Definitely different, but not as bad as I'd feared

So I made my first trip to IS since they made the big change of covering up the goal line to start serving alcohol. I had heard all the rumors that it took a major turn for the worse, but for many years this was easily the best club in the Chicago area, and I had to see for myself.

And it wasn't as bad as it could have been. The change struck me as totally unnecessary (more about that below) but really didn't take that long to get used to, as much about the club was the same. Same stage rotation, same packed parking lot on a Saturday night (although I was able to get a seat, so the crowd was a little smaller than before), same hot girls -- most were 7s or higher, and a couple were familiar faces from the all-nude days. It didn't take long to get used to the fact that the girls weren't going to take their panties off; after all, that's how it is in most clubs.

There was one change I felt that was even bigger than going to just topless, though -- there is now a light but near-constant pressure to buy dances. Back in the good ol' days, it was more chill, even on a weekend. The girls were friendly and available but were never hassling guys. The night I went, I never had more than a couple minutes to myself before the next dancer was sitting down next to me chatting me up and asking for a dance. Sounds like I'm whining about paradise, I know, but the thing is that I was patiently waiting for the girl I wanted to finish her three-stage set, a good 15 or 20 minutes. I wouldn't mind being mostly left alone that long. Futhermore, it's a little frustrating because this direction is clearly coming from management, not the girls. I base this opinion on the fact that nearly all of the girls were actively circulating, and because at one point one of the male staff members stopped by to shake my hand and try to suggest dancers for me. I tried to be as polite with him as I could be, but I was sitting there thinking, dude, I have eyes and I can pick for myself. Trust me, I'll buy a dance at some point, and if there's no one here I want to buy it from, you aren't going to convince me anyway.