New gay male strip club in DC!

[Keenan]

Not sure if anyone made it from here this evening but I went and auditioned. If you did make it out thanks for coming.

 

Keenan

[+ Hoover42]

Here's my take on Rock Hard Sundays at The House.

 

Location: 3530 Georgia Ave NW, three blocks south of the Georgia Ave Petwork station on Green line. Though I took an Uber from Dupont Circle.

 

Arrived at 7:45pm, and paid a $10 cover charge to get in. There were four customers in the place.

 

There's a bar along the right-most wall after you enter, and stairs leading up to a darkened balcony over the bar. Mixed drinks were $7.50 but there were a few drink specials to be had if you were interested.

 

A row of Naugahyde (leather?) sectional sofas separated the bar from a row of tables next to stage.

 

You could, if you wanted, sit right at the stage, but I picked one of the tables set back from the stage. Here's a photo from that vantage point.

 

http://i.imgur.com/kWCXVbs.jpg

 

According to the bartender, there were two shows scheduled for the evening, the first one scheduled for 8pm.

 

Shortly after 8pm, a warmup act comprised of two guys, one chubby dude and one skinny and tatted dude, came out on stage and danced for a few seconds before the skinny guy jumped off the stage and started circulating through the crowd to collect tips.

 

There was pause in the action, then around 8:40 pm--40 minutes past the planned start time--a drag queen came out and started to try to MC the first show while struggling with an intermittently failing wireless microphone

 

Eventually, Jessie, the first headliner, came out and did a good job of entertaining the crowd, which by that point had grown to about 50 people, maybe a third of what the place could comfortably hold.

 

Jessie was the first of eight dancers, and he and they all followed the same routine: Dance on stage for a few minutes before jumping off the stage and circulating among the patrons to collect tips.

 

After my waiter informed me that the some of the guys could be hired for a lap dance up in the balcony area over the bar, I asked a couple of the dancers for rates. Skinny tatted guy wanted $50 a song, and Jessie said he wasn't sure what he wanted to charge and wanted to know exactly what I wanted to do during my lapdance. I decided to pass and didn't pursue the question. Note that if you do indulge yourself, you have to pay the bar $10 for the lapdance space in addition to whatever the dancer charges.

 

Since no one else interested me, I left before the second show started.

 

Obviously, the big difference between this place and Secrets is the option to buy an actual lap dance on premises. The indecision and variability in prices is a big turn off for me though.

[+ azdr0710]

thanks, Hoover, for the report.....you say lap dances are in a balcony over the bar....is it in that glass-enclosed booth we see in the right center of your picture??.....if so, not very private, right??!!

[Keenan]

I guess I can give my opinion on this place too since I did audition. First as for cost to get in, $10 seems a little expensive especially for a Sunday. If it were me I'd probably charge $5 with hopes of getting more customers into the club. As for the drag queen host she didn't really impress me. Yes she had issues with her microphone but she also arrived late which is unprofessional and then even though she had issues with the microphone should have focused on hosting in whichever way possible not worrying about microphone issues. The club wasn't that big and she probably could've spoke loud enough for everyone to hear her. As for dancers they all seemed to be of the slim. to muscular type dancer. I guess coming from myself who is on the chubbier/huskier/heavier side I would bring in at least one or two more "bearish" type dancers to mix things up just a little. No they won't make as much money but it diversify the dancers and possibly bring customers looking for that type of dancer. Overall though I think it's a good event which just needs some fine tuning.

 

Keenan

[samandtham]

Is Secrets not open anymore?

 

Gman

 

It still is. I should know--I'm Facebook-stalking one of the dancers. He'd always post about where he's going to be dancing for that night.

[+ Hoover42]

thanks, Hoover, for the report.....you say lap dances are in a balcony over the bar....is it in that glass-enclosed booth we see in the right center of your picture??.....if so, not very private, right??!!

The balcony is on the other side of the club parallel with and overlooking the stage; You can't see it from the photo I took.

 

Customers can see you as you use the stairs leading to the balcony, but once you're up there, it looks like you would be totally hidden from everyone. It appeared to be very dark with only reflected light from the club, though maybe they would turn on some lights if someone went up.

 

As long you were the only customer using the space you would have complete privacy.

[jawjateck]

Interesting reports. I'm not really into strip clubs, but having been to Secrets, it would be my preferred venue since I'm satisfied just browsing the eye-popping candy. Lap dances do nothing for me, but it's great that it's available for those among us who enjoy it.

[J-Man]

This guy Jesse they are advertising now looks super hot.

The photo is of porn star Jessie Lee, who's done lots of scenes for PeterFever, and at least one for Bait Bus. So was he the actual performer at the show?

[brettnyc]

Looks like the venue is made for strippers and the men who love them...so the only thing missing would be the Magic Mike type of strippers who make men's tongue wag.

[+ Gar1eth]

I just read in local DC gay mag Metro Weekly that a straight strip club will have male strippers for gay men on Sundays starting this weekend. FYI for those local it's owned by former (& arguably notorious) city councilmember Jim Graham. From the description it sounds like it will be a Chippendales-type performances though should be nude. Hopefully it ain't too corny. The club is The House on 3530 Ga Ave NW near the Petworth metro.

I can't access the website on my iPhone and it would not be a good idea to look up on my work computer! I'll try to go on Sunday and give report.

 

http://www.thehouse3530.com

 

Article:

http://www.metroweekly.com/2015/04/jim-graham-naked-and-unafraid/

Website seems to be down.

 

Gman

[+ Hoover42]

The photo is of porn star Jessie Lee, who's done lots of scenes for PeterFever, and at least one for Bait Bus. So was he the actual performer at the show?

 

Yes, he was the Jessie I talked to Guess he hasn't had many lapdance offers yet. I wonder if he just started?

[fedssocr1]

Thanks for the firsthand report, Hoover.

 

Can you describe the other dancers for us? 50 people seems like a decent sized crowd. When I used to visit Remington's in Toronto frequently I'd say 50 at any one time would have been a good crowd for them. If everyone's paying a $10 cover and buying drinks that should cover costs, I would imagine.

 

I wonder if Jessie will be a regular or if it was a one off thing.

[+ Hoover42]

Thanks for the firsthand report, Hoover.

 

Can you describe the other dancers for us? 50 people seems like a decent sized crowd. When I used to visit Remington's in Toronto frequently I'd say 50 at any one time would have been a good crowd for them. If everyone's paying a $10 cover and buying drinks that should cover costs, I would imagine.

 

I wonder if Jessie will be a regular or if it was a one off thing.

 

Oops, I knew I shouldn't have deleted my notes too soon.

 

But let's see if I can summarize:

 

Two anglo (white) guys, one on the chubbie side, and one on the skinny side with tats, both with average endowments,

Four black guys, generally very lean and all very well endowed, one with a world class endowment,

One Asian guy (Jessie), muscular and well endowed, probably had the best body of the entire group, and

One Chippendale-style latino, who I didn't pay much attention to because I was getting ready to leave.

 

I'm told the dancers are paid $50 a night plus tips, so I would think they would be especially interested in doing lapdances if they want to make serious money.

[+ DickyF]

The photo is of porn star Jessie Lee, who's done lots of scenes for PeterFever, and at least one for Bait Bus. So was he the actual performer at the show?

Jesse was a regular dancer at Secrets maybe 3 years ago. My guess is he likes the DC area.

[joselowe]

Were there any African-American or Latino dancers in the venue?

[+ WhamIAm]

Re the lap dance thing -- DC law prohibits lap dances, or any contact with nude dancers. I don't know any club in DC, straight or gay, that flaunts the lap dance law, and doing so in any organized manner like booths or VIP rooms would get them shut down in a heartbeat. OTOH, on the male side of things, the no-touching law is definitely honored in the breach. When I first moved to DC (more than a little while ago) went into the dearly departed La Cage for the first time and found about 8 dancers on the bar, all with raging hard ons and stroking themselves/inviting customers to. That all ended when DC ABC shut down Secrets and (not a strip club) the Green Lantern for genital fondling. Thus the current rule -- only below the knee or above the waist -- though some of the more forward and gymnastic dancers at Secrets will suspend themselves on the stripper pole on the bar and put their junk millimeters from your face. If you're so inclined!

[AdamSmith]

Thanks for that info.

 

What a turnoff.

[+ WhamIAm]

Yeah, kinda sucks. And, used to be that a lot of the guys would be glad to give you a somewhat more "informal" lap dance in the men's room. Or, were available for take out. /end trip down memory lane.

[AdamSmith]

Yeah. I hugely enjoyed several visits to La Cage in the first half of the '90s. Found it just as you describe it.

 

Ah well.

[+ José Soplanucas]

However I do remember how during the legendary Chocolate Tuesdays at Wet, the dancers would mingle with the crowd, in a way that was impossible to control, to work out their tips. Damn, I miss those nights!

[Diverdan]

I have a lot of very fond memories of La Cage and another club that was torn down. It was just east of what is now the Hyatt Regency at Metro Center. It was so convenient to walk to from the downtown hotels. The dancers were very friendly and were often available after hours for private dances in your hotel room, massages, etc. The only problem there was meeting a lot of the customers who were there for the same reason, but that could be fun too if you kept your wits about you. I hadn't thought about that place in a long time, but cannot remember the name !!

[+ WhamIAm]

Chesapeake House? (It closed before I got to DC, but I've heard many stories)

[Diverdan]

Hey Wham,

Thanks for remembering that it was the Chesapeake House... I suspect that all the stories that you have heard are true! I would start blushing if I started to share... Sort of ironic, isn't it that in this day of gay marriage, acceptance of gay lifestyles in many ways, that the clubs have all but disappeared. I know that the AIDS crisis contributed to what has happened, but I believe that the internet, cell phones, etc. have also made those clubs obsolete in many ways. It will be interesting to see how long the clubs in Montreal and Florida will survive, or will they too disappear like most of the bath houses.

DD

[+ DickyF]

Hey Wham,

Thanks for remembering that it was the Chesapeake House... I suspect that all the stories that you have heard are true! I would start blushing if I started to share... Sort of ironic, isn't it that in this day of gay marriage, acceptance of gay lifestyles in many ways, that the clubs have all but disappeared. I know that the AIDS crisis contributed to what has happened, but I believe that the internet, cell phones, etc. have also made those clubs obsolete in many ways. It will be interesting to see how long the clubs in Montreal and Florida will survive, or will they too disappear like most of the bath houses.

DD

Boy was that a while ago! Also there was the Lone Star just down the street. That entire area has changed. Actually just about all of DC has gentrified. If I wanted to open a strip club now I'm not sure where I could.

DC in the 80s had a lot of problems but there sure were a lot of fun, semi-sleazy clubs. That part of Marion Barry's legacy I miss!

[Diverdan]

Hey Dicky, you are spot on !! I had forgotten about the Lone Star too, but I never had as much fun there as I had at the Chesapeake House. Yes, DC had and continues to have a lot of problems, but in some ways those semi-sleazy clubs met a real need. But that need as been mitigated, IMHO, by the internet, cell phone and other ways to meet and engage in meeting people and having fun. But some of those memories will still be very vivid, and I regret that many will never be able to have that experience.