If there was ever a Ted Talk on how to write an adult theater Field Report for The Journal, I would like regular reporter Raygun to give it.
In the following Field Report on the Michigan scene, Raygun profiles two very different locales: Ace Books in Bay City, and Club Tabu inside Fantasies Unlimited in Lansing, MI (both locations are on the The Good Doctor's adult theater database in the tab above). He paints a great picture of two adult theater/ABS/Lifestyle locations, offers his insight & commentary, and provides pics of said locations to illustrate his points.
Those of you who are thinking of submitting a Field Report to The Journal, I strongly suggest you use this as a template of the right way to do it.
Kudos aside, let's get down to business. Take it away, Raygun!
***
Doc,
I took a road trip to Michigan over the weekend and had a chance to visit a couple adult bookstores I hadn't been to before: Fantasies Unlimited/Club Tabu in Lansing and Ace Books in Bay City. Like everything else, road trip adventures can be hit or miss. In this case Ace Books was a miss, but Club Tabu is definitely a hit.
 |
| Ace Books Bay City, MI |
Ace Books is an old store in a mostly vacant building in downtown Bay City. I'm sure it's been there since the days of 8mm film loops. There's a small bookstore in front and two mini theaters and about a dozen booths in back. Each theater has a TV mounted high on the wall and maybe eight or ten plastic armchairs scattered about. A narrow hallway leads to the video booths and a small lounge area.
 |
| Ace Books |
The lounge is more like a break room than a play area, with a couple tables and chairs. The booths are small with just a built-in bench and a small TV behind a plexiglass window. Each booth shows a single movie. The booths are too small for two and there are no gloryholes, but guys leave the doors open if they're looking for company.
 |
| Ace Books |
It's a single admission for both the theaters and the booths. You can get a single-entry ticket or a day ticket for multiple entries. There's a discounted price for couples, but the Saturday afternoon old men's club told me that couples are rare if not nonexistent. One suggested that they probably prefer real swinger clubs, which he imagined would be nicer than the bookstore. My guess is they probably make the drive down to Club Tabu in Lansing, which is definitely way better than Ace.
 |
| Club Tabu (located inside Fantasies Unlimited) Lansing, MI |
Club Tabu is described as being inside the Fantasies Unlimited bookstore, which, to me, gives the impression that the club is smaller that the bookstore. That's not at all the case. It's a big place, maybe 7,500 square feet altogether. The club is probably 75 percent of that. The building is long and narrow. A vacant former medical cannabis business faces the street, but the rest of the building is occupied by the bookstore and club. The entrance to the bookstore is toward the back facing the parking lot. You enter the club from the bookstore.
 |
| Club Tabu (inside Fantasies Unlimted) |
Admission is $20 for the whole day. You get a wristband or you can leave your name if wearing a wristband might be inconvenient or embarrassing while you're away. (They're very considerate.) There's a discounted price for couples, but unlike Ace Books, couples actually go here. I was there relatively early on a Friday night and saw two MF couples, an MT couple, a t-girl, and a guy in thigh-high high-heel boots and women's lingerie. (I'm trying to make distinctions that not everyone will agree with, but you get the idea.) It's a diverse crowd.
The club has three main areas that I'm going to call the party room, the theater, and the gloryhole room. The club wraps around the bookstore with the party room at one end and the theater and gloryhole room at the other. There are colored lights and nasty hip-hop (lots of bitches and hos) playing to give it more of a club vibe than your average adult theater.
The party room is a big open space with a projection screen on one wall and a plush modular seating group in the middle. I'm guessing they set it up with bar tables and chairs when they have events like the upcoming Halloween party, but it was pretty quiet when I was there: just one guy looking at his phone and watching the movie.
 |
| Club Tabu |
A long hallway connects the party room to the theater. Along the length of the hallway are the bathrooms, several private rooms, and a wall-mounted counter with bar stools. There's even a bulletin board with a roll of paper and a pen for people to post notes like "suck or fuck room #3" and "show hard for blowjob." There were a few phone numbers posted too.
The four private rooms are huge, like cheap hotels rooms, but furnished a little differently. One room has BDSM equipment and a window to let people watch. Another has a BDSM area that is separate from the room itself but open to viewing from the hallway. I think they all have the requisite padded bench.
The theater has a projection screen on one wall and TVs in the back corners. It's furnished with sofas, lounge chairs, and several banquettes forming odd alcoves. I watched the t-girl fuck a guy on the sofa in the middle of the room and saw the trans woman play with three guys on a banquette before heading off to a private room.
 |
| Club Tabu |
Beyond the theater is what I'm calling the gloryhole room. The website describes it as a maze, which it definitely is not, but it does have a variety of curtained booths and alcoves with gloryholes. There are no hard doors and no good way to tell whether a spot is occupied, so guys cruise around peeking behind the curtains. It's relatively dark, so you're not always sure exactly what you're seeing. I had to look twice sometimes to be sure whether someone was there or not. Both couples played at the gloryholes while I was there. One didn't want guys peeking in and had someone stand guard while they played behind the curtain.
The gloryhole room also has a bar in one corner, which I imagine they use during parties. Another unusual thing about Club Tabu is that it's BYOB, not just during parties, but anytime. You can walk in with a six-pack in the middle of the afternoon if you like. I've never heard of that before. Maybe that's what I'll do the next time I'm passing through.
Either way, I'll definitely visit again if I have the opportunity.
RG
***
Doc here again... Many thanks goes out to Raygun for this outstanding Field Report from over this past weekend to Michigan. Well done, sir! We look forward to your next adventure and report!
The measure of a great Field Report is knowing that after reading, I could walk into either establishment and have a good lay of the land on what to expect, what it looks like, and what the potential may be. This report does it in spades!
So Lizardos and Lizardettes, if you are thinking about writing a Field Report, and are looking for a starting point, look no further than this report.
The Good Doctor rates this 5 out of 5 cannoli!
Thanks,
Doc
@LizardoJournal on Twitter
