Glory be to glory holes

>> The return of sex clubs to the Gay Village
reflects the community’s growing confidence
and comfort level

TEMPLE OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS: Backroom

If one were to rate our local gay nightlife against that of any comparative European city, Montreal’s Gay Village more than measures up to much of the global competition. The stretch of Ste-Catherine E. running from the skate punk park at Berri Square to the fringes of East-End Papineau fairly bristles with metrosexual panache. Recently, while talking to a number of acquaintances, I’ve even heard the Village described in terms of “a bastion of liberality” and “having an international outlook within a local context.”

Glowing terms, and certainly the area has a lot to offer visiting pedestrians, activities both savoury and otherwise. On the corner of 1452 Ste-Catherine E., in the heart of the Village, sits an establishment that perhaps caters more to the latter category.

Club Backroom is the latest incarnation of the handsome greystone building that is the old Station C post office. The club becomes sombre at night, barely distinguished by the subtly glowing rings hanging in the darkened windows. In fact, there is little outward sign that inside houses a gay sex emporium with the capacity to fit hundreds of patrons into its shadowy bowels. A place that bills itself as “1st Playground for Men Only—Worldwide Largest Gay Sex Club—The Only One in Canada” on its Web site, the bar is not exactly in the habit of giving out business cards. Their listed number was disconnected when I called.

Slut culture revisited

It’s astounding that there’s been so little written about this charming stitch of Montreal’s slut culture quilt. Having opened its doors back in 2006, Backroom no doubt owes its existence in part to the landmark Supreme Court ruling of the previous year in favour of legalizing sex clubs across the country. Indeed, Backroom is quickly becoming a pedigreed institution through listed attractions including “huge mattress,” “Web sex” and “prison.” Remember, accessories like “spandex”, “ball stretcher” and “bare naked” are suggested for those who “Bring your own fantasies.”

There are those of us who may view the opening of Backroom as surprisingly brazen—I know I do. For many Montrealers, the historic Station C Complex conjures up nostalgic memories of when the locale at this address was the iconic club K.O.X., always one of the hottest parties in town. The significance of Backroom not being a disco in the hallowed tradition of its forebears, but rather a sprawling bacchanalian temple of earthly delights, is further emphasized when we take into consideration that this is the same building in which, on the night of February 17, 1994, there took place one of the largest police raids against the gay community in recent history.

Klub Katakombes, which had recently been beautifully renovated into a faithful version of a medieval sex dungeon, was deemed a “house of debauchery” by police following undercover investigations. This prompted a raid where police found a number of men engaged in sex acts. Almost 200 men were initially caught in the dragnet, with owner Steve Goldenberg eventually pledging to pay the legal costs of 55 men who ended up being arrested that night.

For obvious reasons, this led to a lengthy status quo in the Village, where drinking was done in bars and other proclivities were left to the saunas, but obviously that all changed with the opening of Backroom. Realizing the change that this signifies, could it be viewed as the beginning of a larger shift in the Village, a different attitude emerging with confidence playing a central role in this evolution?

A welcome insertion

As far as whether Backroom has had any visible influence on the Gay Village, the bar already has its imitators. Club Tools, located in the basement of the Bourbon Hotel Complex, has turned a portion of what used to be la Traque into a dimly lit labyrinth intended to subvert the moral compass of any gay man who enters. Advertising themselves by prominently boasting the words “Sex Club” and “Playroom” on posters put up in various storefront windows, the bar is certainly confident with its promotional material.

As president of gay party promoters BBCM, Robert Vezina knows the Gay Village extensively through years of working with the city. When I asked him about these backroom bars that are opening, he had a clear opinion on their impact. “I don’t see these types of clubs as negative, it diversifies our offer as a city. Montreal is a definite gay attraction, and they do have backroom clubs like this in Europe. I think anything that diversifies our international offer to tourists is a good sign things are progressing.”

Police always play a role in the situation as well. “For any night event, to do things officially and legally, you need to get all approvals, from the police, the Régie des Alcools etc.,” he says. “Not doing that is a good way to get raided. Permits for us aren’t a problem because we’re not for profit.”

A loosening of attitudes towards gay sex culture may simply be a reflection of the growing relations between the Village and Toronto’s Church-Wellesley district. Ontario gays have always been vocal against perceived injustices suffered based on sexuality, and a galvanized gay community there has fought for its self-confidence. Toronto has long been pushing the boundaries of what’s allowed sexually—incidents like the reaction to the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids are testament to this. The police action that took place that February night spawned protests against what was perceived as heavy-handed tactics and started the “Gay Freedom Rally,” which was effectively Toronto’s first Pride event.

Cops and floggers

A specific stretch of Toronto’s Church now boasts a dazzling array of nightclubs willing and able to test the fortitude of any gay man. Places like the Black Eagle, or even Woody’s, have been known to get raunchy, while the epitome of Church Street sleaze is undoubtedly reserved for Club Bijou, to the south below Carleton. Toronto’s notorious sex club the Bijou billed itself as “Canada’s only hard-core porn bar,” heralding attractions including its aptly named “slurp ramp.” Inevitably, it too was raided, and the club subsequently defended itself rigorously. A solution had to be found within the community to keep the peace. Reports began surfacing of a secret deal being made between gay-bar owners and Toronto police senior command, claims were printed that it had been agreed that officers would turn a blind eye to arguably illicit sex activity so long as it remained behind closed doors.

If our current situation is a case of Montreal taking a page out of Toronto’s book, it wouldn’t be something completely without precedent. And if these sorts of enterprises are generally accepted with the inhabitants, why shouldn’t change be embraced if it continues paying dividends?

Another person I spoke to, industry insider Pierre Viens, is well versed in these types of goings on. A longtime manager of clubs like Sky and Maximum Security, he’s now a busy player in the local real estate market and has seen a change over the years. “When I was working in the ’80s, we never saw police on the street talking to people like they do now,” he says. “Now they’re visible in the community. I think that’s an improvement on things that has started to happen.”

Although he readily acknowledges the Village is “very safe...there are barely any incidents,” Viens knows what it takes to get busted. “It’s always either overcapacity or minors, those are the two main things the police will come for.” Although Viens’s current dealings in the Village run more towards the real estate side of things, he feels that the police and the gay community now have a better understanding of one another. When Backroom inevitably enters the conversation, he is quick to state a salient concern.

“For me, that club is almost like something from 1982, before AIDS. I’ve never been, but I would have questions about things like how much condoms are available. It’s not the morality of it, it’s simply a question of health.”