Sunday evening at the Paramount
I took a trip out to the Paramount on Sunday evening. New Westminster is easy to get to from Downtown Vancouver - about a half hour ride on Skytrain, which is safe, convenient and cheap. Got to the club shortly after they opened at 8 pm, and the bouncer asked for $10 for the cover and said that there was a one drink minimum, with drinks all costing $5.50. He told me "No touching, no alcohol, no photos".
The Paramount is an old-fashioned theatre - as you go from the lobby into the theatre, you pass by the private dance rooms on either side, blocked off only by a very sheer, see-through curtain. When you come out into the main room, there's a bar right next to you, a smaller stage in front of it and then the main seating area with a big theatre stage at the front. The entire place slopes downwards with stairs towards the front. I bought a bottle of water at the bar and took a seat close to the front stage. The place was gradually filling up with customers but no trace of dancers. Sat there looking at my phone for half an hour before finally things started off around 8:45 with a 3 song stage show by one dancer, followed by one song break and then a new dancer coming up. The stage show was okay - fully nude by the last song, but not a lot of energy - maybe that's just because it was early and just getting started. Dancers started making the rounds of the floor almost immediately after the stage show started, and if they sit down with you, a waitress appears almost immediately asking if you'll buy them a drink. In most clubs I find this annoying because the dancers seem to pick the most expensive booze in the club, but with no alcohol and one price for all drinks, I didn't mind it as much.
Private dances are usually $25 each in those curtained side booths. There's a VIP area upstairs where you can get 5 dances for $100, a half hour for $200, and a full hour for $300. On Sunday evenings, the downstairs dances are 2 for 1. I started with 4 dances for $50 with a lovely South Asian dancer - the price was good, but the booths are very public and there was no touching allowed - I had heard from other reviews that these downstairs dances still included pretty good one-way contact, but that wasn't my experience - maybe it was just my dancer, but it wasn't as forceful as I was hoping - still fun, and not an air dance, but I wanted more. I was approached by a very skinny blonde girl - she wasn't my usual type, but she reminded me very much of someone I work with, and that made the decision for me. We headed upstairs for the 5 dances for $100, and when we started she told me I could touch anywhere but between her legs and under her bra. The dances were great - lots of good forceful contact. At the end, she told me that with her regulars, she allows more touching, so if you're a frequent visitor you might find the experience more satisfying than I did.
Overall, for all the dances, cover, one drink and tips, I spent around $200 total. The dances were much better upstairs than down, but still pretty restrictive unless you hit it off or build a rapport with your dancer of choice. On any other night, I'd say there's no reason to bother with the downstairs dances at all, but on Sundays the 2 for 1 downstairs makes it a closer call - if you just want to maximize your time and get a bunch of okay dances and maybe if you're lucky some really good ones, come on Sunday and try your luck - but don't bother coming until they've been open for a while - sitting in a dark room with no women and no booze for forty-five minutes was no fun.
