Labels: Bernard, Los Angeles, Tony

Labels: Bernard, Los Angeles, Tony

Labels: Phoenix

Labels: Gay Bars, Phoenix

Labels: Justin Chanley

Labels: Gay Underwear

Labels: Gay Bars, Phoenix

A CIRCUIT PARTY IS a huge dance party, extending through a night and into the following day, almost always with a number of affiliated events in the days leading up to and following the main event. Circuit parties were first developed, in connection with the early tea dances and theme parties held on Fire Island, in the carefree days after police abuse and before the beginning of the health crisis. They came to resemble underground rave parties in some respects, but differ in that circuit parties are highly publicized and professionally produced, and tend to attract people from a wider age range and a broader geographic area. While open to anyone, the parties generally are viewed as social events for gay men. Circuit parties charge admission, with some being run for-profit and others benefiting charities, generally those which benefit the Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender communities or HIV/health related programs. Attending more than one party per year, due to a variety of factors such as differing locations, can be rather expensive. Even the most dedicated party-goers don't attempt to run the whole "circuit" - there are simply too many parties to make this possible. Gay men who are regular attendees at multiple circuit parties are sometimes referred to as circuit boys.
Read More About Circuit Parties On Wikipedia

Woo Hoo! I guess by definition that officially makes us Circuit Boys. Now lets get to the story ...

Wednesday Arrival in Montreal:
After a long red-eye flight from Phoenix, and meeting up with Bernard during our connecting flights in Chicago, we finally arrived in Montreal around 9 AM on Wednesday morning. It was overcast, raining and not looking to be a very nice day. We caught a cab to our home for the week, the Delta Hotel on President Kennedy in downtown Montreal. Because we arrived a little early, the hotel wasn't going to have a room available for us until after 12 PM, so Justin, Bernard and I immediately checked our bags at the bell stand and headed up the street to scout out the downtown.

Around Noon our room was ready and we headed back to the hotel to check in, nap and shower before Philip was going to arrive around 10 PM. Our room was on the 19th floor and had a great view of the city as well as an interesting vantage point of the building project next door. It was a suite, so it had a full sitting area as well which gave us all more room to spread out and get comfortable during our 7 day vacation.

Thursday Around Montreal:
Tony arrived on a red-eye flight from San Diego on Thursday morning. After milling around the room for a bit, we headed out to grab a bite to eat, did some shopping in the underground city and then jumped on the Metro to head up to the Gay Village for some shopping. We started with a little underwear shopping at Priape where Bernard and Tony picked up a few pairs of assorted Ginch-Gonch briefs for the weekend. One we all got our underwear properly situated, we headed over to Cuir Northbound for some leatherwear shopping. Marc, the manager from Cuir Northbound, was very persistent about getting one or more of us naked that day. Let's just say he achieved his goal by getting Justin to not only try on, but also get a 'personal' fitting for a leather jock with built in cock-ring. Of course Justin just couldn't resist the COCK-ring, so he ended up buying the jock. I think I've created a monster. Philip and Bernard also ditched their shirts and tried on a few things, however I just couldn't convince Tony to try out the Pony tail. Oh well maybe next time. We finished up our shopping and then headed over to Mado for a few drinks in preparation for the evenings festivities.

Thursday The Jock Party:
Thursday night was the first official party of the week, the Jock Party. As you might have guessed from the name and photos below it was a jock attire themed party. Around 10 PM we headed up to Parking for the Pre-Party and then around 1 AM we headed over to Stereo where the official party was taking place. Unfortunately we were not permitted to take cameras into any of these venues so most of the photos are before and after photos of the group.

Friday Around Montreal:
We stayed at the Jock party until around 4 AM when we headed back to the hotel. We crashed for a few hours and then headed out for some food and to trek around the city a little bit. I managed to catch the Round-Trip Ticket travel show on Logo which said that the best views of the city could be had from hiking up Parc du Mount-Royal to the Cross and looking out over the city from the top, so that we did. Philip being the ever consummate tourist, had an entire stack of printed maps and walking tours for Montreal so he knew right were to go. We headed up through McGill University to the park and then started our ascent up the hill and the steep stairs to the overlook. Once we got to the top the views were amazing. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful fall day in Montreal.

After taking some photos of us all from the overlook we headed around to the path that lead down the back side of the cross. We actually almost headed back down the way we came and would have missed the entire out side of the city (thanks Philip!). Once we took this back path we headed down into the woods a bit until we reached a clearing where you could look out over the whole north-east side of Montreal. In the first photo below you can clearly see the Montreal Olympic Stadium in the background, which was going to be our Sunday destination spot for the main event, the Black & Blue 2006 Supersonic Party.

We hiked down the park and then decided in reward for our ambitious day of being out of the hotel and trekking around Montreal we would stop at a local bakery and pick up some confectionaries, brie, salami, pate, and a sliced baguette for us to snack on back in the room before getting ready for the Leather Party. That's the one thing I miss about being in a city like Montreal ... access to wonderful small bakeries overflowing with fresh baked goods, quaint trendy restaurants, and small boutique clothing stores. I guess this is the reason why I enjoy traveling so much, to experience culture, other people, and the things I'm missing here in Phoenix.

Friday The Leather Party:
The main event of the night was the leather party. We snapped a quick fully clothed, pre-departure photo before heading over to Parking for the pre-leather party. Parking was crowded with so many leather clad studs, and within minutes of arriving, Junior Vasquez took the DJ booth, spun up some really hot beats and got the crowd cheering and dancing in a way which would set the mood for the rest of the evening. Around 1 AM we headed over to Club Medley for the main event, the Black & Blue Leather Party. We arrived, check our clothes and proceeded into the club in our leather gear. It was packed with old, young, short, and tall ... men of all types. David Knapp was spinning the main event and he took us on a journey for the rest of the night. While I like Kevin Aviance, I wasn't all that thrilled with his performance. It went on just too long and sort of brought everyone down a bit from their previous dance high. We danced with, watched and even touched a few of the hot leather boys until finally grabbing our clothes at 6 AM and heading back to the hotel. Once we got to the hotel we decided that since we hadn't had any photos of us in our leather gear that we should take a photo shoot. Let's just say the photo shoot went a little crazy and at the request (begging) of my friends, the photos posted below are pretty much the only decent ones that I was allowed to post. The rest, well you'll just have to use your imagination.

Saturday Around Montreal:
Bernard, Tony and I got up on Sunday morning and headed over to the Village for brunch at the Saloon. The food was good and the restaurant was packed with people while a live DJ spun some fresh beats at the bar. Immediately following brunch we headed back to the hotel to pick up Justin and Philip who we left there to get a few extra winks of sleep. Once everyone was ready we hopped on the Metro and headed back up the 3 stops from the hotel to the Gay Village to do a little more shopping. After finishing up shopping we decided to stop at the Sky Bar and grab ourselves a few drinks and get pumped up before heading out to what was promised to be one of the more memorable parties of the weekend, the Military Party.

Saturday The Military Party:
There was so much hype all week surrounding the Military Party that we couldn't wait to slip on our camo's and head out to the party. The event was held at Metropolis which was a converted theatre / opera house. We arrived around 12 AM and there were quite a few people in there by the time we got through security and up to the main floor. Manny Lehman was the featured DJ of the night, and once again he did not disappoint. Playing some of his featured songs like 'Someone to Hold' by Veronica and some new songs like Rosabel's mix of 'I Feel For You' by John Kano feat. Gia 7' We also met a few new friends and danced our asses off until around 6 AM before grabbing our misplaced clothing and heading back to the hotel for a little bit of shut-eye before Sunday's main event, Supersonic at the Montreal Olympic Stadium.

Sunday Dinner in the Village:
We got a few hours of sleep before getting up, getting ready and heading back up to the village for dinner and some drinks. Last night at the military we met a really cute, sweet and well mannered Irish lad, Rob, who was in town for Black & Blue. Apparently Rob decided to stop off in Canada for Black & Blue on his was back to London from his past work assignment in Sydney. He was staying alone at the hotel so we decided to invite him out on Sunday to hang and get to know all of us. We jumped on the metro and headed over to Le Planete in the Village for dinner. The food was good but the conversation was better. It's always so much fun to meet and get to know new people and fellow circuit partiers. I think the best part of dinner was the cute bartender that kept coming over to our table. He was so cute and became immediately flustered when I asked if I could take his photo. It was funny because after the photo, he could barely look at me and kept blushing every time I said something to him. I loved every minute of it.

Following dinner we headed over to the Sky Bar / Sky Lounge for the Official Pre-Supersonic T-Dance for a few drinks and some motivation. The music was new, loud and hopping while the beer was going down oh so well. After a few pitchers of beer, some photos and dancing we jumped back on the Metro to head back to the hotel to get ready for the main event, Supersonic at the Montreal Olympic Stadium.

Sunday Supersonic at the Olympic Stadium:
The photo below was of all of us before we headed out to the Montreal Olympic Stadium. The party started at 10 and would go on until Monday at noon. We jumped back on the Metro around 11 and took it all the way up to the stadium to begin one hell of a long evening of non-stop dancing.

My only disappointment of the weekend was that we didn't even try to sneak a camera into the main event because Supersonic was completely FUCKING off the hook. I actually had low expectation going into this event because we were told that it was 80/20 percent straight/gay crowd. This couldn't have been further from the truth, if anything it was a very much 50/50 mixed crowd, and the best part of it was that it wasn't your typical mixed crowd, no one really gave a shit about straight/gay, everyone just wanted to be there, have fun and dance. Thank god for the Canadians and their open mindedness. I so want to move there now. LOL.

From the moment of walking into the Montreal Olympic Stadium it was clear to see why this party was one of the circuit favorites. There was seriously a damn airplane in the middle of the stadium with dancers on a stage that went completely around the front of the plane. There were 8 towers that were a minimum of 5-6 stories tall with motion club lights all over them sending your eyes into a frenzy as the multi-colored lights swept in music-coordinated motions across the 10,000 plus people dancing in the middle of the stadium. The sound system shook the stadium and everyone was half naked, laughing, dancing and just having an amazing time. Remember that scene in the Matrix II when all those people were in the cave dancing before the battle. Well that's about how it felt, raw, emotional and completely tribal. We danced through the beats of Charles Poulin, Antoine Clamaran, Chus and Ceballos, and ended with Mark Anthony. The DJ's were all pretty good, but Antoine Clamaran and Mark Anthony were completely brilliant. They both really knew how to work the crowd.

We were dancing next to young, old, straight, gay and everything in the middle. There were so many hot guys with incredible bodies that everywhere you turned it was like candy to the eyes. We went for a non-stop bone crushing 10 hours of dancing before calling it quits around 10 AM and heading back to the hotel to get a few hours of rest before one last party of the week. I immediately crashed out dead cold as soon as I hit the bed.

Monday Recovery Party:
We all woke up around 6 PM and got ready so we could go to dinner and catch the final event of the weekend, the recovery party. The photo below was the last photo of the weekend.

As you can tell we're all a bit tired and run-down. Everyone we talked to said that the Recovery Party was a definite do-not-miss party. We headed back up to the Village to have dinner at the Saloon and then headed over to Parking to catch the end of the Recovery Party Part I. The tragic part of that was that there were still some queens on the dance floor that we saw that went directly from 12 hours at the Montreal Olympic Stadium over to Parking for the Part I. They were so strung out that they didn't even bother to go home, shower or sleep. Silly Circuit queens. The music was good but we were tired. It was hard to get into the groove again. Bernard decided that he was tired, and his body was sore so he said goodnight and decided to head back to the hotel to get some rest. After a few drinks the remaining 4 of us started to get a groove on and decided at 12 AM it was time to head over to Stereo for the official Recovery Party with Victor Calderone. We got there and it was PACKED. Victor always draws a big crowd with his unique tribal beats. He knows how to work the dance floor and take everyone through a unique journey of music. I must say that I've seen Victor Calderone spin twice before in San Francisco, and while I've always been a big fan of his, this was my absolute favorite performance. He got the boys going so much that people were cheering, dancing and working themselves into a total sweat in the packed crowd. It was so raw and hot, I loved it. I would look up as the spotlight was turned on above Victor and he was grooving himself as he brought the music to an amazing high which just drove everyone over the edge. He must have been having an awesome time watching everyone go crazy on the dance floor. I think these DJ's have the best jobs in the world, but I'll save that for another post.

We had originally planned on only staying there for an hour or so, just enough time to hear Victor spin and take in the last night of the party. Well at 6 AM we looked at our watches and decided we needed to get the hell out of there so that we could sleep for two hours before having to get up, pack, check out and head to the airport. It was a crazy night. The crowd was HOT HOT HOT and we didn't want to leave. It was the perfect ending to an amazing 7 days in Montreal.

Tuesday Heading Home:
We did manage to get a few hours of sleep before heading out. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone including both old and new friends. It was sad parting ways with the gang at the Montreal airport. It's always so much fun when we all get together and travel. We're really coming into our own these days and learning how well we get along together. Once again the five of us grew a bit, and learned so much more about each other. I really feel, as it does every party, that our bond together grew even stronger. We also had a chance to hang out with Bruce and Tracy who were just a few rooms down the hall, and meet some of there friends as well.. Going to these parties offers a unique experience and perspective as a gay man, and I wouldn't give that experience up for anything.

When I first left Montreal I had mixed emotions about the whole week, but looking back now, I had an absolutely amazing time at Black & Blue. I loved spending the week with my friends, I loved the parties, and I loved the city and people of Montreal. Canada is such an amazing place and the Canadians are so damn nice. I really mean that. There's nothing like walking down the street in a new country, with a different first language and having strangers on the street smile and say hello to you. The people in Montreal were great, so very accommodating to us all, and the week was just one good time after another.

I left Black & Blue 2006 with so many new memories and an even stronger desire to continue down this path we began earlier this year. I don't think Black & Blue is an event that will be a must-go for me every year, but it's definitely something I'm glad I did and probably something I'll do again in a few years. I think over the next several years we're going to try and branch out and try new and different parties all over the world. It's a chance for us to travel, meet new people and see what we like. Once we figure that out, we can then start going back to our favorites. I'm looking forward to the next several years with Justin, my friends and our status as full-fledged Circuit Boys. Cheers!

Labels: Bernard, Black and Blue, Circuit Party, Tony, Travel

Labels: Black and Blue, Circuit Party

Labels: Phoenix

Labels: Bernard, Phoenix