tuscl

Regional differences in clubs

Wednesday, August 2, 2006 9:34 AM
Sounds like we've all visited clubs in several different parts of the country. Just wondering what differences you've noticed. Specifically, what do you commonly see in your home area that you rarely see elsewhere? What's unique about the clubs in your state or city? In my case I'd have to say that the Philadelphia metro area has clubs of just about every decription you can think of. I don't know of anywhere else that has such a broad variety. Clubs range from large GC's with all the trimmings to tiny neighborhood bars with dancers and everything in between. And contact levels range all over the place, from very low to very high. Another difference that I see is that many of the clubs around here, especially the smaller ones, have rectangular bars with the stage inside, so you can't sit at the stage. I don't think that's very common elsewhere. And of course, PA requires G-strings and pasties if they sell liquor, nude or non-pastie clubs aren't allowed to sell any booze. Another feature of PA is that there are a lot of clubs in many small towns and in very rural areas. And some of them are pretty good. And they very widely in things like the amount of contact allowed, which I alsays find somewhat puzzling. Some of them are attached to XXX book/video stores and are open 24/7. Maryland, another area I'm very familiar with, has some very distinct differences. Baltimore City allows full bars and full nudity, which I believe is pretty rare. The "Block" format is especially unique. There are no lap dances, as we usually think of them. Instead you buy a girl a dancer drink at the bar, usually for about $20 or so, which entitles you both to get pretty cozy with pretty free use of the hands while seated at the bar, for as long as it takes her to finish the drink. If you'd like more privacy you can buy a big drink (it's actually called that) for $75 or so that gets you essentially the same thing only more of it for a half hour in a private booth. Some places also have a private room in back for an even bigger drink. Extras are pretty standard with a big drink. I don't know of any place else that has this kind of format, and they're all like that. There are also one or more places in suburban Maryland where girls do LD's fully nude, again I think that's pretty uniue. In one of the places the girls dance inside the bar, then crawl around on top of the bar nude for tips - I've never seen that done anywhere else. Another feature of MD clubs is that private dances are expensive, typically $30 ($20 is more the norm in PA.) And, of course, DC doesn't allow any private dances but the girls dance nude. And in northern VA there are no private dances or nudity, G-strings and pasties are required. Both areas feature conversation with a girl for a tip.

8 comments

  • FONDL
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    18 years ago
    Shadowcat, I don't think it's all that unusual. Philadelphia is both a city and a county. So is Baltimore. And at least in the case of Baltimore, as soon as you cross the line and leave the city/county, the rules become much more restrictive (not so Philly however.) There are Block-type places all over the city but none outside of it, even thought there are a lot of clubs just outside the city limits. Book Guy, by "region" I didn't mean to imply "Census Region" as you obviously inferred. Any definition will do for our purposes. For example, Philly and Pittsburgh are in the same state but nearly 300 miles apart and very different strip club areas. I'd call that different regions for this discussion. Philly and Baltimore are also very different even though they're less than 100 miles apart. DC and Baltimore are even closer but are about as far apart strip-club wise as you can get. And along those lines I have to correct something I said earlier. I have been to clubs in western PA where you can't touch the dancer with your hands while getting an LD. But I don't think of western PA as part of the Northeast (except when Pittsburgh wins the Super Bowl of course), it's much more midwestern in nature.
  • FONDL
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    18 years ago
    One of the fun things about visiting rural clubs in PA is that the pasties rule is usually enforcced fairly loosely because such places don't attract LCB attention. I've seen lots of girls have their pasties "accidently" fall off and not be replaced, and other girls remove them when doing private dances. A couple of other anomilies that I've seen. I don't know of any club in either PA or MD where you had to keep your hands off the dancer during a private dance, but that seems to be common in other parts of the country. The first time I ran into having to keep my hands on the chair arms I was shocked. I think I was in Gerogia or maybe North Carolina. Should also have pointed out in the Baltimore Block places the girl expects a big tip on top of the cost of the big drink, so it costs a minimum of around $150 to sit and fondl in a private booth. And they really are private because the places are so dark and booth sides are high. Another oddity, MD has 4 LD factories that are very similar: nude on-stage dancing, topless laps with decent but not great contact, attractive girls, no alcohol. But the other similarity is that none of them have any privacy for the so-called private dances, they're all done out in the open. There are no private rooms. I've never run into this anywhere else. Has anyone else seen this, an LD club with no LD or VIP rooms?
  • chandler
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    18 years ago
    It might help if you recalled what "far north" state you were in. Pasties are generally required by the state, sometimes with inconsistent enforcement. Indiana is a pasties state. I think Wisconsin might be, but their clubs suck more for other reasons. Michigan doesn't require pasties.
  • casualguy
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    18 years ago
    I've been to a strip club or two on a business trip in the far north. I believe one or both clubs required dancers to wear pasties. That was quite dissapointing when I'm used to seeing more especially in the nude clubs. hmmm, I remember one trip I didn't go to any strip clubs but I spent the evenings at business social events with a nice single blonde girl. (someone from the same corporation as me but 1000 miles away) She looked better and was more enjoyable than most strippers. Best part was I didn't have to worry about hearing "wanna dance?" :)
  • Clubber
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    18 years ago
    Drinking and nudity, together, are abundant in South Florida. Not always the case, elsewhere.
  • chandler
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    18 years ago
    I really enjoy these things when I travel. Here in Michigan, almost all clubs follow a very standard pattern. All clubs are either topless with a full bar or else Deja Vus, which is based here. Hardly any other nude clubs exist around here. I don't like Deja Vu, so I stick with the topless bars. The state Liquor Control Commission is the big enforcement authority for violations by dancers, etc., so the topless clubs are set up very similarly from city to city, although the mileage possibilities vary greatly around the state. Generally, the farther from Detroit you go, the lower the mileage. I guess one of the distinguishing features is that many clubs have very, uh, lively stage tipping, especially stage diving. Also, many clubs are very friendly towards female patrons, so you'll see lots of girl-on-girl mischief at the stage.
  • Book Guy
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    18 years ago
    I think a LOT of this comes down to jurisdictions. Here in Jackson, MS, a recent rule change required that lap dances be given in a "non secluded" area of the club, so they have side lobbies where there are couches, but these lapper areas aren't closed off from the rest of the club. Pasties are generally required, or not, on the basis of rules from the local municipalities as well. Which suggests to me, that it isn't so much REGIONAL differences that would be interesting, although some state-wide laws may be an issue. More likely, if you're in an area where you can drive between several larger cities that are all big enough to have strip clubs, then you can pick and choose among jurisdictions, municipalities, and rules. Each city will be different, but still within the same region. For example, if you're in central Florida, you can pick Miami, Tampa, or Orlando. Few people pick Orlando for strip clubbing, the rules are very restrictive. Tampa has two sides -- the city proper, where nude clubs have no alcohol while drinks clubs have no nudity (except cheating in VIPs), and both have private rooms; and then the Clearwater side of the Bay where all clubs are non-contact unless the dancer is clothed (supposedly) -- so everyone drives from the weaker side to the more interesting side. Miami, again, has three distinctions (at least) as you travel among drinks and no-drinks clubs, and then either south to the Keys, or north to Fort Worth. Go north, young man. As a final example, I don't get the impression that the clubs which are "around" San Francisco have the same level of activity that goes on in downtown San Fran proper. It's not regional -- "nearer" San Fran doesn't get more action like at MBOT than "farther". Rather, it's city by city, line by line. But then again, there ARE certain states and regions that are famous for getting it all wrong, as far as strip clubs are concerned. Few of us would think of Kansas or Nebraska as wise destinations for a clubbing trip. Montreal, southern Quebec, and southern Ontario would be better choices for general destination. Following a midwest theme, Chicago isn't so great, as far as I know; nor is Minneapolis. But both are quite large cities. In fact, we might ask, along the lines of a similar earlier thread, which REGION have you not visited yet, that you'd like to go to for strip clubbing?
  • DandyDan
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    18 years ago
    Perhaps it's the stupidity of the Nebraska laws, but Shakers, the only nude club in Nebraska, has nude lap dances, but there must be a blanket between the dancer and the customer to "prevent contact". Otherwise, contact seems to be frowned upon here, and in Omaha itself, toplessness is, too. That's why my favorite clubs tend to be in Iowa, which allow BYOB and nudity, although if I lived closer to Kansas, I'd probably like them more, since they have nudity and drinking together, without the need to bring your own beer (unless you go off to the Out House in Lawrence). to Chandler- Wisconsin doesn't force pasties on their dancers, although it's certainly possible certain communities do. I'm not sure that's necessarily a statewide thing. Council Bluffs, Iowa, across the Missouri river from Omaha, requires them, which is why few of the dancers there actually have them and don't take their tops off.
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