Big changes for The Palace, and...

Big changes for The Palace, and for the late night black strip club scene in general in Birmingham on Saturday nights. But I actually got an indication that something was wrong before I hit The Palace.

I had actually planned on going to Club Volcano, on the north side of Birmingham ( in Ensley ). I arrived there at 1:30, but was told that the club was closing at 2 am. My past experiences with Birmingham was that only The Furnace closed at 2, while Volcano and Palace would stay open as late as 4 am. Being told that Volcano was about to close, I went to The Palace.

I arrived there a little before 2 am, and paid a $10 cover. But I knew something was wrong. There were plenty of cars there, but very few people in the main area where the dancers were ( maybe 20 customers total to about 12 dancers ). I get 2 Bud Lights and $40 in 1s. Maybe 2 real outstanding looking girls working that night, so I just tipped a girl dancing on one of the side stages about $10 in 1's. I then noticed that some in the crowd was going to the back of the club down a new hallway for some reason. That's when I notice the big change.