Something Going On In Kokomo

Hell, I never stage dived while in the club. Too personal for me to give a free show! LOL

I hope everything else remains the same. It's a damn good club with young, pretty, and talented dancers!

I saw where there was a review over the weekend for HH... a very favorable review, in fact. BUT, reading between the lines, it's fairly apparent that the review was talking about some previous Sat, especially since the reviewer also reviewed Diva's we know things have changed there, too.

It's frustrating when reviews are "open ended" like that, without no specific date of reference. It's further frustrating to think that those reviews are usually posted in order to receive additional "VIP" time on TUSCL. It shouldn't be allowed.

The free tuscl membership is definitely a double-edged sword. It is an incentive to get us to review clubs but also for guys to write bogus reviews. I seriously doubt if there would be half as many reviews to read if not for the incentive of free membership.

Update: In addition to the ban on stage diving, for whatever reason, private dances are no longer allowed in the "new" section of HH. For those of you that haven't been going to HH long enough to know, the new section is the side of the club with the pool tables and the second bar. Typically, that's not an area where high mileage could be found, so I don't understand that. But, during the busier times, the "new" section would catch the private dance overflow that couldn't be squeezed in on the other side of the club. Now, during busier times, a line actually forms of people waiting their turn for a seat on "the wall". They've even removed the tables along the wall and added chairs, but still, there isn't enough room for all of the private dances. Dancers are pissed because it's lowering their income and patrons are pissed because they have to wait to play. It can be a mood breaker to get primed to play with a dancer, only to have to stand there and wait for a seat. Crazy!

I just got off the phone with a dancer from HH. Okay, here's the complete scoop.

First off, someone (rumor has it someone from the local government) visited the club a few weeks ago and immediately upon entering the club, saw some dances being given in the new section. Of course that's what you would see, because there is that row of chairs straight ahead of the door as you enter. Anyhow, whomever it was, complained to Don (the owner) that that sort of thing shouldn't be right out there in the open.

The first change was the new rule. No stage-side touching. No stage diving. I believe you can still tip, but other than maybe a hug, there is NO touching allowed.

Also, since there isn't any private area sectioned off, they removed the chairs from the wall of the new section, forcing private dances to be done along the wall in the old section - the traditional location. The previous configuration of "chair, table, chair, chair, table, chair, chair, table, etc.", has been replaced by "chair, chair, chair, chair, etc." Even with the removal of the tables and addition of chairs to take the tables' places, there is insufficient seating for private dances. It's now typical to see 10 or more couples waiting in line for seats. That is costing dancers money and annoying customers that are wasting time in line instead of playing.

There are some positives to note. The tables nearest "the wall" where there were always patrons openly watching the dances in progress, have now been removed, thus making "the wall" area a bit more private. Also, the lights have been turned down on the old side, which also has increased privacy. Because of these last two changes, there are reports of increased mileage.

The worst news, however, is the rumor that within a year, Hip Hugger will be shutting it's doors.

Doug: My question is why would the Hugger close? True, Don may be getting close to retirement age, but certainly there must be some buyers out there. The club has to be making money hand over fist. A dancer once told me that Don makes over five grand a week from the jukebox alone.....I couldn't believe it, but do the math and I think it is probably right. So unless the "local government" decides to shut it down, I can't imagine the place would just go away.

No reason was given for the rumored closure, except as both you and I surmised, perhaps Don is ready to retire. That was also MY first impulse... why not sell? I think the consensus is that someone else wouldn't have the local "connections" to keep things operating as is.

My dancer contact reported to me this morning, saying that last night there were 38 girls working and just 10 patrons. Wonderful odds for us custies... a buyer's market, baby! Also, girls are forced to compete for the attention (and money) of the crowd. BUT, it's pretty dismal for the girls. There's been quite a bit of talk from the dancers thinking about heading south to work at BBF.