keno911

By old Remingtons do you mean the club from its heyday, or the years before it closed? Nothing can compare to Remingtons in its legendary days, but I would say Cock Bar is pretty similar to Remingtons in its final years. Cock Bar is above Flash on Church Street.

True, I was talking about the peak hours. Far fewer customers of any kind earlier in the evening. Were there any dancers between 6 and 9 when you were there in August?

I don't normally report on my trips to Toronto and Montreal clubs, as each visit can vary greatly depending on who is there on the night. However, with significant changes happening, particularly as we emerge from the aftermath of the plague, I thought I'd give a bit of a description of my recent visit. I visited clubs in Toronto and Montreal from BC in mid October. This is the Montreal report; Toronto is in another post. I visited Campus and Stock in August and October. I find the differences in the two interesting. I have always favoured the ambience at Campus, but have had lots of fun at both bars. Campus has definitely become a coed club, especially on the weekends. Both clubs now welcome all genders at all times, but Campus seems to have become the replacement for the defunct 281 ladies strip club. I'm not positive, but many of the new dancers seem to have come from 281. They are big, brawny (some fat and ugly), but elicit tumultuous screams from the ladies. There are often as many women as men in the club, no matter what night. Friday I started at Campus. The number of tables seemed to reflect Covid regulations, but the number of patrons sure didn't. It was totally packed, and the beleaguered servers managed to avoid seeing me stuck in my corner. So I moved on to Stock. Far fewer customers, though it did grow through the night. I did get served drinks from the dishy server who used to dance at Campus. But, as usual, I was annoyed by the dancers who I would most like to spend time with, huddling around the bar, never approaching anyone in the audience. I have yet to figure out how they work. Not to despair! I was approached by the magnificent Frank, and we soon put any worries behind us. Sunday was of course ladies night at Campus, which I avoided. In the past it was too much screaming, and the DJ was so over the top in trying to lift up the excitement level. So I went to Stock. It was dead. 6 dancers, I think, and 12 customers. Gradually they dwindled. I was about the only prospective client for the back room, but still I was ignored. There was a new dancer named Romance who had a bit of energy, but I left before his second stage show. Disappointed, I decided to check out Campus. And what do you know, there wasn't the screaming DJ or the prissy table settings that they used to have for ladies night. It seemed like any other night. In fact, there were more men than women. The only indication it was ladies night was that there was straight porn on the screens. But it was a good crowd, more energetic than Stock, even though there were only five dancers that night. (Could the dancers that used to come only on Sunday Ladies Night have figured out Friday and Saturday were better?) I had a blissful time with Vince – he's a veteran for a reason! I had met him in August and was thrilled that he remembered me in October. Stage shows seemed to end about 12:30 am that night. I guess most were beyond caring. Then around 1:15, there was a new dancer. It was Romance! I guess he got bored of Stock too. I left before his second stage show.

I don't normally report on my trips to Toronto and Montreal clubs, as each visit can vary greatly depending on who is there on the night. However, with significant changes happening, particularly as we emerge from the aftermath of the plague, I thought I'd give a bit of a description of my recent visit. I visited clubs in Toronto and Montreal from BC in mid October. This is the Toronto report; Montreal is in another post. So the owners of Flash have made changes, and created two different venues. The old Flash, on the main floor, is now a party venue with different theme nights and drag shows. I didn't go there, so cannot comment. Upstairs is Cock Bar, which is the new incarnation of the male strip club. You go up a steep flight of stairs from the street, which thankfully for people of a certain vintage, has sturdy railings on both sides. pay the usual membership fee of $5, though now they just call it a cover fee. There are two rooms. The first is fairly similar to the old Flash bar, long and narrow. It has stools along the wall, with two tables in front of the stage, and two others nearby. There is a second room around the corner, which has high top tables and stools. The main stage is as small, if not smaller, than the old Flash stage. Weirdly, there is a pole right in the corner, and if spinning were a possibility, they would hit customers at the table. However, when I was there, the stage was encased in plexiglass, no doubt to ward off the plague. I was told that it would be removed soon. There is a second stage in the "upper" room. The stage dances, as before, consist of two songs on the main stage, and if there is anyone in the upper room, a third dance on that stage. I was there on a Wednesday and Thursday nights, so it wasn't at its liveliest. Let's just say, you don't necessarily have to be particularly fit to dance at Cock Bar. Some of the dancers I seem to remember from Remingtons, though I could be mistaken on that. (Ah Remingtons... the site is still a big hole in the ground.) Most stage dances were very lacklustre, with little energy displayed. The second song, which presumably is suppose to reveal more, was in most cases little different from the first. Not all were like that, of course. One guy stripped off right from the start, standing at attention, but he was a newbie. As luck would have it, on the Wednesday, one of the few fit dancers, Nick, approached me and we soon proceeded to the back rooms, where a good time was had by all. In the past, as I recall, you had to pay $5 for the customer and $5 for the dancer. Now you pay the house a flat $20. The rooms are nicely fitted up, spacious, with a large bench and a lounge chair. As previously, the doors have a latch. (Having said that, I have had more adventurous encounters at the open booths in Montreal, but I guess the locked doors offer a greater range of opportunities in Toronto, depending on the dancer.) I did go briefly on Thursday, but the uninspiring dancers (one with particularly bad breath) and being tired, I didn't stay. However, I'm sure, on the weekend, with a bit more energy, you can have a fun time at Cock Bar.