Comfortable being outdoors ... not so easy ...

Now back to my night at Club Soda, Bal en Cuir ...

I had an awesome time that night. Club Soda is an old theatre converted into an all-purpose entertainment venue, and is located at St. Laurent Boulevard, intersecting with St. Catherine Street.

 

 

It is quite the jumping hot spot on a Friday or Saturday night, with late night fast food, some been there forever bars, and as well several strip clubs too. That night, I asked staff there whether there was a back patio area where we could smoke - they said we could just step out to the front. Imagine that, all these NEAR NAKED LEATHER MEN just standing outside, right on busy St. Laurent Boul. with so many passers-by gawking and giggling ... WTF is that event all about it??? But I guess they're used to it. Montréal is the city of the wildest craziest parties.



 

Here is the venue (below), and as you can see, you would be smoking literally right on the sidewalk with everybody else. Like these various leathermen above, the other guys there outside smoking too were all pretty chill and seemed totally used to it. There is that sense of exhibition part to it, no? But then again, c'mon, this isn't Folsom Fair where everybody is dressed up in full leather entire and we expect that, this is totally public street on a busy Friday night, and not in the gay village either! There could be children for god's sake!!!

 

No, haha, jokes aside, this area of town is a pretty scandalous, red-light, raunchy and rowdy type neighbourhood, and Club Soda was the perfect venue for it! It is the BBCM weekend, and there is crazy shit going on everywhere in the city.

 



Inside was pretty cool, it was my second Bal en Blanc there, so I remembered it exactly as it was. It has a great old theatre feel, and all the staff there were extremely friendly and professional. They handled the event well.

 

 

It reminded me of the leather balls I went to in Toronto. This one (below) was the Beef Ball, organized by Steven Buzcek's BEEF DIP organization. Instead of just pure leather scene, it's kinda a BEARS AND LEATHER type organization. That event also took place at an old converted theatre, The Opera House, way out in the east end of the city, which is pretty deserted actually, but still fun to go to. They provided a shuttle bus.

 

 



These types of venues are great to hold leather parties. They're intimate, and can sardine a whole bunch of sexy hard bodies close together, but also give a big and GRAND industry event feeling to them ... like you're really at a PARTY. And then of course, you need a place that has a dark mysterious feel to it as well, which goes with the kinky underground naughty feel that leather will always have an association with.

 

Honestly, between smoking on St. Laurent Street with taxi cabs strolling curiously, and rather stunned looks from other passers-by who never saw an exposed bum in chaps before before ... AND THEN, being in the RAGING STORM happening inside the club, hot men, the stink of leather and sweat, and the DJ GROUP LUTHER doing this awesome thing with blue strobe lights while gyrating with back-up dancers and jumping into the crowd to dance with us too - was like straddling fantasy and reality ... losing consciousness of everything, and letting the dance beats and the drugs bring you to different dimension.

 

Me, I can't just wear leather. I need to be drunk and high. Then me and the leather go off to a different place ... and I fly.