Jump to content

Labor Day Weekend In Montreal


LD19847

Recommended Posts

Please indulge me a little.   This is a long post.

Before heading to Montreal for the first time in four years, I wondered how I would write up the weekend. Would it be a celebration of a triumphant return to form?  Or would it be a farewell to the city I love?

First, A Little History

My love affair with Montreal was not planned.

In 2004, I booked a trip travelling across Canada. Montreal was a part of the itinerary I hadn’t thought about much.  I’d heard about Stock Bar before the trip.  I was quite nervous about visiting a strip bar for the first time and almost didn’t go.   Fortunately, I did and the rest is history.

A dancer called Marco caught my attention almost immediately on arrival and I had my first ever private dance.

After the club closed for refurbishment due to the fire at Unity, I returned in 2006.  Fortunately, Marco was still there.

From there on I have returned to Montreal almost every summer, typically on holiday weekends to have a good four nights Thursday to Sunday.  I’ve seen clubs elsewhere in Fort Lauderdale and Toronto but none came close to Montreal.

I have visited Campus a few times and to be honest have not stayed for more than 10 minutes.  It’s Stock Bar’s appeal that has endured.

It wasn’t just Stock, but also the city.  Compact, easy to get around, friendly and plenty of green space.

Much has changed.  Back in 2004, Montreal and The Village was an escape I needed.  The Village has changed and I certainly no longer have neither the energy nor interest to head to Unity or Stereo after Stock.  In that time many legends of Stock have come and gone.

All this time I’ve never been under any illusions.  One day my visits to Montreal would come to an end.

May be the clubs would fall victim to gentrification.  May be the city would have a licensing crackdown.  Or other changes in my life would put this all to a stop.

My last trip was in 2018.  After a four year gap primarily due to COVID, I returned this year for Labor Day weekend.

I was well aware things would not be the same as before COVID-19.  But how did it go?

The Village

The decline of The Village was been well documented.  As for as vacant real estate goes, this is the worst it has been.

With Gallerie Blanc and the boules project ended, there is little reason to go on a weekday.  Saloon Bar now opens at 5pm every day, apart for brunch between 10am and 3pm on Sundays.

There are ongoing efforts at placemaking with planters and platforms on the street and disco balls suspended from the lamp posts.

Friday

I would normally go to Stock on a Thursday but being aware it was quieter, I skipped this.

The Village was busy on Friday night with many restaurant terraces full of patrons.  I arrived at Stock at around 8.50pm.  The cover was $10.

My heart sank on entering.  There were about 5-10 patrons and I spotted 2 dancers outside and another 2 in the club.  The bar on the right hand side was closed.  No one was dancing on stage, until Fabio appeared at about 9.15pm.  I’d never seen Stock like this before on the weekend.

I ventured over to Campus where the cover was $8.  The club was much busier with patrons but no-one was dancing on stage. Though, a dancer soon appeared.

Returning to Stock the club did soon start to fill up and was pretty full by 11pm.  But the problem was clear, a lack of dancers.  Each dancer’s slow and fast performances were interspersed by music, rather than a fast and slow performance by two other dancers.  Also, no dancer all weekend performed their slow dance fully nude - most did in underwear or more.

There were a few female patrons but the majority of the crowd was male.  The rule seems to be that female patrons can only enter the club as part of mixed groups.  Two girls at the entrance were asking men if they could enter the club with them.

I didn’t see Joe, a former dancer who went into a management role.  Nor one of the very long serving bartenders.

Saturday

Saturday was a much stronger night.

Arriving at around 9.30pm there were, at a rough guess, 40-50 patrons.  Both bars were open and the club soon filled up.

Again, there were relatively few dancers but those on stage were well received by the crowd who all had a good time.

There were no duo or shower shows.

Speaking to other patrons on the night, many were at the club for the first time.  Apart seeing old clips on the screens between dances, they would not know any different.

One stand out dancer for me was, coincidentally, named Marco.  I made the mistake of turning him down for a private dance as I had not seen him on stage yet.  Really thick rugby player style physique.  I didn’t catch him afterwards but hoped he’d be there again on Sunday.  Big mistake.

Sunday

In the past Sundays on holiday weekends have attracted reasonably sized crowds.

Sadly, this wasn’t the case.  Arriving at 9pm there were 10 patrons and just a small number of core dancers who’d been there all weekend.  And no Marco. Admission on Sunday was $8.

Returning to the club after a brief walk in The Village, sensing that things were unlikely to change, I returned to my hotel.

Concluding Thoughts

The pandemic has been devastating for many businesses and survival is an achievement in itself.

I had the option of deferring my trip without penalty and, in retrospect, I wish I had waited until next summer before returning.

It was nice to be back in the city and there’s plenty else to do in the day but it’s clear at the moment there are not the dancers available to sustain 4 clubs in Montreal.

Many sectors have experienced labor shortages and there were many businesses across the city advertising for staff. I’ve seen reports of issues specific to Stock but I hope the club is able to return to its former glory.

Is this the end?  Never say never.  I’ll continue to keep a watchful eye on Montreal but I’d want to be confident that things have turned around before returning.

Side Notes

Apart from some venues closing and others changing opening hours one other change is that Montreal has fully embraced contactless payment since I was last there.  Some businesses are now cashless.

Also the Metro was free all weekend on the core central stations between Peel and Berri-UQAM on the green line and Berri-UQAM and Place-d’Armes on the orange line.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the report LD. I haven't been to Montreal in a number of years. The last time was 2018. I go back to the old Stock Bar when it was in a different location.. Those were good days. Finding the right dancers has become a bit of a challenge today. . The top guys are all doing Onlyfans,Justforfans, Twitter Etc. One Muscle 💪 Guy told me he makes 6k a month on Onlyfans, he doesn't need F A G S touching him in person all done from the basement of his house.. Being in the business it's a constant job of finding the right guys.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Lazarus said:

I’m wondering if Monkeypox has anything to do with this more than Covid. 

You're definitely onto something here.  I love male strip bars but have not gone near one since the MP outbreak.  I get my second MP vaccine at the end of September after which I'll consider venturing out again.

Beyond the above, no doubt that sites like OnlyFans have impacted the potential pool of male strippers.

I wonder if female strip clubs have been impacted similarly.  Are more women using OnlyFans or escort sites rather than being a stripper?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since women are more prominent now at the Montreal stripper bars, I wonder if they are hiring the strippers for private dances? When I went years ago mostly to Campus I seem to remember they didn't do many private dances.

If that is still the case then it would be the decline in male clients seeking private dances that would discourage  the strippers from coming on to work at the clubs. 

In the day it would not be difficult for a good dancer to pull in one to two thousand $ on a good night. There were nights when I dropped $400 or so when the action was hot. And I mean HOT.

Edited by Luv2play
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/7/2022 at 3:14 PM, Luv2play said:

Since women are more prominent now at the Montreal stripper bars, I wonder if they are hiring the strippers for private dances? When I went years ago mostly to Campus I seem to remember they didn't do many private dances.

If that is still the case then it would be the decline in male clients seeking private dances that would discourage  the strippers from coming on to work at the clubs. 

In the day it would not be difficult for a good dancer to pull in one to two thousand $ on a good night. There were nights when I dropped $400 or so when the action was hot. And I mean HOT.

From what I was told, most of the girls all want to go in the back as a group, like 3, 4 girls together and not pay extra. That is why they have the bigger booths without curtains etc. So they want a deal and don't stay long

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just came back from a day in Montreal. The weather was great and I had a rdv with a new escort ( for me). He was great and I would see him again but he is shortly moving to Puerto Vallarta.

The drive in and out was interesting as going in from the west was complicated by the fact that the entrance to the Ville Marie tunnel was blocked from the bottom of Decarie. So I detoured through Notre Dame Street from west to east and it was a delightful drive (not much traffic as it was a Sunday). 

On the way out the new interchange on hwy 20 just west of Decarie has been completed and made leaving the city going west to Ontario a breeze.  For the last 4 or 5 years it has been a nightmare with all the construction and detours.

If you ever want a nice lunch or dinner try Il Fornetto in Lachine. Right on the Lachine canal across the road. Besides excellent Italian cuisine, the wait staff is gorgeous and super attentive. I've eaten there on and off for 22 years and it never disappoints.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...