I got caught in Friday evening...

I got caught in Friday evening rush hour trying to get into Chicago to meet a friend for dinner, so I dropped off the highway to give the well-reviewed Diamond Jim's a try. Wasted an hour. The club is small and a little dingy, but the real problem is that it is basically a locals-only club. Paid my five for cover and another five for a beer and went over to sit by the stage. I tipped well to all the dancers throughout. There was only one I found at all appealing, which was fine. There were only about ten customers in the place and it was fairly quiet except for three guys at the stage who were exuberantly enjoying themselves and the stage show. Anyway, the dancers accepted my tips but in a purely cursory and clearly disinterested fashion. When the one that I liked was dancing I leaned forward and asked her to come over after she was done onstage for a private dance if she was interested. She indicated that she would. She left the stage and went backstage. No problem. Ten minutes later she came out and joined another customer. Again, no problem; she could easily have business with him. After about five minutes she went and sat at the bar by herself. I tried to make eye contact and invite her over, but she looked blank. After another twenty minutes or so she disappeared into the back again and I could see she was coming back up in the rotation. So I was blown off and I lost a bunch of time. The whole thing was a disappointment, particularly after some of the good recent reviews. Overall, the dancers and staff at this place regard you as mildly inconvenient furniture unless you are a local or a regular. At least that was the strong impression with which I was left.

The good thing is that I still had my $400 when I left, and the traffic was not as bad...