different but still the same

I had not been at this club for quite a while (had to check my last review for reference) and finally had a Saturday without other obligations or early morning wake up calls to give it a look. Not much has changed except for an obnoxious white light on the underside of the bar that annoyingly illuminates much of the upper seating. They have also moved all the tables away from the far wall, eliminating the only "naughty corner," and roped off an area near the stage as VIP/Bottle-service area. I soon discovered that they replaced the naughty corner with $20 couch dances upstairs that offer more privacy; however, at least from my couple of rounds, provide no more contact than the $10 table dances. The couches are comfortable and the girls who danced for me did a little floor work on the carpet, but I didn't see much to make it worth twice the money. The best opportunity to try these for yourself is during one of the frequent 2-4-1's. The real issue for me on this night is that for the first time that I could remember, it seemed like I knew NO ONE in the club. The doorman, bouncers, managers, bartenders, servers, shot girls, and dancers were all new to me. I may have missed one or two, but in the course of a few (OK. more than a few) months, the turnover had been pretty dramatic. Having said that, the girls were generally young and quite attractive; lots of tight bodies, small boobs, tattoos, and the occasionally piercings. As the night went on, the crowd got younger and more "clubby" as opposed to a bunch of old codgers like me. There were some gorgeous women in the audience as well and some of them got table dances. Every now and then someone would "make it rain" on stage and everyone seemed to be having fun, but after 3 sets of OK dances from nice but not memorable girls and a couple of Guinness's (and accompanying waters), I was out of there. I thought there was supposed to be a feature performer but she may have been a no show (or they were plugging her for another night). In spite of my lack of familiar faces, the Royale produced its usual consistency. Friendly efficient service, pretty women, a colorful crowd, standard SC music and DJ patter, and if your are careful with your funds, a pretty pleasant experience. On the other hand, VIP's, champagne rooms, shower shows, and other premium services should be approached for what they are: low mileage ways to separate you from a lot of money in a short time. I'll go back in hopes of seeing some familiar faces (new or old) but not with any higher expectations.