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EZEtoGRU

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  1. Like
    EZEtoGRU reacted to samhexum in Inflation continues to fall   
    Wall Street got an extra dose of encouragement to bid up stocks after another inflation report reinforced bets the Federal Reserve is approaching an interest-rate peak.
    All of a sudden, “disinflation” becomes the buzzword across trading desks, with investors looking on the bright side of data showing a slowdown in prices — even though core inflation is still running above the central bank’s 2% target. Equities gained further traction on news that Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard — who called for aggressive hikes to fight the recent inflation surge — has resigned.
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-12/stock-market-today-dow-s-p-live-updates?srnd=markets-vp#xj4y7vzkg
  2. Like
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from Shoedog112 in Inflation continues to fall   
    Inflation in 2021/2022 was a global phenomenon driven primarily by the consequences of COVID.  The US has managed this situation better than most countries and is seeing the positive results through the monthly inflation numbers.
    As far as a potential US recession goes, people like Jamie Dimon and Elon Musk have been preaching doom and gloom now for more than two years.  Yet the recession hasn't happened.  Beyond the improving inflation situation, monthly employment numbers have proved to be very resilient for more than two years now.  We still need many more workers in this country.  That can be a topic for another thread😉.
  3. Like
    EZEtoGRU reacted to + stevenkesslar in Inflation continues to fall   
    The thing that is also interesting, and somewhat inexplicable, is that when it comes to inflation the US is doing so much better than  (name a country on the planet Earth.)  Right now escaping the misery of inflation is increasingly a good reason to live in America.
    Current inflation rate:
    United Kingdom  8. 7 %
    Australia  7 %
    Germany  6.4 %
    Euro Area  5.5 %
    Mexico 5.1 %
    India  4.8 %
    France 4.5 %
    Canada  3.4 %
    Russia  3.2 %
    United States  3 %
    This does suggest that the causes of the post-COVID global inflation spike are ............. well ............ global.  Last year when inflation was peaking the US was in the middle of that list of major nations.  Pretty much everybody was sharing the misery.  Now the US appears to be recovering from the spike quicker than most of the rest of the planet.
    The good news on inflation probably helps explain why the looming US recession has been MIA for about a year now.  Europe is on the brink of recession.  And high energy prices seem like a logical thing to blame that on.  While US gas prices are still relatively high, they are down from a national peak of almost $5 last Summer to $3.57 now.  That's one thing that could be fueling an apparent soft landing. 
    This is all good news.  The stock market sure seems to think so. 
    We may be climbing a wall of worry.  But we still have to climb out of an inverted yield curve, which almost always ends in a recession.  (In 1966 it didn't, so there is hope.)
     
  4. Haha
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from Danny-Darko in Inflation continues to fall   
    Positive inflation news out today.  This is definitely a trend as inflation has been falling for 12 straight months now.  Separately, I read something yesterday about Florida being the inflation hot-spot in the country currently.
    US inflation cooled in June for the 12th straight month | CNN Business
    WWW.CNN.COM What a difference a year makes.  
  5. Like
    EZEtoGRU reacted to SouthOfTheBorder in Johnson’s 411   
    to clarify - the only reason to go to Ft Lauderdale is Johnson’s 
    land it’s relatively cheap by American standards (and you won’t get laid or even close)
    so, if you’re onboard for that, then go
    otherwise- almost anywhere South of the Border is recommended !
  6. Thanks
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from + specific25 in Recent report from Montreal   
    Just back from a  four night trip to Montreal.  Weather was mostly good with the exception of some storms on Sunday and showers today Monday.   I noticed no smoke smell during my time there.  Things were active in The Village with lots of foot traffic.
    I visited both Stock and Campus.  I was at Stock Thursday and Friday nights.  Stock is looking great with all the renovations.  Stock & Soda seems to be successful...at least now during the summer.  Plenty of folks sitting on the patio part on the street.  The inside VIP room (Stock Speakeasy?) was inaugurated on Friday.   Somehow, I managed not to check it out.  Oops!  I saw the new owner, Danny, who I remember from his bartender days.  He seemed really upbeat about everything.  DJ Anthony also made an appearance on Thursday for his hosting duties of the Studio Show.    Stock currently has more employees than I have ever seen previously.   The current level of business seems to support the increased number of staff.  Although, Thursday was relatively slow.  Things didn't really get going till after 11:00pm.  Note the weekly summer fireworks have been moved from Saturdays to Thursdays.  As a result, dancers and customers don't really start showing up to Stock till after 10:00.  They had 10-12 dancers there on Thursday and some didn't turn up till after 10:00pm.  So it was fairly slim pickings before 10:00pm.  Alex the bartender was on duty at the main bar by the shower stage.  He is always good fun.  I ended up hanging out with Jasper & Eric most of the evening.  It was good fun.  The crowd was mostly gay men.  Although there were a few ladies there, they did not make for an overpowering presence.
    Friday was a very different night.  It  was, of course, much busier at Stock as a weekend night.  Also, the women were present in force.  It felt like a ladies night.  In fact, when I arrived around 8:30, I was advised that there was a special bachelorette-type party going on and that it would be over by 10:00pm.  It must have started at 6 or 7 cause at 8:30 it was already well underway.  Former Stock dancer Parker was the host and he had 2-3 non-Stock dancers plus Gatuso performing for the ladies.  Several of the bachelorettes were brought up on stage and given lap-dances.  It was kind of fun to watch from afar and I assumed they would clear out at 10:00pm.  Well this pre-show did end as scheduled  and the ladies were told that if they wanted to continue on at Stock, they would need to go out and pay the Stock cover-charge and re-enter.  It seems most of them did that and the female presence just grew larger as the night progressed.   All the chairs closest to the stage were occupied by females.  Men seemed to be in the minority in the bar.  The dancer line-up consisted of many attractive guys (Jo, Jasper, Vinny, Gatuso (from Tunisia), Barack (from Costa Rica), Bran, Denzel, Miguel, and Santiago).  There were a few others there as well which I would consider duds...at least for my taste.  Former Stock dancer Tyler also made an appearance as a customer.  We had a quick chance to catch-up since I had not seen him since before COVID.  He is not currently dancing anywhere.   I had fun both nights. at Stock.  
    Thursday, I stopped in briefly at Campus between stays at Stock.  I seemed to be there during the transition from the day talent to the evening talent.  The daytime boys were largely forgettable in my view.  A few of the nighttime guys coming in looked interesting but I did not stay long enough to see any of them perform.  A couple of the daytime dancers were overly-aggressive which I did not appreciate.   Campus had roughly the same amount of clients on Thursday as Stock so , due to its smaller size, Campus appeared busier.  There was only a token presence of ladies at Campus on Thursday.
    I returned to Campus on Saturday and what a difference.  It was packed with a whole lot more dancers.  Two very big body-builder types.  Also there were multiple muscular younger guys at Campus that seemed to be lacking at Stock.  I hung out with three dancers Saturday night and had great fun.   The bartender John was a hoot also.  He enjoyed gradually removing his clothes while working.    The former dancer red-headed Manager (I don't remember his name) was working Saturday and I had an opportunity to speak with him.  I told him I first saw him dancing way back when at West Side on Beaver Hall when they had strippers.  That's quite a few years ago now.  There were a few more women at Campus on Saturday than on Thursday but it did not feel overwhelming to me.
    I did not go to the clubs on Sunday so nothing to report there.
    My conclusions overall:
    *  The Stock renovation looks wonderful and is bringing in increased business to Stock & Soda and also the main strip club.
    *  Stock still has to work on getting the guys naked on stage.  There are multiple guys (mostly the newer ones) that do not get naked.  Some don't even flash their goods.
    *  The dancer talent at Stock has improved over the last few months.  This is partially due to getting back some of the former Stock strippers that had stopped stripping or had moved to Campus.   That is all good, (and kudos to Stock management for achieving this) but Stock also needs to get some muscular younger talent .  We need to have some fresh younger faces to go along with the veterans.  
    * Stock needs to get more dancers to come in earlier.  Many dancers not arriving till 10:00 or even 11:00pm  just doesn't work for me.  I like to start fairly early.  I really want to see most of the guys by 9:00pm so I can decide who to spend time with.  I would guess that most older customers 45+ (with bank in their pocket) would much prefer to have most dancers around  by 9:00pm rather than have to wait till 11:00pm to see the top guys.
    *  The Women at Stock.  Something needs to be done about this.  I know it's a difficult issue as one cannot discriminate.   But the women on Friday (after the earlier bachelorette event)  were the dominant force for the entire night.  I wanted to tip one of the dancers on the stage and found it very difficult to even get close.  I was told Saturday night was similar at Stock.
    I hope to return to Montreal this summer.  I really really don't want to be spending my gay dollars in Florida if I don't have to.  I am happy with the great progress at Stock in just three months but look for further improvements on the items highlighted above.  I really want to return more regularly if possible.
     
     
  7. Like
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from msclwrsper in Recent report from Montreal   
    Just back from a  four night trip to Montreal.  Weather was mostly good with the exception of some storms on Sunday and showers today Monday.   I noticed no smoke smell during my time there.  Things were active in The Village with lots of foot traffic.
    I visited both Stock and Campus.  I was at Stock Thursday and Friday nights.  Stock is looking great with all the renovations.  Stock & Soda seems to be successful...at least now during the summer.  Plenty of folks sitting on the patio part on the street.  The inside VIP room (Stock Speakeasy?) was inaugurated on Friday.   Somehow, I managed not to check it out.  Oops!  I saw the new owner, Danny, who I remember from his bartender days.  He seemed really upbeat about everything.  DJ Anthony also made an appearance on Thursday for his hosting duties of the Studio Show.    Stock currently has more employees than I have ever seen previously.   The current level of business seems to support the increased number of staff.  Although, Thursday was relatively slow.  Things didn't really get going till after 11:00pm.  Note the weekly summer fireworks have been moved from Saturdays to Thursdays.  As a result, dancers and customers don't really start showing up to Stock till after 10:00.  They had 10-12 dancers there on Thursday and some didn't turn up till after 10:00pm.  So it was fairly slim pickings before 10:00pm.  Alex the bartender was on duty at the main bar by the shower stage.  He is always good fun.  I ended up hanging out with Jasper & Eric most of the evening.  It was good fun.  The crowd was mostly gay men.  Although there were a few ladies there, they did not make for an overpowering presence.
    Friday was a very different night.  It  was, of course, much busier at Stock as a weekend night.  Also, the women were present in force.  It felt like a ladies night.  In fact, when I arrived around 8:30, I was advised that there was a special bachelorette-type party going on and that it would be over by 10:00pm.  It must have started at 6 or 7 cause at 8:30 it was already well underway.  Former Stock dancer Parker was the host and he had 2-3 non-Stock dancers plus Gatuso performing for the ladies.  Several of the bachelorettes were brought up on stage and given lap-dances.  It was kind of fun to watch from afar and I assumed they would clear out at 10:00pm.  Well this pre-show did end as scheduled  and the ladies were told that if they wanted to continue on at Stock, they would need to go out and pay the Stock cover-charge and re-enter.  It seems most of them did that and the female presence just grew larger as the night progressed.   All the chairs closest to the stage were occupied by females.  Men seemed to be in the minority in the bar.  The dancer line-up consisted of many attractive guys (Jo, Jasper, Vinny, Gatuso (from Tunisia), Barack (from Costa Rica), Bran, Denzel, Miguel, and Santiago).  There were a few others there as well which I would consider duds...at least for my taste.  Former Stock dancer Tyler also made an appearance as a customer.  We had a quick chance to catch-up since I had not seen him since before COVID.  He is not currently dancing anywhere.   I had fun both nights. at Stock.  
    Thursday, I stopped in briefly at Campus between stays at Stock.  I seemed to be there during the transition from the day talent to the evening talent.  The daytime boys were largely forgettable in my view.  A few of the nighttime guys coming in looked interesting but I did not stay long enough to see any of them perform.  A couple of the daytime dancers were overly-aggressive which I did not appreciate.   Campus had roughly the same amount of clients on Thursday as Stock so , due to its smaller size, Campus appeared busier.  There was only a token presence of ladies at Campus on Thursday.
    I returned to Campus on Saturday and what a difference.  It was packed with a whole lot more dancers.  Two very big body-builder types.  Also there were multiple muscular younger guys at Campus that seemed to be lacking at Stock.  I hung out with three dancers Saturday night and had great fun.   The bartender John was a hoot also.  He enjoyed gradually removing his clothes while working.    The former dancer red-headed Manager (I don't remember his name) was working Saturday and I had an opportunity to speak with him.  I told him I first saw him dancing way back when at West Side on Beaver Hall when they had strippers.  That's quite a few years ago now.  There were a few more women at Campus on Saturday than on Thursday but it did not feel overwhelming to me.
    I did not go to the clubs on Sunday so nothing to report there.
    My conclusions overall:
    *  The Stock renovation looks wonderful and is bringing in increased business to Stock & Soda and also the main strip club.
    *  Stock still has to work on getting the guys naked on stage.  There are multiple guys (mostly the newer ones) that do not get naked.  Some don't even flash their goods.
    *  The dancer talent at Stock has improved over the last few months.  This is partially due to getting back some of the former Stock strippers that had stopped stripping or had moved to Campus.   That is all good, (and kudos to Stock management for achieving this) but Stock also needs to get some muscular younger talent .  We need to have some fresh younger faces to go along with the veterans.  
    * Stock needs to get more dancers to come in earlier.  Many dancers not arriving till 10:00 or even 11:00pm  just doesn't work for me.  I like to start fairly early.  I really want to see most of the guys by 9:00pm so I can decide who to spend time with.  I would guess that most older customers 45+ (with bank in their pocket) would much prefer to have most dancers around  by 9:00pm rather than have to wait till 11:00pm to see the top guys.
    *  The Women at Stock.  Something needs to be done about this.  I know it's a difficult issue as one cannot discriminate.   But the women on Friday (after the earlier bachelorette event)  were the dominant force for the entire night.  I wanted to tip one of the dancers on the stage and found it very difficult to even get close.  I was told Saturday night was similar at Stock.
    I hope to return to Montreal this summer.  I really really don't want to be spending my gay dollars in Florida if I don't have to.  I am happy with the great progress at Stock in just three months but look for further improvements on the items highlighted above.  I really want to return more regularly if possible.
     
     
  8. Like
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from + sf westcoaster in Testosterone Study Shows NoHeart Risk   
    I used Androgel (roll-on) some 8-9 years ago.  It provided minimal benefit for me.
  9. Sad
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from Luv2play in Recent report from Montreal   
    It's a relatively recent thing for Montreal.  For many years, women were not allowed into Stock or Campus except on the designated Ladies Night once per week at each club.  Both bars strictly enforced these rules.  Then the bars started relaxing the rules to allow ladies on other nights maybe a year before COVID.  Even then, it was nothing like what I just witnessed on Friday night.  So things certainly have evolved on this issue in Montreal.  
  10. Like
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from RealAvalon in Recent report from Montreal   
    Just back from a  four night trip to Montreal.  Weather was mostly good with the exception of some storms on Sunday and showers today Monday.   I noticed no smoke smell during my time there.  Things were active in The Village with lots of foot traffic.
    I visited both Stock and Campus.  I was at Stock Thursday and Friday nights.  Stock is looking great with all the renovations.  Stock & Soda seems to be successful...at least now during the summer.  Plenty of folks sitting on the patio part on the street.  The inside VIP room (Stock Speakeasy?) was inaugurated on Friday.   Somehow, I managed not to check it out.  Oops!  I saw the new owner, Danny, who I remember from his bartender days.  He seemed really upbeat about everything.  DJ Anthony also made an appearance on Thursday for his hosting duties of the Studio Show.    Stock currently has more employees than I have ever seen previously.   The current level of business seems to support the increased number of staff.  Although, Thursday was relatively slow.  Things didn't really get going till after 11:00pm.  Note the weekly summer fireworks have been moved from Saturdays to Thursdays.  As a result, dancers and customers don't really start showing up to Stock till after 10:00.  They had 10-12 dancers there on Thursday and some didn't turn up till after 10:00pm.  So it was fairly slim pickings before 10:00pm.  Alex the bartender was on duty at the main bar by the shower stage.  He is always good fun.  I ended up hanging out with Jasper & Eric most of the evening.  It was good fun.  The crowd was mostly gay men.  Although there were a few ladies there, they did not make for an overpowering presence.
    Friday was a very different night.  It  was, of course, much busier at Stock as a weekend night.  Also, the women were present in force.  It felt like a ladies night.  In fact, when I arrived around 8:30, I was advised that there was a special bachelorette-type party going on and that it would be over by 10:00pm.  It must have started at 6 or 7 cause at 8:30 it was already well underway.  Former Stock dancer Parker was the host and he had 2-3 non-Stock dancers plus Gatuso performing for the ladies.  Several of the bachelorettes were brought up on stage and given lap-dances.  It was kind of fun to watch from afar and I assumed they would clear out at 10:00pm.  Well this pre-show did end as scheduled  and the ladies were told that if they wanted to continue on at Stock, they would need to go out and pay the Stock cover-charge and re-enter.  It seems most of them did that and the female presence just grew larger as the night progressed.   All the chairs closest to the stage were occupied by females.  Men seemed to be in the minority in the bar.  The dancer line-up consisted of many attractive guys (Jo, Jasper, Vinny, Gatuso (from Tunisia), Barack (from Costa Rica), Bran, Denzel, Miguel, and Santiago).  There were a few others there as well which I would consider duds...at least for my taste.  Former Stock dancer Tyler also made an appearance as a customer.  We had a quick chance to catch-up since I had not seen him since before COVID.  He is not currently dancing anywhere.   I had fun both nights. at Stock.  
    Thursday, I stopped in briefly at Campus between stays at Stock.  I seemed to be there during the transition from the day talent to the evening talent.  The daytime boys were largely forgettable in my view.  A few of the nighttime guys coming in looked interesting but I did not stay long enough to see any of them perform.  A couple of the daytime dancers were overly-aggressive which I did not appreciate.   Campus had roughly the same amount of clients on Thursday as Stock so , due to its smaller size, Campus appeared busier.  There was only a token presence of ladies at Campus on Thursday.
    I returned to Campus on Saturday and what a difference.  It was packed with a whole lot more dancers.  Two very big body-builder types.  Also there were multiple muscular younger guys at Campus that seemed to be lacking at Stock.  I hung out with three dancers Saturday night and had great fun.   The bartender John was a hoot also.  He enjoyed gradually removing his clothes while working.    The former dancer red-headed Manager (I don't remember his name) was working Saturday and I had an opportunity to speak with him.  I told him I first saw him dancing way back when at West Side on Beaver Hall when they had strippers.  That's quite a few years ago now.  There were a few more women at Campus on Saturday than on Thursday but it did not feel overwhelming to me.
    I did not go to the clubs on Sunday so nothing to report there.
    My conclusions overall:
    *  The Stock renovation looks wonderful and is bringing in increased business to Stock & Soda and also the main strip club.
    *  Stock still has to work on getting the guys naked on stage.  There are multiple guys (mostly the newer ones) that do not get naked.  Some don't even flash their goods.
    *  The dancer talent at Stock has improved over the last few months.  This is partially due to getting back some of the former Stock strippers that had stopped stripping or had moved to Campus.   That is all good, (and kudos to Stock management for achieving this) but Stock also needs to get some muscular younger talent .  We need to have some fresh younger faces to go along with the veterans.  
    * Stock needs to get more dancers to come in earlier.  Many dancers not arriving till 10:00 or even 11:00pm  just doesn't work for me.  I like to start fairly early.  I really want to see most of the guys by 9:00pm so I can decide who to spend time with.  I would guess that most older customers 45+ (with bank in their pocket) would much prefer to have most dancers around  by 9:00pm rather than have to wait till 11:00pm to see the top guys.
    *  The Women at Stock.  Something needs to be done about this.  I know it's a difficult issue as one cannot discriminate.   But the women on Friday (after the earlier bachelorette event)  were the dominant force for the entire night.  I wanted to tip one of the dancers on the stage and found it very difficult to even get close.  I was told Saturday night was similar at Stock.
    I hope to return to Montreal this summer.  I really really don't want to be spending my gay dollars in Florida if I don't have to.  I am happy with the great progress at Stock in just three months but look for further improvements on the items highlighted above.  I really want to return more regularly if possible.
     
     
  11. Like
    EZEtoGRU reacted to + purplekow in Testosterone Study Shows NoHeart Risk   
    25 mcg as an ongoing dose is next to useless. If you needed supplementation of your thyroid hormone, a second level should have been obtained within a few weeks of the first starting of the Synthroid.  At that point, an increase to 50 mcg  would be reasonable.  If you are younger than 50, starting at 50 mcg or even 75 mcg, which is the does most of my patient's wind up needing if not more, would be reasonable.  
    As far as free testosterone, that total testosterone is low enough that I doubt the free testosterone will be anything but low, but that would have been the test to order.  I did not know that labs were now doing lab tests on demand for patients.  I assume they do not try to charge the insurance company for such tests.   
  12. Like
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from Luv2play in Recent report from Montreal   
    Just back from a  four night trip to Montreal.  Weather was mostly good with the exception of some storms on Sunday and showers today Monday.   I noticed no smoke smell during my time there.  Things were active in The Village with lots of foot traffic.
    I visited both Stock and Campus.  I was at Stock Thursday and Friday nights.  Stock is looking great with all the renovations.  Stock & Soda seems to be successful...at least now during the summer.  Plenty of folks sitting on the patio part on the street.  The inside VIP room (Stock Speakeasy?) was inaugurated on Friday.   Somehow, I managed not to check it out.  Oops!  I saw the new owner, Danny, who I remember from his bartender days.  He seemed really upbeat about everything.  DJ Anthony also made an appearance on Thursday for his hosting duties of the Studio Show.    Stock currently has more employees than I have ever seen previously.   The current level of business seems to support the increased number of staff.  Although, Thursday was relatively slow.  Things didn't really get going till after 11:00pm.  Note the weekly summer fireworks have been moved from Saturdays to Thursdays.  As a result, dancers and customers don't really start showing up to Stock till after 10:00.  They had 10-12 dancers there on Thursday and some didn't turn up till after 10:00pm.  So it was fairly slim pickings before 10:00pm.  Alex the bartender was on duty at the main bar by the shower stage.  He is always good fun.  I ended up hanging out with Jasper & Eric most of the evening.  It was good fun.  The crowd was mostly gay men.  Although there were a few ladies there, they did not make for an overpowering presence.
    Friday was a very different night.  It  was, of course, much busier at Stock as a weekend night.  Also, the women were present in force.  It felt like a ladies night.  In fact, when I arrived around 8:30, I was advised that there was a special bachelorette-type party going on and that it would be over by 10:00pm.  It must have started at 6 or 7 cause at 8:30 it was already well underway.  Former Stock dancer Parker was the host and he had 2-3 non-Stock dancers plus Gatuso performing for the ladies.  Several of the bachelorettes were brought up on stage and given lap-dances.  It was kind of fun to watch from afar and I assumed they would clear out at 10:00pm.  Well this pre-show did end as scheduled  and the ladies were told that if they wanted to continue on at Stock, they would need to go out and pay the Stock cover-charge and re-enter.  It seems most of them did that and the female presence just grew larger as the night progressed.   All the chairs closest to the stage were occupied by females.  Men seemed to be in the minority in the bar.  The dancer line-up consisted of many attractive guys (Jo, Jasper, Vinny, Gatuso (from Tunisia), Barack (from Costa Rica), Bran, Denzel, Miguel, and Santiago).  There were a few others there as well which I would consider duds...at least for my taste.  Former Stock dancer Tyler also made an appearance as a customer.  We had a quick chance to catch-up since I had not seen him since before COVID.  He is not currently dancing anywhere.   I had fun both nights. at Stock.  
    Thursday, I stopped in briefly at Campus between stays at Stock.  I seemed to be there during the transition from the day talent to the evening talent.  The daytime boys were largely forgettable in my view.  A few of the nighttime guys coming in looked interesting but I did not stay long enough to see any of them perform.  A couple of the daytime dancers were overly-aggressive which I did not appreciate.   Campus had roughly the same amount of clients on Thursday as Stock so , due to its smaller size, Campus appeared busier.  There was only a token presence of ladies at Campus on Thursday.
    I returned to Campus on Saturday and what a difference.  It was packed with a whole lot more dancers.  Two very big body-builder types.  Also there were multiple muscular younger guys at Campus that seemed to be lacking at Stock.  I hung out with three dancers Saturday night and had great fun.   The bartender John was a hoot also.  He enjoyed gradually removing his clothes while working.    The former dancer red-headed Manager (I don't remember his name) was working Saturday and I had an opportunity to speak with him.  I told him I first saw him dancing way back when at West Side on Beaver Hall when they had strippers.  That's quite a few years ago now.  There were a few more women at Campus on Saturday than on Thursday but it did not feel overwhelming to me.
    I did not go to the clubs on Sunday so nothing to report there.
    My conclusions overall:
    *  The Stock renovation looks wonderful and is bringing in increased business to Stock & Soda and also the main strip club.
    *  Stock still has to work on getting the guys naked on stage.  There are multiple guys (mostly the newer ones) that do not get naked.  Some don't even flash their goods.
    *  The dancer talent at Stock has improved over the last few months.  This is partially due to getting back some of the former Stock strippers that had stopped stripping or had moved to Campus.   That is all good, (and kudos to Stock management for achieving this) but Stock also needs to get some muscular younger talent .  We need to have some fresh younger faces to go along with the veterans.  
    * Stock needs to get more dancers to come in earlier.  Many dancers not arriving till 10:00 or even 11:00pm  just doesn't work for me.  I like to start fairly early.  I really want to see most of the guys by 9:00pm so I can decide who to spend time with.  I would guess that most older customers 45+ (with bank in their pocket) would much prefer to have most dancers around  by 9:00pm rather than have to wait till 11:00pm to see the top guys.
    *  The Women at Stock.  Something needs to be done about this.  I know it's a difficult issue as one cannot discriminate.   But the women on Friday (after the earlier bachelorette event)  were the dominant force for the entire night.  I wanted to tip one of the dancers on the stage and found it very difficult to even get close.  I was told Saturday night was similar at Stock.
    I hope to return to Montreal this summer.  I really really don't want to be spending my gay dollars in Florida if I don't have to.  I am happy with the great progress at Stock in just three months but look for further improvements on the items highlighted above.  I really want to return more regularly if possible.
     
     
  13. Like
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from nate_sf in Recent report from Montreal   
    Just back from a  four night trip to Montreal.  Weather was mostly good with the exception of some storms on Sunday and showers today Monday.   I noticed no smoke smell during my time there.  Things were active in The Village with lots of foot traffic.
    I visited both Stock and Campus.  I was at Stock Thursday and Friday nights.  Stock is looking great with all the renovations.  Stock & Soda seems to be successful...at least now during the summer.  Plenty of folks sitting on the patio part on the street.  The inside VIP room (Stock Speakeasy?) was inaugurated on Friday.   Somehow, I managed not to check it out.  Oops!  I saw the new owner, Danny, who I remember from his bartender days.  He seemed really upbeat about everything.  DJ Anthony also made an appearance on Thursday for his hosting duties of the Studio Show.    Stock currently has more employees than I have ever seen previously.   The current level of business seems to support the increased number of staff.  Although, Thursday was relatively slow.  Things didn't really get going till after 11:00pm.  Note the weekly summer fireworks have been moved from Saturdays to Thursdays.  As a result, dancers and customers don't really start showing up to Stock till after 10:00.  They had 10-12 dancers there on Thursday and some didn't turn up till after 10:00pm.  So it was fairly slim pickings before 10:00pm.  Alex the bartender was on duty at the main bar by the shower stage.  He is always good fun.  I ended up hanging out with Jasper & Eric most of the evening.  It was good fun.  The crowd was mostly gay men.  Although there were a few ladies there, they did not make for an overpowering presence.
    Friday was a very different night.  It  was, of course, much busier at Stock as a weekend night.  Also, the women were present in force.  It felt like a ladies night.  In fact, when I arrived around 8:30, I was advised that there was a special bachelorette-type party going on and that it would be over by 10:00pm.  It must have started at 6 or 7 cause at 8:30 it was already well underway.  Former Stock dancer Parker was the host and he had 2-3 non-Stock dancers plus Gatuso performing for the ladies.  Several of the bachelorettes were brought up on stage and given lap-dances.  It was kind of fun to watch from afar and I assumed they would clear out at 10:00pm.  Well this pre-show did end as scheduled  and the ladies were told that if they wanted to continue on at Stock, they would need to go out and pay the Stock cover-charge and re-enter.  It seems most of them did that and the female presence just grew larger as the night progressed.   All the chairs closest to the stage were occupied by females.  Men seemed to be in the minority in the bar.  The dancer line-up consisted of many attractive guys (Jo, Jasper, Vinny, Gatuso (from Tunisia), Barack (from Costa Rica), Bran, Denzel, Miguel, and Santiago).  There were a few others there as well which I would consider duds...at least for my taste.  Former Stock dancer Tyler also made an appearance as a customer.  We had a quick chance to catch-up since I had not seen him since before COVID.  He is not currently dancing anywhere.   I had fun both nights. at Stock.  
    Thursday, I stopped in briefly at Campus between stays at Stock.  I seemed to be there during the transition from the day talent to the evening talent.  The daytime boys were largely forgettable in my view.  A few of the nighttime guys coming in looked interesting but I did not stay long enough to see any of them perform.  A couple of the daytime dancers were overly-aggressive which I did not appreciate.   Campus had roughly the same amount of clients on Thursday as Stock so , due to its smaller size, Campus appeared busier.  There was only a token presence of ladies at Campus on Thursday.
    I returned to Campus on Saturday and what a difference.  It was packed with a whole lot more dancers.  Two very big body-builder types.  Also there were multiple muscular younger guys at Campus that seemed to be lacking at Stock.  I hung out with three dancers Saturday night and had great fun.   The bartender John was a hoot also.  He enjoyed gradually removing his clothes while working.    The former dancer red-headed Manager (I don't remember his name) was working Saturday and I had an opportunity to speak with him.  I told him I first saw him dancing way back when at West Side on Beaver Hall when they had strippers.  That's quite a few years ago now.  There were a few more women at Campus on Saturday than on Thursday but it did not feel overwhelming to me.
    I did not go to the clubs on Sunday so nothing to report there.
    My conclusions overall:
    *  The Stock renovation looks wonderful and is bringing in increased business to Stock & Soda and also the main strip club.
    *  Stock still has to work on getting the guys naked on stage.  There are multiple guys (mostly the newer ones) that do not get naked.  Some don't even flash their goods.
    *  The dancer talent at Stock has improved over the last few months.  This is partially due to getting back some of the former Stock strippers that had stopped stripping or had moved to Campus.   That is all good, (and kudos to Stock management for achieving this) but Stock also needs to get some muscular younger talent .  We need to have some fresh younger faces to go along with the veterans.  
    * Stock needs to get more dancers to come in earlier.  Many dancers not arriving till 10:00 or even 11:00pm  just doesn't work for me.  I like to start fairly early.  I really want to see most of the guys by 9:00pm so I can decide who to spend time with.  I would guess that most older customers 45+ (with bank in their pocket) would much prefer to have most dancers around  by 9:00pm rather than have to wait till 11:00pm to see the top guys.
    *  The Women at Stock.  Something needs to be done about this.  I know it's a difficult issue as one cannot discriminate.   But the women on Friday (after the earlier bachelorette event)  were the dominant force for the entire night.  I wanted to tip one of the dancers on the stage and found it very difficult to even get close.  I was told Saturday night was similar at Stock.
    I hope to return to Montreal this summer.  I really really don't want to be spending my gay dollars in Florida if I don't have to.  I am happy with the great progress at Stock in just three months but look for further improvements on the items highlighted above.  I really want to return more regularly if possible.
     
     
  14. Like
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from Kalypso_Dee in Recent report from Montreal   
    It's a relatively recent thing for Montreal.  For many years, women were not allowed into Stock or Campus except on the designated Ladies Night once per week at each club.  Both bars strictly enforced these rules.  Then the bars started relaxing the rules to allow ladies on other nights maybe a year before COVID.  Even then, it was nothing like what I just witnessed on Friday night.  So things certainly have evolved on this issue in Montreal.  
  15. Sad
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from + Vegas_Millennial in Recent report from Montreal   
    It's a relatively recent thing for Montreal.  For many years, women were not allowed into Stock or Campus except on the designated Ladies Night once per week at each club.  Both bars strictly enforced these rules.  Then the bars started relaxing the rules to allow ladies on other nights maybe a year before COVID.  Even then, it was nothing like what I just witnessed on Friday night.  So things certainly have evolved on this issue in Montreal.  
  16. Like
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from fedssocr1 in Recent report from Montreal   
    Just back from a  four night trip to Montreal.  Weather was mostly good with the exception of some storms on Sunday and showers today Monday.   I noticed no smoke smell during my time there.  Things were active in The Village with lots of foot traffic.
    I visited both Stock and Campus.  I was at Stock Thursday and Friday nights.  Stock is looking great with all the renovations.  Stock & Soda seems to be successful...at least now during the summer.  Plenty of folks sitting on the patio part on the street.  The inside VIP room (Stock Speakeasy?) was inaugurated on Friday.   Somehow, I managed not to check it out.  Oops!  I saw the new owner, Danny, who I remember from his bartender days.  He seemed really upbeat about everything.  DJ Anthony also made an appearance on Thursday for his hosting duties of the Studio Show.    Stock currently has more employees than I have ever seen previously.   The current level of business seems to support the increased number of staff.  Although, Thursday was relatively slow.  Things didn't really get going till after 11:00pm.  Note the weekly summer fireworks have been moved from Saturdays to Thursdays.  As a result, dancers and customers don't really start showing up to Stock till after 10:00.  They had 10-12 dancers there on Thursday and some didn't turn up till after 10:00pm.  So it was fairly slim pickings before 10:00pm.  Alex the bartender was on duty at the main bar by the shower stage.  He is always good fun.  I ended up hanging out with Jasper & Eric most of the evening.  It was good fun.  The crowd was mostly gay men.  Although there were a few ladies there, they did not make for an overpowering presence.
    Friday was a very different night.  It  was, of course, much busier at Stock as a weekend night.  Also, the women were present in force.  It felt like a ladies night.  In fact, when I arrived around 8:30, I was advised that there was a special bachelorette-type party going on and that it would be over by 10:00pm.  It must have started at 6 or 7 cause at 8:30 it was already well underway.  Former Stock dancer Parker was the host and he had 2-3 non-Stock dancers plus Gatuso performing for the ladies.  Several of the bachelorettes were brought up on stage and given lap-dances.  It was kind of fun to watch from afar and I assumed they would clear out at 10:00pm.  Well this pre-show did end as scheduled  and the ladies were told that if they wanted to continue on at Stock, they would need to go out and pay the Stock cover-charge and re-enter.  It seems most of them did that and the female presence just grew larger as the night progressed.   All the chairs closest to the stage were occupied by females.  Men seemed to be in the minority in the bar.  The dancer line-up consisted of many attractive guys (Jo, Jasper, Vinny, Gatuso (from Tunisia), Barack (from Costa Rica), Bran, Denzel, Miguel, and Santiago).  There were a few others there as well which I would consider duds...at least for my taste.  Former Stock dancer Tyler also made an appearance as a customer.  We had a quick chance to catch-up since I had not seen him since before COVID.  He is not currently dancing anywhere.   I had fun both nights. at Stock.  
    Thursday, I stopped in briefly at Campus between stays at Stock.  I seemed to be there during the transition from the day talent to the evening talent.  The daytime boys were largely forgettable in my view.  A few of the nighttime guys coming in looked interesting but I did not stay long enough to see any of them perform.  A couple of the daytime dancers were overly-aggressive which I did not appreciate.   Campus had roughly the same amount of clients on Thursday as Stock so , due to its smaller size, Campus appeared busier.  There was only a token presence of ladies at Campus on Thursday.
    I returned to Campus on Saturday and what a difference.  It was packed with a whole lot more dancers.  Two very big body-builder types.  Also there were multiple muscular younger guys at Campus that seemed to be lacking at Stock.  I hung out with three dancers Saturday night and had great fun.   The bartender John was a hoot also.  He enjoyed gradually removing his clothes while working.    The former dancer red-headed Manager (I don't remember his name) was working Saturday and I had an opportunity to speak with him.  I told him I first saw him dancing way back when at West Side on Beaver Hall when they had strippers.  That's quite a few years ago now.  There were a few more women at Campus on Saturday than on Thursday but it did not feel overwhelming to me.
    I did not go to the clubs on Sunday so nothing to report there.
    My conclusions overall:
    *  The Stock renovation looks wonderful and is bringing in increased business to Stock & Soda and also the main strip club.
    *  Stock still has to work on getting the guys naked on stage.  There are multiple guys (mostly the newer ones) that do not get naked.  Some don't even flash their goods.
    *  The dancer talent at Stock has improved over the last few months.  This is partially due to getting back some of the former Stock strippers that had stopped stripping or had moved to Campus.   That is all good, (and kudos to Stock management for achieving this) but Stock also needs to get some muscular younger talent .  We need to have some fresh younger faces to go along with the veterans.  
    * Stock needs to get more dancers to come in earlier.  Many dancers not arriving till 10:00 or even 11:00pm  just doesn't work for me.  I like to start fairly early.  I really want to see most of the guys by 9:00pm so I can decide who to spend time with.  I would guess that most older customers 45+ (with bank in their pocket) would much prefer to have most dancers around  by 9:00pm rather than have to wait till 11:00pm to see the top guys.
    *  The Women at Stock.  Something needs to be done about this.  I know it's a difficult issue as one cannot discriminate.   But the women on Friday (after the earlier bachelorette event)  were the dominant force for the entire night.  I wanted to tip one of the dancers on the stage and found it very difficult to even get close.  I was told Saturday night was similar at Stock.
    I hope to return to Montreal this summer.  I really really don't want to be spending my gay dollars in Florida if I don't have to.  I am happy with the great progress at Stock in just three months but look for further improvements on the items highlighted above.  I really want to return more regularly if possible.
     
     
  17. Like
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from + azdr0710 in Recent report from Montreal   
    Just back from a  four night trip to Montreal.  Weather was mostly good with the exception of some storms on Sunday and showers today Monday.   I noticed no smoke smell during my time there.  Things were active in The Village with lots of foot traffic.
    I visited both Stock and Campus.  I was at Stock Thursday and Friday nights.  Stock is looking great with all the renovations.  Stock & Soda seems to be successful...at least now during the summer.  Plenty of folks sitting on the patio part on the street.  The inside VIP room (Stock Speakeasy?) was inaugurated on Friday.   Somehow, I managed not to check it out.  Oops!  I saw the new owner, Danny, who I remember from his bartender days.  He seemed really upbeat about everything.  DJ Anthony also made an appearance on Thursday for his hosting duties of the Studio Show.    Stock currently has more employees than I have ever seen previously.   The current level of business seems to support the increased number of staff.  Although, Thursday was relatively slow.  Things didn't really get going till after 11:00pm.  Note the weekly summer fireworks have been moved from Saturdays to Thursdays.  As a result, dancers and customers don't really start showing up to Stock till after 10:00.  They had 10-12 dancers there on Thursday and some didn't turn up till after 10:00pm.  So it was fairly slim pickings before 10:00pm.  Alex the bartender was on duty at the main bar by the shower stage.  He is always good fun.  I ended up hanging out with Jasper & Eric most of the evening.  It was good fun.  The crowd was mostly gay men.  Although there were a few ladies there, they did not make for an overpowering presence.
    Friday was a very different night.  It  was, of course, much busier at Stock as a weekend night.  Also, the women were present in force.  It felt like a ladies night.  In fact, when I arrived around 8:30, I was advised that there was a special bachelorette-type party going on and that it would be over by 10:00pm.  It must have started at 6 or 7 cause at 8:30 it was already well underway.  Former Stock dancer Parker was the host and he had 2-3 non-Stock dancers plus Gatuso performing for the ladies.  Several of the bachelorettes were brought up on stage and given lap-dances.  It was kind of fun to watch from afar and I assumed they would clear out at 10:00pm.  Well this pre-show did end as scheduled  and the ladies were told that if they wanted to continue on at Stock, they would need to go out and pay the Stock cover-charge and re-enter.  It seems most of them did that and the female presence just grew larger as the night progressed.   All the chairs closest to the stage were occupied by females.  Men seemed to be in the minority in the bar.  The dancer line-up consisted of many attractive guys (Jo, Jasper, Vinny, Gatuso (from Tunisia), Barack (from Costa Rica), Bran, Denzel, Miguel, and Santiago).  There were a few others there as well which I would consider duds...at least for my taste.  Former Stock dancer Tyler also made an appearance as a customer.  We had a quick chance to catch-up since I had not seen him since before COVID.  He is not currently dancing anywhere.   I had fun both nights. at Stock.  
    Thursday, I stopped in briefly at Campus between stays at Stock.  I seemed to be there during the transition from the day talent to the evening talent.  The daytime boys were largely forgettable in my view.  A few of the nighttime guys coming in looked interesting but I did not stay long enough to see any of them perform.  A couple of the daytime dancers were overly-aggressive which I did not appreciate.   Campus had roughly the same amount of clients on Thursday as Stock so , due to its smaller size, Campus appeared busier.  There was only a token presence of ladies at Campus on Thursday.
    I returned to Campus on Saturday and what a difference.  It was packed with a whole lot more dancers.  Two very big body-builder types.  Also there were multiple muscular younger guys at Campus that seemed to be lacking at Stock.  I hung out with three dancers Saturday night and had great fun.   The bartender John was a hoot also.  He enjoyed gradually removing his clothes while working.    The former dancer red-headed Manager (I don't remember his name) was working Saturday and I had an opportunity to speak with him.  I told him I first saw him dancing way back when at West Side on Beaver Hall when they had strippers.  That's quite a few years ago now.  There were a few more women at Campus on Saturday than on Thursday but it did not feel overwhelming to me.
    I did not go to the clubs on Sunday so nothing to report there.
    My conclusions overall:
    *  The Stock renovation looks wonderful and is bringing in increased business to Stock & Soda and also the main strip club.
    *  Stock still has to work on getting the guys naked on stage.  There are multiple guys (mostly the newer ones) that do not get naked.  Some don't even flash their goods.
    *  The dancer talent at Stock has improved over the last few months.  This is partially due to getting back some of the former Stock strippers that had stopped stripping or had moved to Campus.   That is all good, (and kudos to Stock management for achieving this) but Stock also needs to get some muscular younger talent .  We need to have some fresh younger faces to go along with the veterans.  
    * Stock needs to get more dancers to come in earlier.  Many dancers not arriving till 10:00 or even 11:00pm  just doesn't work for me.  I like to start fairly early.  I really want to see most of the guys by 9:00pm so I can decide who to spend time with.  I would guess that most older customers 45+ (with bank in their pocket) would much prefer to have most dancers around  by 9:00pm rather than have to wait till 11:00pm to see the top guys.
    *  The Women at Stock.  Something needs to be done about this.  I know it's a difficult issue as one cannot discriminate.   But the women on Friday (after the earlier bachelorette event)  were the dominant force for the entire night.  I wanted to tip one of the dancers on the stage and found it very difficult to even get close.  I was told Saturday night was similar at Stock.
    I hope to return to Montreal this summer.  I really really don't want to be spending my gay dollars in Florida if I don't have to.  I am happy with the great progress at Stock in just three months but look for further improvements on the items highlighted above.  I really want to return more regularly if possible.
     
     
  18. Like
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from Kalypso_Dee in Recent report from Montreal   
    Just back from a  four night trip to Montreal.  Weather was mostly good with the exception of some storms on Sunday and showers today Monday.   I noticed no smoke smell during my time there.  Things were active in The Village with lots of foot traffic.
    I visited both Stock and Campus.  I was at Stock Thursday and Friday nights.  Stock is looking great with all the renovations.  Stock & Soda seems to be successful...at least now during the summer.  Plenty of folks sitting on the patio part on the street.  The inside VIP room (Stock Speakeasy?) was inaugurated on Friday.   Somehow, I managed not to check it out.  Oops!  I saw the new owner, Danny, who I remember from his bartender days.  He seemed really upbeat about everything.  DJ Anthony also made an appearance on Thursday for his hosting duties of the Studio Show.    Stock currently has more employees than I have ever seen previously.   The current level of business seems to support the increased number of staff.  Although, Thursday was relatively slow.  Things didn't really get going till after 11:00pm.  Note the weekly summer fireworks have been moved from Saturdays to Thursdays.  As a result, dancers and customers don't really start showing up to Stock till after 10:00.  They had 10-12 dancers there on Thursday and some didn't turn up till after 10:00pm.  So it was fairly slim pickings before 10:00pm.  Alex the bartender was on duty at the main bar by the shower stage.  He is always good fun.  I ended up hanging out with Jasper & Eric most of the evening.  It was good fun.  The crowd was mostly gay men.  Although there were a few ladies there, they did not make for an overpowering presence.
    Friday was a very different night.  It  was, of course, much busier at Stock as a weekend night.  Also, the women were present in force.  It felt like a ladies night.  In fact, when I arrived around 8:30, I was advised that there was a special bachelorette-type party going on and that it would be over by 10:00pm.  It must have started at 6 or 7 cause at 8:30 it was already well underway.  Former Stock dancer Parker was the host and he had 2-3 non-Stock dancers plus Gatuso performing for the ladies.  Several of the bachelorettes were brought up on stage and given lap-dances.  It was kind of fun to watch from afar and I assumed they would clear out at 10:00pm.  Well this pre-show did end as scheduled  and the ladies were told that if they wanted to continue on at Stock, they would need to go out and pay the Stock cover-charge and re-enter.  It seems most of them did that and the female presence just grew larger as the night progressed.   All the chairs closest to the stage were occupied by females.  Men seemed to be in the minority in the bar.  The dancer line-up consisted of many attractive guys (Jo, Jasper, Vinny, Gatuso (from Tunisia), Barack (from Costa Rica), Bran, Denzel, Miguel, and Santiago).  There were a few others there as well which I would consider duds...at least for my taste.  Former Stock dancer Tyler also made an appearance as a customer.  We had a quick chance to catch-up since I had not seen him since before COVID.  He is not currently dancing anywhere.   I had fun both nights. at Stock.  
    Thursday, I stopped in briefly at Campus between stays at Stock.  I seemed to be there during the transition from the day talent to the evening talent.  The daytime boys were largely forgettable in my view.  A few of the nighttime guys coming in looked interesting but I did not stay long enough to see any of them perform.  A couple of the daytime dancers were overly-aggressive which I did not appreciate.   Campus had roughly the same amount of clients on Thursday as Stock so , due to its smaller size, Campus appeared busier.  There was only a token presence of ladies at Campus on Thursday.
    I returned to Campus on Saturday and what a difference.  It was packed with a whole lot more dancers.  Two very big body-builder types.  Also there were multiple muscular younger guys at Campus that seemed to be lacking at Stock.  I hung out with three dancers Saturday night and had great fun.   The bartender John was a hoot also.  He enjoyed gradually removing his clothes while working.    The former dancer red-headed Manager (I don't remember his name) was working Saturday and I had an opportunity to speak with him.  I told him I first saw him dancing way back when at West Side on Beaver Hall when they had strippers.  That's quite a few years ago now.  There were a few more women at Campus on Saturday than on Thursday but it did not feel overwhelming to me.
    I did not go to the clubs on Sunday so nothing to report there.
    My conclusions overall:
    *  The Stock renovation looks wonderful and is bringing in increased business to Stock & Soda and also the main strip club.
    *  Stock still has to work on getting the guys naked on stage.  There are multiple guys (mostly the newer ones) that do not get naked.  Some don't even flash their goods.
    *  The dancer talent at Stock has improved over the last few months.  This is partially due to getting back some of the former Stock strippers that had stopped stripping or had moved to Campus.   That is all good, (and kudos to Stock management for achieving this) but Stock also needs to get some muscular younger talent .  We need to have some fresh younger faces to go along with the veterans.  
    * Stock needs to get more dancers to come in earlier.  Many dancers not arriving till 10:00 or even 11:00pm  just doesn't work for me.  I like to start fairly early.  I really want to see most of the guys by 9:00pm so I can decide who to spend time with.  I would guess that most older customers 45+ (with bank in their pocket) would much prefer to have most dancers around  by 9:00pm rather than have to wait till 11:00pm to see the top guys.
    *  The Women at Stock.  Something needs to be done about this.  I know it's a difficult issue as one cannot discriminate.   But the women on Friday (after the earlier bachelorette event)  were the dominant force for the entire night.  I wanted to tip one of the dancers on the stage and found it very difficult to even get close.  I was told Saturday night was similar at Stock.
    I hope to return to Montreal this summer.  I really really don't want to be spending my gay dollars in Florida if I don't have to.  I am happy with the great progress at Stock in just three months but look for further improvements on the items highlighted above.  I really want to return more regularly if possible.
     
     
  19. Like
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from LD19847 in Recent report from Montreal   
    Just back from a  four night trip to Montreal.  Weather was mostly good with the exception of some storms on Sunday and showers today Monday.   I noticed no smoke smell during my time there.  Things were active in The Village with lots of foot traffic.
    I visited both Stock and Campus.  I was at Stock Thursday and Friday nights.  Stock is looking great with all the renovations.  Stock & Soda seems to be successful...at least now during the summer.  Plenty of folks sitting on the patio part on the street.  The inside VIP room (Stock Speakeasy?) was inaugurated on Friday.   Somehow, I managed not to check it out.  Oops!  I saw the new owner, Danny, who I remember from his bartender days.  He seemed really upbeat about everything.  DJ Anthony also made an appearance on Thursday for his hosting duties of the Studio Show.    Stock currently has more employees than I have ever seen previously.   The current level of business seems to support the increased number of staff.  Although, Thursday was relatively slow.  Things didn't really get going till after 11:00pm.  Note the weekly summer fireworks have been moved from Saturdays to Thursdays.  As a result, dancers and customers don't really start showing up to Stock till after 10:00.  They had 10-12 dancers there on Thursday and some didn't turn up till after 10:00pm.  So it was fairly slim pickings before 10:00pm.  Alex the bartender was on duty at the main bar by the shower stage.  He is always good fun.  I ended up hanging out with Jasper & Eric most of the evening.  It was good fun.  The crowd was mostly gay men.  Although there were a few ladies there, they did not make for an overpowering presence.
    Friday was a very different night.  It  was, of course, much busier at Stock as a weekend night.  Also, the women were present in force.  It felt like a ladies night.  In fact, when I arrived around 8:30, I was advised that there was a special bachelorette-type party going on and that it would be over by 10:00pm.  It must have started at 6 or 7 cause at 8:30 it was already well underway.  Former Stock dancer Parker was the host and he had 2-3 non-Stock dancers plus Gatuso performing for the ladies.  Several of the bachelorettes were brought up on stage and given lap-dances.  It was kind of fun to watch from afar and I assumed they would clear out at 10:00pm.  Well this pre-show did end as scheduled  and the ladies were told that if they wanted to continue on at Stock, they would need to go out and pay the Stock cover-charge and re-enter.  It seems most of them did that and the female presence just grew larger as the night progressed.   All the chairs closest to the stage were occupied by females.  Men seemed to be in the minority in the bar.  The dancer line-up consisted of many attractive guys (Jo, Jasper, Vinny, Gatuso (from Tunisia), Barack (from Costa Rica), Bran, Denzel, Miguel, and Santiago).  There were a few others there as well which I would consider duds...at least for my taste.  Former Stock dancer Tyler also made an appearance as a customer.  We had a quick chance to catch-up since I had not seen him since before COVID.  He is not currently dancing anywhere.   I had fun both nights. at Stock.  
    Thursday, I stopped in briefly at Campus between stays at Stock.  I seemed to be there during the transition from the day talent to the evening talent.  The daytime boys were largely forgettable in my view.  A few of the nighttime guys coming in looked interesting but I did not stay long enough to see any of them perform.  A couple of the daytime dancers were overly-aggressive which I did not appreciate.   Campus had roughly the same amount of clients on Thursday as Stock so , due to its smaller size, Campus appeared busier.  There was only a token presence of ladies at Campus on Thursday.
    I returned to Campus on Saturday and what a difference.  It was packed with a whole lot more dancers.  Two very big body-builder types.  Also there were multiple muscular younger guys at Campus that seemed to be lacking at Stock.  I hung out with three dancers Saturday night and had great fun.   The bartender John was a hoot also.  He enjoyed gradually removing his clothes while working.    The former dancer red-headed Manager (I don't remember his name) was working Saturday and I had an opportunity to speak with him.  I told him I first saw him dancing way back when at West Side on Beaver Hall when they had strippers.  That's quite a few years ago now.  There were a few more women at Campus on Saturday than on Thursday but it did not feel overwhelming to me.
    I did not go to the clubs on Sunday so nothing to report there.
    My conclusions overall:
    *  The Stock renovation looks wonderful and is bringing in increased business to Stock & Soda and also the main strip club.
    *  Stock still has to work on getting the guys naked on stage.  There are multiple guys (mostly the newer ones) that do not get naked.  Some don't even flash their goods.
    *  The dancer talent at Stock has improved over the last few months.  This is partially due to getting back some of the former Stock strippers that had stopped stripping or had moved to Campus.   That is all good, (and kudos to Stock management for achieving this) but Stock also needs to get some muscular younger talent .  We need to have some fresh younger faces to go along with the veterans.  
    * Stock needs to get more dancers to come in earlier.  Many dancers not arriving till 10:00 or even 11:00pm  just doesn't work for me.  I like to start fairly early.  I really want to see most of the guys by 9:00pm so I can decide who to spend time with.  I would guess that most older customers 45+ (with bank in their pocket) would much prefer to have most dancers around  by 9:00pm rather than have to wait till 11:00pm to see the top guys.
    *  The Women at Stock.  Something needs to be done about this.  I know it's a difficult issue as one cannot discriminate.   But the women on Friday (after the earlier bachelorette event)  were the dominant force for the entire night.  I wanted to tip one of the dancers on the stage and found it very difficult to even get close.  I was told Saturday night was similar at Stock.
    I hope to return to Montreal this summer.  I really really don't want to be spending my gay dollars in Florida if I don't have to.  I am happy with the great progress at Stock in just three months but look for further improvements on the items highlighted above.  I really want to return more regularly if possible.
     
     
  20. Like
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from thomas76 in Important announcement about Stock bar   
    I agree with other posters that Priority No 1 is improving the quality of the dancers and that priority No 2 is getting them naked on stage.  Having said that, let's give the club some time to work thru the issues.  They are clearly investing a lot of money into the club and they want it to be successful.  Let's give them a chance to make the changes and see where things are at in a few months time.  
  21. Haha
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from Luv2play in CDC issues malaria alert, 5 locally contracted cases reported in USA!   
    Yet another reason not to visit Florida or Texas.  The list keeps growing!
  22. Eye Roll
    EZEtoGRU reacted to pubic_assistance in CDC issues malaria alert, 5 locally contracted cases reported in USA!   
    Ummm...It IS when they make you stay home for months deleting all your sources of income and yet still expect you to pay all your bills.
    Not everyone can live on welfare checks.
  23. Haha
    EZEtoGRU got a reaction from + sync in CDC issues malaria alert, 5 locally contracted cases reported in USA!   
    Yet another reason not to visit Florida or Texas.  The list keeps growing!
  24. Like
    EZEtoGRU reacted to CarolinaRen in Glory hole etiquette   
    I'm late to this party, but I could write quite a lot about this topic. I don't live in a large city, so thankfully we have one store that has booths, four of which have a gh. There used to be three stores, but the county closed two of them. The one that remains is in a small incorporated township that  the county allows to do its own thing. We pay a flat fee to get in, and no one on staff comes back to bother you about feeding bills into the videos.
    As was noted upthread, typically one sees a guy come in and follows him into an adjoining booth. Speaking personally, I have got to see the guy. If he's not attractive to me, it's a no. Most guys coming in for head are bi and married and simply don't get oral from their wives or girlfriends. They greatly appreciate good head from another willing male.
    Also stated upthread, someone switching from mouth to ass is extremely uncool. Yep, it's happened to me, and I left.
    I will say, too, that ours attracts every kind of guy you can imagine including some so up in years that they can barely walk. Attractive younger men and tourists come in routinely. It's a crap shoot. You never know if a trip there will be a boom or a bust, and tbh that is a part of the appeal.
    I will also add, since some of you may travel I-95 by car, that there is a bookstore just over the NC-SC line about one mile south of the atrocity known as South of the Border. This place is unassuming and in the middle of nowhere. It's an older place and looks like something out of the 80s inside with booths in the back arcade. It's hit-or-miss, too, but here is why I *always* stop there if I'm in the area: military going to and from Ft Bragg (army) and Camp Lejeune ( marines) are well aware of it and often veer off the interstate for a quick blow. When I've gotten lucky there, it's been very, very good.
    Didn't mean to write a book!
  25. Applause
    EZEtoGRU reacted to RickyKiss in Who WOULD you pay $1000 for one hour with?   
    Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals would top my list:


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