But the culture is always alive
Oh, you mean the gay scene? I'm not in Chiangmai, so I can only speak generally. Chiangmai is not as dependent on tourism as Patong in Phuket. Its bars (see exception below) and massage places rely more on local custom than Phuket which relies almost exclusively on visitors. I would therefore expect there to be at least a steady trickle (or more) of customers in all Chiangmai places, but what the economic downturn has recently done to local purchasing power, I don't know.
The other side of the coin is that Chiangmai's boys are less capable of handling English than the more touristy places like Phuket and Pattaya. Nearly all the boys I've taken from bars and massage shops in Chiangmai have not been able to manage any English at all. Most times, I've had to use my very limited Thai.
The exception I referred to above is the area close by the night market. There are a few open-air bars known for street urchins hanging around and available for rent. I've never sat at any of these places because (a) urchins are not my taste (b) I've seen 10 year-old boys being fondled by 70-year-old farangs in open view of others, at these places, and I do not wish to be associated with them. This area has NO local custom, it depends on tourists. It's been a dying scene for some years now, and it may well be no more by now. To which I'd say, good riddance.
But really,few people go to Chiangmai for the gay scene. By itself it's too small to be worth the trouble. You're going there for the culture and the sights, right?