From: saxbeat@aol.com (Saxbeat) Subject: ASSC: Bob's Classy Lady, Van Nuys, CA (Saxbeat) Huh? This was supposed to be a review of ASSCON-LA, a small gathering of the faithful organized over zbone's chat board. It started out that way; I had dinner with a couple of friends, then we caravaned over to the Jet Strip. We were an hour late, and things were getting underway. ZBone, LMR, The Kid, Dave's Friend, and Dragonfly were there of the ass-c regulars, along with DsWB Sydney and Rayne, and ZBone chat-posse Jede, B^, The_Truth, jjflash, pharoah, jaime, and numerous others whose names escape me as I jot this down moments before heading off to bed. The Jet Strip was hopping! Monday night or not, the place was approaching capacity, and I don't think I've seen so many dancers in a club on a weeknight. Manager Lenny was gracious and chatted us up a little. But something was wrong.... Saxbeat was feeling saxtal. Whether it was the volume, the dancers who avoided us because we were wearing name tags (good technique, btw, if you don't want to be bothered...), whatever, I just couldn't get comfy. It was a whirl of faces and names, and I soon felt a burning urge to find a cow field and scream. I'm usually okay with the ass-con meet and greet thing, but tonight, i felt like a hanger-on... one of the old generation who needed to let go. A has-been. So I bade them all goodbye, hopped in the car, and next thing I knew I was heading north. They say you can't go home again, but they never said you can't return to your fave strip club. In short minutes, I was inside Bob's. It was cavernous and empty. A small crowd of about 20-30 men that would have filled the Jet Strip was barely enough to make the main stage look busy. I walked in during a ladies' choice, so the place seemed to be short on dancers too, but as the women emerged from the booths, I soon found they were decently staffed with maybe 10 dancers. Nice ratio. Soon, I was sitting stageside, appreciatively smiling and clapping for the lovely, Megan, Star, Autumn... and numerous others whose names, etc. Bob's now has a deal where you either pay $18 and get cover, bottomless drinks and $20 laps, or pay $25, and get cover, bottomless drinks and $12 laps. Apparently the girls' take is the same either way, and if you get one lap, you've already saved a dollar. I had gone for the $25 deal, and I soon decided to leverage my investment. Megan is an energetic dancer with some true gymnastic ability. She had a positivity and joie de vivre that was infectious, and was the kind of dancer I needed to swing my mood in a good direction. She picked me for a ladies' choice dance, and we headed back to the booths. I was surprised that the LC dances are fairly long. I was a little distracted, but they may even have been uncut. It was, it seemed, a true 2-for-1, and as Cartman would say, "shweet!" Megan's private dance was enthusiastic, pleasantly chatty, and sure 'nuff put a smile on my face. I could have spent several dances with Megan, but I'd been previously intrigued by an amazing stage set by Autumn. Her dance had an eroticism and center I have never seen in a dancer before... saying a lot for a guy who has been perving nearly 20 years. It was quite obvious that she had training in either dance or yoga, and you could practically see her chakras energize as she flowed gracefully across the stage like a Hindi priestess. If you are into meditation, tantra, yoga, etc., you will definitely appreciate the energy this lady has tapped into. At the next LC dance, I caught Autumn's eye, and off we went. I wasn't disappointed. I have never experienced a private dance that was so exquisitely delivered. I felt like a piano or a delicate violin that Autumn was tuning. Her sense of timing and balance were... well, I hate to go off the deep end, but... they were transcendant. It was more than the "slow and sensual" dance that some assc-ers claim to enjoy. It was more like she was sensing my own energy and pushing it back over me, molding my energy using hers. If you've studied the Tao at all, you can begin to get a sense of what sort of amazing control she was using. It took me halfway through the first song to realize it myself and relax so I could enjoy it. I think Dave from Phoenix would implode from the sheer beauty of it. Autumn amazed me thusly for three songs, carefully structured in intensity and style. I wish I could recommend her to everyone, but I'm not sure *anyone* would "get it." I was just in the mood. After enjoying Megan on stage once more, I left the club. She was even better the second time around, so much fun to watch, I tipped her a fiver, and she did some neat things with ice that I haven't seen outside of San Francisco. Yum! One of the most appreciative dancers I've met in a couple of years, easily. The amazing thing about it, for your faithful correspondant -- this jaded, over-the-top, pervousity of nature called Saxbeat -- is that there was virtually no nastiness involved with this entire experience. Just as I'd convinced myself that only more and more explicit and nasty shtuff would do the trick, I have this amazing evening of sensual fun and comfort that shows me I don't have to "cross the line" for a good time.... I just have to find a new line to move along. Once again, I've discovered that the search for increasing sexual excitement does not have to lead to HJs at the SR-I, or BJs at the MSC, or who-knows-what at Fantasia. I, at least, can still be satisfied with something that is just different, honest, and fun, and leave it at that. Bob's has never set records for nastiness in the lap rooms, and hopefully, it never will; but it became my favorite club at one time because of the sweetness, intelligence, and uncommon decency of their best dancers, and remains my favorite club tonight because somehow, it has retained dancers who maintain their ability to surprise and please me... without having to resort to putting their hands down my pants. (No offense to anyone!) Well, that's all for this report. Saxbeat saxbeat lives! saxbeat@aol.com