Montreal: March 2007

[+ newatthis]

Memories of loneliness during my early trips to Montreal, at times when the clubs were slow, or the dancers unfriendly or not to my taste, can still make me uneasy when a visit is totally unstructured. This trip is no exception. It appears that none of my grown-up friends – US or Canadian – is going to be in town. And except for C, I haven’t managed to contact any of the dancers I’d like to see.

 

My unease propels me in an unusual direction: I email [a href=http://www.rentboy.com/location/getrb.asp?rentboy=98493&Location=445]Mark[/a], a cute escort I find on rentboy. Instant response: “I will be unable to reply to your message until Sunday.” That settles it: I book an extra session with world-class masseur [a href=http://geocities.com/massage_zen/steve.html ]Steve [/a] as insurance.

 

Sunday. I have managed to dodge one bullet, the snowstorms that have been wreaking havoc all over the northeast. My plane is full of rerouted voyagers with tales of woe. The snow cover increases as we get closer to Montreal; the river is frozen over; the sky is overcast and dreary. Snowplows are at work on the runways.

 

I decide to pinch pennies, the better to afford the new $20 price at Campus – airport shuttle to the Marriott, taxi from there to the Hyatt. A good omen: I’m offered (“shhh…don’t tell anyone”) the unused portion of a round-trip ticket; that’s $3 more saved!

 

[a NAME=hyatt][/a] I love the Hyatt. The staff is friendly and efficient; extra towels and toiletries arrive at the door within minutes of my request. The Desjardins complex below has ATMs galore, fast food of every variety, even a grocery store. Best of all in this freezing weather is the direct connection to the Contemporary Arts Museum, concert halls, and the métro. Only 3 stops to Campus; 4 to Taboo; 6 minutes at most.

 

I unpack, grab a sandwich, make an ATM run, open a safe deposit box, shower, and shave. There’s just enough time to make some calls before I see Steve. First a message to C, suggesting we meet Tuesday. Then escort Mark. He’s expected around 10 according to his boyfriend; I leave my number. On a whim I try S, heretofore unreachable. Amazingly, he answers. No longer dancing, still in school, has a job. He sounds very low-key, almost affectless. I propose a meal together (“and other things if you feel like it”). “That would be nice,” he says, “I’ll call tomorrow to set a time.” I feel instinctively that this is an empty promise.

 

Post-Steve (there’s nothing new to say about him; he’s extraordinary!), I wander over to Campus. Surprise! – there’s Alonzo, as elusive as Bigfoot the past 7 months (last October he first turned up on my last night in town; in August he was in Peru). I think of him as an old friend (perhaps because he’s occupied my thoughts for so long), though, in truth, we haven’t spent that much time together. Nevertheless, after a drink and some dances, I propose dinner. He suggests tomorrow evening, when he won’t be working, and gives me his roommate’s cell phone number (his own is out of service for the usual reason). I stop next door for a light dinner at [a href=#practical]La Piazetta[/a], then proceed to Taboo.

 

It’s bitterly cold with a strong wind; giant double snow removal trucks slowly make their way down the street scooping up the snow piled high along the curb. The window at Priape displays an incongruous beach scene.

 

[a NAME=taboo][/a] Taboo is in one of its lean periods. Fewer customers, fewer dancers, pretty low energy. The dancers are cute enough and friendly enough, but the overall vibe is not upbeat. There’s a somewhat decrepit air – lights burned out, problems with the pole on stage. I hear on the grapevine that there is trouble between the Canadian and American owners.

 

Dancers at Taboo this week: Patrick (surfer look, back after a long hiatus, who recalls a shared dinner with me and [a href=http://m4m.m4m-forum.org/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=18&topic_id=12946&mesg_id=12946]ex-dancer lust-object D[/a]), Sasha, Skyler, Michael, Brian, Jess (very cute smile, known as TJ at Adonis), Mike (as exotic looking as ever, now sporting glasses), Steve, and Terry (a barely legal 18-year old with eye shadow who gives a first impression of empty-headedness, but turns out to be an engaging conversationalist).

 

When I return after midnight, there’s a message from just-arrived-home escort Mark. Yes, he can see me Monday afternoon; give him a call.

 

Monday. I reach Mark in the morning. Our conversation is quick and uncomplicated; he’ll come over at 2:30. In person, he’s very much the boy next door I envisioned from his pictures. We have geography and other things in common, which helps break the ice. He’s a natural. Though he’s been escorting for only 3 months, he kisses like an angel and is both relaxed and sexy. By the time we part, I’ve taken out a “right of first refusal” on 2 hours of his time on Thursday.

 

[a NAME=adonis][/a] Campus is dead today, only 5 dancers. I wander down to L’Adonis, purely out of curiosity; my session with Mark has diminished my libido drastically. (Adonis is always an afterthought for me. It’s where I go in the afternoon if Campus is dead.) Good news: there are quite a few attractive and friendly guys, and just enough customers (it’s the smallest of the clubs) to keep the dancers happy. (There’s also pesky Alex, formerly of Campus, who within minutes proffers his phone number and proclaims his availability for privates.) I call Alonzo; he’s MIA, so I dine alone at [a href=#practical]Yuan[/a], a creative new vegetarian Asian fusion restaurant.

 

C has yet to respond to yesterday’s message – very out of character for him. I reach his roommate: “Thank goodness you called back – C stayed an extra day in California and won’t be home till tonight. He didn’t have your Montreal number.”

 

Back to Adonis. I have a scorching time in the (thankfully empty) back room, so much so that I invite the dancer to join me at the Hyatt after work (I guess my libido isn’t so diminished after all!). At the hotel he confesses he’s a little stressed out (he’s been dancing for only 5 days), but I manage to calm him down. He’s not a professional like Mark, but we have fun. Later I discover that he danced at the old West Side when he was only 15.

 

Dancers I noticed at Adonis during the week: Chad (21, cute, voluble, with bright red hair), Dominic, Pepe (known as Roberto when he danced at Taboo), Dillon, Tyler (tall, thin, strikingly blond, on the fem side), James, Dany (tall, nice smile and boy next door look), Mitch (Oliver’s “big old bottom” from last August).

 

C calls. He felt he owed his California client an extra day to make up for arriving 12 hours late (due to a missed connection at O’Hare). We’ll have dinner tomorrow, but may need to postpone other activities, as he’s jetlagged and tired after his trip.

 

[a NAME=bakery][/a] Tuesday. I venture into the Village for breakfast. There’s a new branch of a wonderful artisanale [a href=#practical]bakery[/a] just steps from Métro Beaudry, a nice place to sit with the paper and relax. Two croissants (the Montreal croissant, like the NY bagel, has been substantially upsized) and a bowl of café au lait run $6.00. The coffee leaves me jittery.

 

C, as always, is a delightful dinner companion, full of entertaining stories about his escorting. He’s the soul of discretion about his clients, but captivatingly open and uninhibited about his own life. We’ll try to get together tomorrow; he’ll call after checking his schedule. I head off to Taboo.

 

Things are slightly better than on Sunday. I gossip with Francis and check out the talent. None of these guys does much for me. Sylvester has moved here from Campus. I talk with gorgeous Hugo, but pass on dances with him, remembering [a href= http://m4m.m4m-forum.org/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=18&topic_id=14851&mesg_id=14851]last October[/a]. I spot Julien, who stood me up for dinner last visit. The club is too empty for him to avoid saying “hello.” I respond, coldly, “you owe me an explanation.” Whatever charm he once had for me has vanished, and I’m happy he never gets back to my table.

 

Wednesday. I call Mark from the bakery to exercise my Thursday afternoon option. C is not free until late; I’ve got my second Steve session scheduled then. Maybe we can work something out on Thursday.

 

There’s voice mail from Alonzo; can we have lunch today? He had a family emergency from Sunday night through Tuesday; my phone number was in his roommate’s cell phone, so he couldn’t call. (This may even be true – would it be worth the trouble to make up such a story?) Unfortunately, I already have plans. We’ll have a bite when he finishes work tomorrow night.

 

Thursday. At long last it’s turned warm; light rain is falling. The pressure is building as the end of my stay approaches. I’ve got Mark this afternoon (he’s even better the second time). I’d love to find some time for C. I’m supposed to see Alonzo after work. And I want to make my last rounds of the clubs. Clearly this can’t all fit into the available time.

 

I call C before I head down to the Village. All we can manage is a quick coffee at my bakery; our “date” will have to wait till next visit. I do some dances with Alonzo and give him a rain check for dinner when I return. I make a stop at Adonis, then on to Taboo. Same cute guys at Adonis, not so novel anymore. Taboo is slow; I leave well before midnight. Damn! I could have seen C or Alonzo after all.

 

[a NAME=campusguide][/a] An interim guide to the new Campus. The 3 lap dance booths opposite the main bar have been replaced by the ATMs and video gambling machines, and the old video machine area further down is now a coat room.

 

A corridor runs down the center of the lap dance area, located behind the DJ; the entrance adjoins the stairs to the dancers’ private quarters. (It’s poorly lighted, easy to trip on the steps while returning from a hot lap dance.) On the stage side are a few “open” booths with wooden partitions rising to about shoulder height. Across the corridor are 10 comfortably furnished “closed” booths, separated from each other by wooden walls, and from the corridor by heavy, leather-like, floor-to-ceiling curtains. These are completely private once the curtains are closed. At least one is large enough to accommodate several dancers at once (and is used that way, according to my informants).

 

The official price seems to be $20/song in a closed booth, $10 in an open one, though I didn’t see this posted anywhere. But, in fact, the pricing seems to be more fluid.

 

Over the course of my stay, I did lap dances with 3 different guys. I’ve known Dancer A for a while. He told me up front that he was still charging his old clients $10/song. He took me to a closed booth, drew the curtains, and went to town. We did nothing more than we had done in the old Campus (which was considerable!), but there was no worry about peering eyes; he was clearly much more comfortable with this new privacy. I guess I was too; I ended up staying longer than ever before.

 

Dancer B was new to me – a real cutie with a wonderful smile. He described the open/closed pricing and was ok with my choosing the $10 option. We were the only ones in the open booths and he was very interactive. Had there been other customers in the open area, we probably would have been more restricted in what we could do.

 

I’ve known Dancer C for a long time, though we’ve rarely gone to the back. I had enough confidence in him, nonetheless, to suggest a contract arrangement: I’d give him $50 up front and he could give me as much time as he thought was fair. He took me to a closed booth and we had a lot of fun. I have no idea how long we were back there; I certainly got my money’s worth.

 

These guys are savvy– they understand that it’s better to earn something at a lower rate than nothing at a higher one, and that a little flexibility is likely to keep clients coming back for more.

 

[a NAME=campus][/a]Dancers I saw at Campus during the week: Lance/Mickey, Enzo, Matt, Adrian, Nathaniel (back after a year away, looking scrawny and a little strung out), Chris (as buff, friendly, and sexy as ever), Hugo, Vincent, Felix (engaging smile and beautiful body), Etai, Moshe (very outgoing and a super dancer), Damien, Jessy (who won the “[a href=#jessy]most sour personality award[/a]”), Dmitri, Sasha, Stef, Brandon (redhead, a wrestler built like a fireplug), Max, Alonzo, Freddie (Alonzo’s stylish Franco-Japanese roommate), Jose, Alex (not the pesky one who’s now at Adonis), and Helmut (whose hair is starting to grow back in). Waiter/bartender Keir/Antwan works the day shift only on Thursdays, so no longer knows the daytime dancers well enough to make recommendations.

 

[a NAME=jessy][/a]Jessy has perfected the art of turning customers off. Last October he enjoyed a protracted massage at the bar from me and barely said “thank you.” When he spots me, he immediately asks for a massage. I ask “what do I get in return?” He says “like what?” “How about a free lap dance or two in exchange?” “No way!” He spends the next half hour wheedling “please, give me a massage”. Later, when I return to the bar from the lap dance area, he asks “how long were you back there anyway? I was there with a client, and you started before us and ended a long time after us.”

 

[a NAME=Sstory][/a]A sad story. I’ve known S for almost 2 years. We’ve shared a few meals and even more sessions at my hotel. I’ve been to his apartment and helped with his homework. As I expected, he never called me back after we spoke on Sunday.

 

I comment one evening on the number of dancers who have quit the business, mentioning S among several others. The dancer I’m with immediately picks up on S’s name: “Didn’t you know that he was fired?” “Why?” “Drugs!” Could this be true? It would certainly explain a lot.

 

A happy story. A local friend recounts the following. When he decided to retire, sell his house, and move to Montreal, his octogenarian father asked “why Montreal?” My friend explained “because gay life is much better there.” His father’s response: “there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a long time.” (My friend says he had realized his father was gay many years before.)

 

Culture [ul] [li] A triple show at the Contemporary Art Museum: Gauthier, Fortin, and Ben Ner. Ben Ner has produced a hilarious video rendering of Moby Dick, filmed in his kitchen and starring his daughter. [li] The Montreal Symphony has some innovative programming; I attend a morning concert of film music (another piece of good luck: a guy stuck with an extra ticket sells it to me for half price). [li] At the Fine Arts Museum I see “Once upon a Time Walt Disney” which includes paintings and books which inspired Disney’s animation, models and sketch books from the movies themselves, and, downstairs, a selection of modern art influenced by Disney (Warhol, Lichtenstein, …). [/ul]

 

[a NAME=practical][/a] Practical Information. [ul] [li] La Piazetta, 1101 rue Ste. Catherine Est, next door to Campus [li] new French bakery – Autour d’un Pain, 1219 rue Sainte-Catherine Est, just west of Métro Beaudry [li]Yuan, 400 Sherbrooke Est, (corner of St. Denis), Métro Sherbrooke [/ul]

[MTLover]

Thanks for the first rate recap. Since I'm heading there in a couple weeks, I'm sorry to hear Taboo is experiencing a downturn in quality.

(And indeed, sorry to hear about S...if the news you heard about him was accurate :-( )

 

I very much appreciated your update on the new Campus layout and roster rundown. I was sort of hoping you'd add Stock bar this trip since it's elevated private dance price is no longer exclusive on St. Catherine. (Although, had our trips overlapped, you would likely have been dragged there...at least for a drink.)

 

I agree completely about the Hyatt. The underground access to the Metro is wonderful when bad (cold) weather strikes. And as always, you make some of the most wonderful recomendations for that city. Masseur Steve is a reliable attraction in the village. Can't wait for the return visit.

[+ newatthis]

...

>I was sort of hoping you'd add Stock bar

>this trip ... (Although, had our trips

>overlapped, you would likely have been dragged there...at

>least for a drink.)

 

You wouldn't have to drag me -- I'm looking forward to visiting Stock with someone who knows the dancers and the ropes there. In truth, I put in less club time than usual, and every time I passed Stock, it was either closed or empty.

 

Didn't get around to trying the name you gave me, but I did pass it on to someone who was looking for recommendations.

 

Have fun! It will be warmer when you're there, and the clubs should be more lively.

[+ Gar1eth]

I wish for us newbies who might be considering going--someone could/would explain what happens in a private. For example I'm a top--would I be happy--receiving a private--or more to the point--would my "Mr. Happy" be happy and exhausted at the end of private--or is it more to make the dancer's Mr. Happy--happy during the private.

 

Thanks,

 

Gman

[tazmanian5230]

Gman,

Talk to the dancer(s) of your choice, let them know EXACTLY what you expect and are looking for. Discuss price and amount of time.

 

Between all of the clubs in Mtl. Iam sure you can find a Mr Right.

[kjun]

Thanks for the dissertation. Quite lengthy and informative. You took your time and did us well.

 

the Cajun

[+ newatthis]

RE: "privates"

 

Taz and I are assuming you mean "private" outside the club, not a lap dance in the back (sometimes, confusingly, also called a private dance).

 

I would say that, on the average, you get more dependable results from a well-reviewed escort (or, according to friends, an escort from an agency), than you do from dancers. That I go for dancers when I'm in Montreal reflects my taste for the chase -- discovering someone who appeals to me, discovering he still turns me on when I've gotten to know him a little, wooing him and popping the question -- more than any quality of service preference. I've almost never felt shortchanged in what I got, but there's often more effort required (like the stressed guy from Adonis I wrote about).

 

Taz's advice is right on point, though I have heard of situations when a dancer promised more than he delivered despite explicit negotiations beforehand.

[Karl-G]

Thank You

 

Thanks very much for your latest report. They get better and better, if that is possible. I know the time and effort putting the report together takes, so I am appreciative of all your hard work. For me (the rest of us), it is a temporary fine substitute for an actual visit to Montreal, and more importantly, a superb guide to our next actual visit (when the weather is warmer).

 

I especially look forward to meeting Mark.

 

Thank you very much.

[eeyore]

Thanks for the this great update. It's encouraging to hear that the $10 dances at Campus are still available, albeit with some negotiation involved now.

[Guest msclonly]

It is amazing to see some dancers stand around most of the night, but pass on a package of $10 dances!

 

:+ }( :+

[+ newatthis]

Care to elaborate? -- when? where (Campus, I asssume)? who? As I wrote, my data are pretty limited.

 

My intuition on this is that the guys who pass on $10 dances are the same ones you wouldn't enjoy much in a closed booth either. Or anywhere else, for that matter. (But maybe that's a self-fulfilling intuition.)