Back from 4 nights in Montreal -- good, bad and ugly (in the eyes of the beholder). I went to to both Campus and Stock on Thursday night. Campus has a decent line up of athletic guys, some of whom can also hold your attention with their pole gymnastics, but none were as stunning the dancers from the past. The line-up was the consistent the four nights I was there with little variation. Almost half of the dancers were Latino or non-French Canadian. More surprsingly was that the dancers didn't all come out naked for their 2nd song on stage, which was customary before. And more distressingly, the number of female patrons was at least 30% on Friday and Saturday nights, and as has been noted, the dancers gravitate toward the shreiking girls in the audience. The vibe at Campus has changed along with the gay village itself...there were many more younger patrons on the weekend nights, but they seemed less interested in the dancers on stage than the older patrons were. Unfortunately, the younger crowd doesn't seem to be there for the spectacle of swinging dicks and hot bodies on stage. Sunday was very slow, and one of the dancers I spoke with said he dances at Campus on Thurs - Sun, and does Only Fans the other nights of the week - so the trend isn't looking good for live 7 days a week nude entertainment.
As for Stock, I ventured in on Thursday to see the "Boys Boys Boys" they advertise on their neon sign above the lobby, only to be met with two performers on stage who were definitely not boys...but rather boys who identify as women dressed in S&M leather gear. It wasn't my cup of tea so I left and returned to Campus almost immediately. I decided to give a second chance to Stock on Saturday night and they had male dancers who were mostly average looking. There was one who did a Cirque du Soleil inspired pole dance, and was quite good, but I'm not going to a strip bar for circus acts. There were also bachelorette parties in the club which made the whole vibe less than appealing. Stock is nothing like it was in its heyday or even worth a trip to Montreal in my opinion anymore. Sadly, the new owners have completely strayed so far, that is is unrecognizable as the pantheon it once was for perusing the male physique.