Clermont Lounge

From SuspireWiki

Renown: 4

Description

You descended the stairs, forked over a few dollars and held your breath. You remember: your first night at the Clermont Lounge. A long-standing tradition in Atlanta nightlife, this eclectic club is anything but ordinary. The music pumps loud and the dance floor does not slow down until the wee hours. Some of the city's strangest night-dwellers are regulars, from the ultra-hip and often grungy clientele to "Blondie," the Clermont's star attraction. An interesting change of pace, but not for the faint of heart, and definitely not for the kids.

The mythology of Ponce's most notorious nightspot seduced you in the first place, and its decadent reality keeps you coming back. The beer served in cans, the trough in the bathroom (men's only--although we wouldn't be surprised...), the dance floor grinding to the thump of DJ Romeo's funky arsenal, the sticky air. This place makes you want to shower. And then there's the dancers. Blondie is the most famous, and rightly so--her anatomical trash-compactor act makes the cover charge a steal.

The Clermont Lounge is one of Atlanta's best known and most beloved X-rated institutions. It has been in existence since 1965, located in the basement, appropriately enough, of the Clermont Motor Hotel, which is not a 5 star hotel. Located on the seedier end of Ponce de Leon Avenue, an historical street that books have been written about, The Clermont Lounge is almost a rite of passage for many Atlantans crossing into adulthood. Don't go looking for the beautiful girls here, you'll be missing the point of the place. The official website is updated only sporadically, which seems fitting for this kind of place. This, plus a dash of good old-fashioned curiosity, is precisely why Atlantans love this unpolished but unabashedly fun dive.

Late on Saturday nights, the line at the door is long, the dance floor is packed, and the bar -- where you can get cheap, if not good, drinks -- is bustling. The crowd is eclectic: well-dressed hipster types mingle with rough-looking characters you wouldn’t want to encounter in a dark alley. Oh yeah, and there are the strippers, who seem to be there largely for the kitsch factor.

Size, Location and Security

Size 2, Location 1, Security 1

Benefits

Minor

Clermont isn’t for the faint of heart, but luckily you’re one of those people who don’t have that problem.

+1 Streetwise

Sizable

As a genuine interest point, you’ve managed to make yourself something of a niche with the dive bar, and you don’t have to worry about getting flack or shit from the bouncers – or the dancers.

+1 Streetwise; +2 Hunting Dice if you hunt in the domain on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Uncontested

You know the Clermont like the back of your hand, and you can come and go as you please, even on the nights that there’s only one dancer and a handful of people. This freedom allows you to know when there’s plans for celebrities (and there are more than a few that come through) and other younger-generation up and comers on their way to the Clermont rite-of-passage.

+2 Streetwise, +1 Persuasion; +3 Hunting Dice if you hunt in the domain on Friday and Saturday evenings; Backroom meetings any time for free