Cab Closes Early Now

I was back in Portland for a weekend and stopped by Cabaret II around 9PM on a Saturday night. Unlike my last time here, the place was fairly crowded; lots of girls, lots of customers. The doorman recognized me as an old customer and didn't charge me the five dollar cover you'll probably pay. He did take my temperature and remind me that masks are to be worn unless you're drinking. I don't know if they actually enforce that rule, but the vast majority of customers and dancers were masked.

Cabaret II's layout is unique in my experience. It's a bit like a stadium with a large stage in the middle of the ground floor level. The center stage pole is a good 20 feet tall. In the past, girls frequently climbed to the top and danced upside down on the ceiling. A few have fallen from up there too. I didn't see anyone doing any high pole acrobatics on this night though. At the second level there's a dance cage. At the third level there's a long narrow stage they call the 'cat walk' which looks out over the rest of the room. Also on the third level is the stage for minors when they're not doing dances for customers or on the other two stages. The lottery machines are also available on the third level.

Since my last time at this club, they've gotten rid of the older dancers. Now it's mostly 20-somethings with a handful of low 30s. "Thin white girl" is the general flavor of this club, though there were a couple of black dancers there on this particular night.