclaimed.

Perhaps 25-year-old Angie Thibault’s reaction summed it up: "What the fuck?" She added, "This place is always packed." The Cambridge resident doubted she’d come back, and though she listed a few possible Toast backups, she expressed frustration at the scene’s constant flux.

But it wasn’t all bad. A couple sitting at the bar, who confirmed that the staff was completely different, thought the change would attract new people. And ultimately, the competition might force Toast’s management to make some client-friendly changes. Back outside, Sullivan said Toast won’t charge a "Ladies’ Night" cover fee for at least a few weeks. But that’s not the only change Toast’s management is considering. Ken Kelly says he’s thinking of eventually turning Toast into an "all-ladies establishment."

For her part, Wendy Kelly is in the midst of finalizing arrangements for a new ladies’ night called "Tribe." She and her staff have a venue lined up, and Kelly says she’ll make the announcement on the Toast Boston site as soon as the deal is official. The one thing she will say about "Tribe": "It is better — a good place, where people can have a good time, feel safe."

In the meantime, she’s focused on promoting not just "Tribe," but unity among female promoters to help them gain leverage at straight-run establishments. Once she moves "Tribe" information to a new Internet domain, she hopes to use the Toast Boston site as a clearinghouse to list all events for women — regardless of whether the events compete. She calls it a toast to women.