Michael S.
Chicago Den
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Photo by Michael S.
The Conductors celebrate their 30th anniversary.
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The Conductors LL of Nashville, Tenn. (the “We’re not a show club” club) just celebrated their 30th anniversary with Track XXX “The Extreme Run”. Festivities started on Friday, March 16, and wrapped up on Sunday, March 18. It was held at the Days Inn at the Stadium in the NE side of downtown Nashville. The run also was host to the Spring meeting of the Mid-America Conference of Clubs.
This was my second time at a Conductors run and confirmed what I had learned on the first trip – the Conductors know how to throw a party! This year was no exception. Between the large hospitality suite and the Conductors home bar – The Stirrup – a total of 17 clubs hosted cocktail parties with the theme being “Extreme”. There was almost non-stop bootblacking with at star-studded (pun intended) team consisting of: BooBoo (IML BB 2005), Bootdog (IML BB 2008), girl Dale (SE Community BB 2012) and Bootblack Mike (Jarhead) from MN. The hotel was rockin’, the shuttle buses were always full and it was a great celebration of brotherhood and sisterhood among all the attendees. By my count, well over 25 clubs were represented plus other organizations. The charity proceeds were donated to the Conductors’ tradition cause, Nashville Cares.
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Photo by Michael S.
Fun at the Stirrup – Bootdog, slave angie, girl Dale
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Friday night’s festivities included a very fun cocktail party thrown by the Iron Eagles of Ohio with the theme of XXX Hollywood and Porn – complete with “fluffers” traveling around the hospitality room. The Chicago Leather Club hosted a cocktail party with “extreme” large cigars and a “Bermuda Triangle” cocktail, and the backroom at Stirrup was soon filled with the thick haze of cigar smoke and happy leathermen. It was a very late evening for yours truly, after watching hot bootblacking scenes at the Stirrup and enjoying a late evening of drinking and fun.
Saturday morning, the Mid-American Conference of Club delegates met for their meeting and by lunchtime, the shuttles were running to the Nashville Hustler store to begin the walking enduro contest. This contest was to answer a series of questions as participants walked down Church street from Hustler to the side-by-side bars of Vibe and Blue Genes, where the people games were being held. A lunch buffet was served and people gathered at Vibe for the highlight of the weekend – The Show.
Promptly at 2:45 p.m. (and that’s no joke, they really did start on time, bless their hearts) the curtains raised. The theme of the show was “The year that was” as the Conductors took us through a musical tour of their year in planning, traveling and preparing for their 30th year celebration. This apparently involved a number of trips to the UK, including the royal wedding, a trip to the beach with some ultra-conservative politicians (you can guess how that went), visits to Lady Gaga and Madonna and other fun events. The costumes and hats were fabulous and the “ladies” and men were fantastic! However, they saved the best for last. The last act consisted of each of the show members holding up a sign of a young person who committed suicide over the last year and a message against violence and bullying, all to Pink’s “Fuckin’ Perfect” There was not a dry eye in the house after that and it was a very meaningful message to carry away from the show.
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| Parade of colors |
The evening’s dinner was held at the Days Inn and the buffet was fantastic. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence paid a visit to auction off some fantastic drawings. The evening’s festivities again took place at the hospitality suite and various local bars. There was bootblacking and an electrical play demo. The run members closed Stirrup and the last shuttle back to the hotel was packed with hot, happy leatherfolks.
Sunday’s brunch saw the Conductors introduce their new Executive Board for 2012 and many well wishes from clubs and run participants. The total charity donation from the weekend, including the donation from the hard-working bootblacks was over $3,800. We all left Nashville happy, a bit hungover and looking forward to the next time we venture down to enjoy the Southern hospitality of the Conductors.
