CL's Revisited

Worried that one of my favorite spots could be slipping. A lot of feast or famine going on, with a few recent Friday and Saturday night visits being pretty sparsely populated, both patrons and dancers. Dropped in on a Sunday night a little while back, only to be asked for a $70 cover to get in (some kind of hip hop event?) and of course I just turned around and went down the street... but it's more about the staid nature of the dancers than anything (servers and register girls are pretty consistent and attentive). Don't get me wrong, a few favorite dancers actively seek me out, and good times are there to be had (though tbh, it's a good bit more tame in the back room than it is at other local clubs) but the problem lately is the lack of variety or new talent to inspire drop-ins. CL's has never been the most diverse, and it seems like they defer overwhelmingly to a certain body type (skinny, white) with few variations. This isn't to say that there aren't a half dozen truly hot girls, but it just feels... short sighted? How will they bring more people in the door on a given night if they don't branch out a bit? The features don't really compare with the other big downtown club, so I feel like investment in regular talent is all that much more advisable.

Anyway, enough pondering, some perspectives: the rooms are pricey, but can be a lot of fun if you and the girl know each other pretty well. No "last song" or "five minutes" warning, which is annoying, because as we know that's a perfect time for the charm to get turned up, in both directions! One nice thing is that they'll keep the back rooms open for you after the club is closed down, if you time it right. Drink prices are average, bouncers and door guys are easy to get along with, mandatory coat check on occasion, nbd. Stage setup is idiosyncratic to say the least, two stages where you ball up and throw bills (takes some skill) with a tiny stage in the middle for a closer experience, if they're putting dancers on for three song rotations.

I think this club has a lot going for it, but it feels like it's in a holding pattern at the moment. It's not necessarily their fault if there isn't a compelling variety of dancers available at a given night, but I feel like more talent would flock there if the club had more momentum. YMMV.