Townie Bar vs. City Club
AnonymousJim
Scanning the room from the back
One of the interesting delineations I'm seeing a lot here is those who prefer the smaller-town places versus those who are fans of the more Vegas-style clubs you see in the bigger cities. Seems like folks who are used to one don't really care for the other and vice versa.
The sense I get:
THE TOWNIE BAR
-Smaller
-Not as fancy (or clean)
-Girls aren't as likely to be good looking or great dancers
-Girls are probably entirely natural
-Cheaper
-Likelier to get better service if you're a regular
-Less likely to get good service if it's your first or second time, or if you're "not from around"
-Supervision might be lax
-Extras/ITC may be more likely and, as such, OTC isn't really as big of a deal unless there's a motel nearby
THE CITY CLUB
-Bigger, often huge
-Fancier, perhaps opulently so
-Hot talent, perhaps shipped in from elsewhere
-From extensions to implants, good chance these girls aren't entirely made of stock parts
-Prices can be ridiculous
-Regulars might get slightly better service, but not if they get a rep for being cheap
-First-timers and out-of-towners could be big shots, so they often get the best service
-Big staff of bouncers who are pretty vigilant (except in certain cities) and cameras to watch what goes on
-Extras/ITC unlikely (except in certain cities), OTC more likely if you're from out-of-town and staying someplace nice
It's interesting to see the occasional review from the "fish out of water" -- someone used to one, but at the other. Those used to the townie bars generally seem turned off by the sticker shock at the bigger places while also calling them some variation of "impersonal." The city folk, though, will talk about the dirt on the floor and the lack of inspiring talent at the townie bars.
Of course, there are variations on these themes (the small-city club that aspires to be a city club but is really more of a fancy townie bar, the AA city club that's a little more gritty, etc.), but I do feel like a lot of us prefer one of these two categories over the other.
The sense I get:
THE TOWNIE BAR
-Smaller
-Not as fancy (or clean)
-Girls aren't as likely to be good looking or great dancers
-Girls are probably entirely natural
-Cheaper
-Likelier to get better service if you're a regular
-Less likely to get good service if it's your first or second time, or if you're "not from around"
-Supervision might be lax
-Extras/ITC may be more likely and, as such, OTC isn't really as big of a deal unless there's a motel nearby
THE CITY CLUB
-Bigger, often huge
-Fancier, perhaps opulently so
-Hot talent, perhaps shipped in from elsewhere
-From extensions to implants, good chance these girls aren't entirely made of stock parts
-Prices can be ridiculous
-Regulars might get slightly better service, but not if they get a rep for being cheap
-First-timers and out-of-towners could be big shots, so they often get the best service
-Big staff of bouncers who are pretty vigilant (except in certain cities) and cameras to watch what goes on
-Extras/ITC unlikely (except in certain cities), OTC more likely if you're from out-of-town and staying someplace nice
It's interesting to see the occasional review from the "fish out of water" -- someone used to one, but at the other. Those used to the townie bars generally seem turned off by the sticker shock at the bigger places while also calling them some variation of "impersonal." The city folk, though, will talk about the dirt on the floor and the lack of inspiring talent at the townie bars.
Of course, there are variations on these themes (the small-city club that aspires to be a city club but is really more of a fancy townie bar, the AA city club that's a little more gritty, etc.), but I do feel like a lot of us prefer one of these two categories over the other.
19 comments
You also might want to add the Big City Dive. This bar is similar to a small town Townie Bar, except:
- Often smaller than a townie bar.
- Dancers are often older and at the end of their career, if not way beyond it.
- Often a lot of extras, ITC and OTC offered.
- Often suspicious of new customers, so unless the dancer recognizes you from another club, or you have visited many times, dances will be lame.
-- Often a Juke Box or automated dance system rather than a DJ.
- Usually located in a really bad section of town, or in an out of way area.
I get the sense the kinds of guys that like those kinds of places probably aren't TUSCL kind of guys.
Definitely more of a city type myself. There is one townie kind of place I'll go to, but it's only because of one girl I have a good thing going with. There's one other girl there worth seeing naked and she's not nearly as fun in the back. The rest ... yeah, they'd never make it in the city clubs I go to.
The club I frequent is more 'townie'. I get great service since everyone knows me, but it's not a club for extras unfortunately. The girls are 'townie' too for the most part but there's a few that could work in a more upscale place. Prices are very cheap for drinks and dances.
For example, many clubs in KS and WI would be considered townie clubs, yet some of the girls are very hot (these are their only local club options) and ITC services are bad in most of them and OTC is difficult to find. Same holds true in many of the "townie" clubs that are located in other culturally conservative areas. The girls involved are afraid of losing their jobs and of being labelled as whores. They also need less cash, since housefees/tipouts are low and rent and utilities costs are quite low compared to other areas, so they are under less pressure to walk out of the club flush.
In big city clubs, OTOH, the girls are under much more pressure to earn. It costs them more just to work and their living expenses are higher. Now ITC/OTC fun tends to be very expensive with these girls, but it is often available if one is willing to pay the freight. Manhattan is a great example of this, as is Vegas.
My favorite type of club is a tweener between these two extremes. Clubs located in and around small cities tend to be my best hunting ground. They are less expensive than big city clubs, but many of them still have strong talent and the girls still need to earn a fair amount to live well in those areas. They are also culturally diverse enough that the issues relating to labels and social pressures aren't as evident.
I guess there are some "best of both worlds" places. Brad's in Indy comes to mind as a place with a bar feel but club-level talent. But in my experience, you're almost guaranteed to have a few 9-10s at a big-city club on a weekend night, even if you won't get as much out of them, versus the townie bar, which will always be a crapshoot, especially if you're from out-of-town.
At the end of the day, I think we all end up leaning toward one or the other, depending on whether we're looking for value & service (townie) or hotness (city). Count me in the city camp.
I think what you are really saying is that you like one particular variety, which is cool and to each his own. I'm just not sure that it is an "either/or" scenario.
Let me put it this way: I think clubs aspire to be one or the other. The end result is a gradient, but the goal is one thing or the other.
Case in point: Milwaukee has a couple Vegas-style clubs. It's what they aspire to be and, compared to everything else in Wisconsin, they stand apart. Compare those clubs to Chicago's gown clubs, however, and the Milwaukee ones don't appear to have anywhere near the talent, style, aloofness, etc.
It's all relative.
What is a gown club?
But it was interesting reading my cogent and entirely on-point responses from 8 years ago. 😉
Really by far my priorities are:
1. I can get one dance (to see if I click with a dancer) for $20 - 30. And the dancers don't see song-by-song dances a basically just a chance to sell long dances in the "better" VIP.
2. At least three quarters of what I spend leaves the club in dancer's purses. Motivated dancers are by far the main factor in a strip club being good for me.
"Townie" clubs are more likely to have these advantages, but not always. Downtown Toronto clubs are pretty ritzy, but they seem to run circles around US clubs, when it comes to keeping their fingers out of the dancers' purses.