Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Raw M4M: The Gaiety
Two short clips that some patron filmed surreptitiously from the audience at the Gaiety Theater in Times Square (above the Howard Johnsons). Yeah, the place was rather seedy, but oh what a thrill for someone who had never seen men dancing naked before.
If a whole bookshelf of DVDs was available of this kind of men doing this kind of dancing, I'd own it and wear it out. Sure I'd want a higher quality of video, but the fact that these were real guys (not studio exclusives) comparable to the ones you'd been sneaking a look at in the high school gym class shower room, who were practically inventing this art form (not copying things they'd watched on video), that this was before tattoos and piercings and body-hair shaving became commonplace, that they had tan lines, that "jaded" was not true of the dancers or the patrons (and I could go on and on), made this a golden age for me, and one I wonder if we can ever recapture.
I remember climbing the stairs and paying my $17 and walking into the darkened theater with some raw (but beautiful) gayporn movie playing and finding a seat (between two guys, it was that full) and removing the hand of the guy to my right from my knee ... Then it was "Show time!", and the music started, and some cute guy like you might see on the street comes out from behind the shimmering curtain and dances innocently and charmingly to the music. He takes one or two songs to strip to a G-string, then for the final song of his set he comes through the shimmering curtain completely naked, with a total hardon, to the delighted applause of the audience. This was theater, live performance, a shared experience. I knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore when I went to the restroom and some dirty old man tried to watch me as I peed. I turned a very cold shoulder to him, but everything was a thrill that day. I had no idea it wouldn't always be there or always be like that.
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This is another club that I visited as a young gay man that I still have fantasies about. The last time I visitied, I ended up draining one of the dancers in this seedy restroom...talk about a hot time! This place in its heyday was about the sexiest, sleaziest place in NY (if you discount the fisting/pissing places in lower Manhattan. For my tastes, this was Nirvana!
ReplyDeleteI'm interested to hear any memories you wish to share!
ReplyDeleteReminds me of getting naked in a dancing contest at Score on SoBe some years back. Not that I'm ever really shy, but I can assure you that Jim Beam and Kev had more than a little to do with it. Of course I finished second. I always finish second because I used up all my first places when I met Kevin.
ReplyDeleteomg..... grew up in Jersey, was such a nerd that I actually observed the 'no driving in NYC until 18" rule, and for my 18th bday went here. Scared, turned on, nervous, excited, a million things going through my head at once. Too shy/scared/inexperienced/frightened to do anything with anyone, but GOD, was it an experience. Turned out to be just the beginning of a long love-affair with all that the old seedy 42nd St. had to offer. How I miss those days! :-)
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