Montreal, March 2006

[+ newatthis]

Some high and low points

 

• I have a great view of the St. Patrick’s Day parade from my hotel room – bagpipers, Mounties in red and blue, jugglers, tumblers, and Ukrainian and Chinese dancers

 

• the Village in late winter looks drab and seedy, with quite a few graffiti-laden, boarded up stores and restaurants

 

• a local friend meets me at Campus for our dinner date; later that night a Taboo dancer who was there rushes over to tell me how handsome my friend is

 

• I get caught up in the dramas of my [a href=http://babydb.male4malescorts.com/m4mdc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=18&topic_id=12946&mesg_id=12946] ex-dancer lust-object D[/a]’s life – his money, his future, is he really gay or straight? – which put a sour end to a pleasant afternoon and evening

 

• a favorite dancer, who has twice stood me up for dinner (though he’s always reliable about more important appointments) shows up for lunch (third time lucky!) with a carefully selected bottle of massage oil to spice up our post-prandial activities

 

• a waiter who served breakfast to a younger “friend” and me during my last trip asks if I’m back in town to visit my son

 

• I take a new dancer friend to lunch on the Plateau. As we leave the restaurant, he says “let me show you my neighborhood.” We walk around in the warm sun, window shopping in boutiques, browsing through used CDs, visiting his local baker, butcher, and chocolatier, and checking out the menus in trendy restaurants

 

Migrations. The cadre of Stock émigrés at Campus (Lance/Mickey, Riccardo, Josh/Chad …) has now been joined by a group of Taboo émigrés. Damien started the exodus a few months ago; he’s been joined by Helmuth, Alonzo, and Jose. Eden, though still dancing at Taboo, turns up at Campus most afternoons to hang out with his friends.

 

Taboo. The Village is truly a village – as I come through the door on my first evening, Eden greets me “so the rumors that you’re in town are true!” There was a good vibe here every time I visited; even on the slowest night, there were at least 15 dancers.

 

The high point of the week was the opening round of the Mr. Taboo competition – SRO, close to 30 dancers. Roberto, dressed in a self-designed Inca-style headdress and a metallic loincloth devised by Eden, won the night’s prize. The costumes of the other 4 competitors, and all of the dance routines, were lackluster. There should be better times ahead; check out Taboo on the next 7 (8?) Wednesday nights.

 

Ti-Guy Doux, a comedian and former Taboo manager, was the MC. His 20-minute introduction had us rolling on the floor in stitches, as he read, with deadpan commentary, the police report of the infamous May 2003 raid and the ensuing interrogations of customers and dancers. Whenever my French failed me, exotically handsome Mike beside me provided a quick translation. At one point, a hapless customer celebrating his birthday was betrayed to Ti-Guy by his group of 20-something friends (Taboo attracts quite a few such groups; it’s long since lost its status as a haven for dirty old men), who hounded him until, with the help of Mike and Peter, he was enticed on stage to do a dance (clothed, unfortunately).

 

Mike and Peter, by the way, were a pleasant surprise – I hadn’t paid them much attention in the past. I spent most of my first evening with Peter, whose ready smile and general good spirits are infectious. He’s also great in the back. Mike is a little quieter, with an equally ready smile. Sitting between them while they good-naturedly trash-talked each other was very entertaining.

 

The night of my debacle with D, I took a late trip to Taboo to avoid wallowing in self-pity. Jean-Sebastian (who’s cut back to at most a couple of weekend nights because of school) was on hand to provide solace. And that wasn’t all – avid readers of my [a href= http://babydb.male4malescorts.com/m4mdc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=18&topic_id=12946&mesg_id=12946] Montreal Winter Diary [/a] (2 at last count) will recall how a promising acquaintanceship with dancer Ryan was cut short by a snowstorm. I’m happy to report that my initial enthusiasm was not mistaken. After Jean-Sebastian moved on, Ryan (a sweet guy and good listener despite his saucy edge) spent an hour drawing the story out of me, and then dragged me to the back for some free dances as consolation.

 

Among the other Taboo dancers working last week were Zach, Diego, Pascal, Marco, Eden, Sylvain, Dave, Victorio, Antoine, Dominic, Eric, Karim, Cedric, Alex, Johnny, Simon, Francis, and Kai, as well as others whose names I didn’t catch. As mentioned, Damien, Helmuth, Jose, and Alonzo have moved to Campus.

 

Campus (afternoons). The influx of Stock and Taboo dancers has had a noticeable impact. There are fewer dead afternoons and a much greater variety of body types, ranging from heavily muscled Gabriel to twink Damien. Every afternoon but one the room was reasonably full and had a good complement of dancers, many of whom were content to hang around and talk, Taboo-style, for the price of a drink. The few back-room dances I did were outstanding. The anticipated crackdown has yet to materialize.

 

I had never gotten around to Alonzo at Taboo; I learned here what an oversight that was (Fisher, eat your heart out!). He combined soft cuddliness and wonderful deep kissing (caution: ymmv) with a smoldering Latin sensuality.

 

A second winner was Ryan (not Taboo Ryan). I had been ignoring him ever since a disappointing experience at L’Adonis about a year ago. A good conversation on my first day led to a second chance in the back, where he swiftly overwrote my bad memories.

 

The third standout was Joël, new to me and relatively new to Campus. A gymnast, his stage routine includes flips and other acrobatic moves, and he puts these talents to use in the back as well.

 

I finally got hit with the dual pricing scam at Campus. I handed a dancer $40 at the end of 4 songs, only to be told “I charge $20 a dance for what I let you do." I was especially incensed because “what I let you do” had been entirely at his instigation. I refused, and gave him hell for not – at least – saying something in advance about his system of first-class and coach pricing. To his credit, he immediately backed off, took the proffered $40, and said “I hope you’re not angry with me.”

 

(Editorial comment: This dual-pricing thing has got to be bad for business. Customers feel taken advantage of. And from a purely economic point of view, I don’t see how anyone could make it stick, since so many dancers provide as good or better service while sticking to the publicized $10 price.)

 

Other dancers working afternoons at Campus included Sylvester, Benjamin, Martin (who has the coolest demeanor on stage), Criss, Kenny (back from exile at L’Adonis with a higher-pitched voice and a bitchier attitude), Jimmy, and Marky. There were others whose names I no longer recall.

 

Privates. Every dancer I wanted to see outside of the clubs was amenable. Mine is certainly not a representative sample. I don’t approach many dancers. And I break the question very gently, and only after we’ve established rapport through conversation out front and multiple dances in back. My most bizarre experience was being offered a private I hadn’t even requested: I had set up an afternoon date with a dancer, to be followed by dinner together. While finalizing things, I asked whether he minded my inviting a dancer friend of his to come along for dinner. His reply: of course not – and would you like him to join us for a threesome beforehand?

 

I agree with my new friend F (a local resident and occasional poster here with whom I spent some pleasant hours at Campus) that these young dancers don’t provide what a good escort can – many have limits (which can change over time and with longer acquaintanceship) or lack the experience in satisfying clients that older escorts have. But youth is a powerful trump card. These young guys are fresh, agile, energetic, and can be wonderfully soft and affectionate. They have a genuine enthusiasm which can be exhilarating. You sometimes pay a premium (over what escorts generally cost in Montreal) for taking a dancer home, but you have the advantage of seeing them and getting to know them beforehand.

 

Massage. I know my 2 avid readers are wondering about world-class masseur Steve. Following a bout of illness in January, he’s resumed his work and is still providing the same extraordinary level of service.

 

Speaking of drag. Eden, Damien, and a non-dancer friend of theirs showed up at Taboo in gorgeous drag one evening – as one person remarked, “looking good enough to turn you straight.”

 

Restaurants. I keep forgetting to mention one of my favorite restaurants, La Piazzeta, which has a branch conveniently next door to Campus. Excellent food prepared from top-quality fresh ingredients, good selection of wines and of local beers on tap, and at least one really cute waiter. Don’t miss the panna cotta with caramel – you’ll think you died and went to heaven.

 

Other clubs. I never even looked in at Stock. D and I stopped at L’Adonis for a drink that ill-fated evening; nothing very interesting seemed to be going on.

[Karl-G]

Wonderful report, full of details and insights. Thank you very much. I'm glad you had a good time, and your report will make my next visit even better.

[twinkboylover28]

Awesome report. I can't wait for my return visit in 6 weeks!

 

It's good to hear that Cedric is still at Taboo. I hope Taboo has some fresh new meat as well.

 

When I visited Taboo last year in May, the most dancers they ever had were 8 or 9 at night.

 

I'm glad to hear it has picked up this year. I wonder what happened to skinny twink boy "Matthieu" who danced at Taboo last May?

[+ Oliver]

>Massage. I know my 2 avid readers are wondering about world-class masseur Steve. Following a bout of illness in January, he’s resumed his work and is still providing the same extraordinary level of service.<

 

Wonderfully articulate and descriptive report, as usual, my friend.

 

So glad to know you did not miss out on Steve. Your trip could not have been "complete" without having "all your tensions released"! }(

 

(Now this makes at least three readers! :7 )

[baltimore observer]

A new Mathieu started last week at Stock. Very thin.

[+ newatthis]

>(Now this makes at least three readers! :7 )

 

Uh, no ... you were one of the two I had in mind. :-)

[MTLover]

Thanks newatthis, for the always comprehensive, entertaining

report about your trip. I so look forward to your tales upon

each return to 'normal' life.(You have an incredible recall of things.)

Even though I couldn't arrange

a trip on the same dates (I'm heading there the 2nd week of May)

we will hopefully be able to coordinate a joint visit there later

in the year :-)

Great news about Steve. A massage from him is definitely something

to which I look forward :9 Hopefully, he won't be booked up.

 

I was hit with the $10 to $20 switch/increase at Campus last year for the

first time. You are much better at standing your ground than me. I

folded after a few minutes of discussion. I check now (before the

first song begins) to see at which rate the meter is operating. I hate

having the fun of the dance erased by such negative negotiation.

 

Glad to hear of your highlights (sorry 'bout the drama.)I hope the

increased appearance of dirty streets and graffiti in the Village are addressed. I read city officials have recently put the city workers on notice about not putting in a full day's work. I wonder if that had anything to do with what you are witnessing as far as city upkeep?

[+ newatthis]

> (You have an incredible recall of things.)

 

Actually I make it all up.

 

> I was hit with the $10 to $20 switch/increase at Campus last year for the first time...

> I hate having the fun of the dance erased by such negative negotiation.

 

My impression is that it's a distinct minority of the afternoon dancers you need to worry about. I'm not sure how I'd handle it if I didn't know beforehand that the dancer in question did this -- raising the issue might just put ideas into in his head.

 

The funny thing was that when I did a second set of dances the next day with the guy who tried to scam me, and he had agreed that we'd stay in $10 territory, he still encouraged me to venture beyond the supposed $10 limits -- and didn't ask for anything extra at the end. Go figure.

[Paul Revere]

I am not sure that you can correctly still call yourself "new at this", I remember when you really were "new" at this. But you have been a very good student, and you have learned very quickly! You now are "veteran at this".

[+ newatthis]

>I am not sure that you can correctly still call yourself "new at this", I remember when you really were "new" at this. But

>you have been a very good student, and you have learned very quickly! You now are "veteran at this".

 

Yeah, but then someone will accuse me of posting here under multiple aliases. :-(

[Guest Fisher]

>I had never gotten around to Alonzo at Taboo; I learned

>here what an oversight that was (Fisher, eat your heart out!).

 

I’d much rather eat Alonzo then my heart. }(

(or Jean Sebastian for that matter) :9

 

Is Anglophone Sean and/or tattooed Sammy

still dancing at Taboo?

 

Sounds like you had a great time up north.

Remember you have to replenish lost protein. :+

 

Cheers,

Fisher :-)

[TerryP]

Did anyone see a cute little guy named Jeffrey at Campus (Days)?

[LustinGuy]

I havent seen cutey Jeffrey in the last few days but I'll go look again today. But Joel is a fine substitute; one of the best dances I've had in Montreal in many years!

 

I have to disagree with the OP about Stock and Adonis. Many people who frequent Montreal strip club agree that Stock has the best quality and variety of dancers. While Adonis isn't as fabulous as some of the others, I am continually amazed and the extremely hot new guys (such as JP) that routinely appear there. It is not always worth the walk but the special surprises you'll often find make me take a shot quite often... especially when the drunks get going with their antics at Campus.

[LustinGuy]

no Jeff or Joel today but Helmut is extremely fun too and looks even better than when he was at Taboo

[+ newatthis]

>Is Anglophone Sean and/or tattooed Sammy still dancing at Taboo?

 

Didn't see either of them. I was told that Sean has given up dancing and seems to have acquired a girlfriend. (This was in response to my recalling Sean's "classic" remark: "I thought I was straight until I started dancing here.")

[LustinGuy]

good news... hottie Jeff and gorgeous Phil reappeared at Campus today for the first time this month. Seems that spring has spring in Montreal and many dancers seem excited for money making season. The super sexy Marco has also returned to Stock.