Torture Garden NYE 2008 Special

Wow, once again the TG team have outdone themselves with another fabulously run event!

This was my first TG NYE and I can safely say it won’t be my last- with fantastic visual displays and a full gamut of creative lighting the home of TG was well turned out.
On the ground floor we were treated to an atmospheric Boudoir Dungeon with equipment by Infernal Mechanix. This was a warm, low-lit warren of areas with gentle background music, quiet enough to socialize and play without being drowned out by party tunes and as a result, every turn of the corner, every deep shadow revealed all manner of sumptuous pervery to behold!

Once at the top of the stairs I was met with a choice of two main rooms; The Club Arena with “Hard-on House, Sleazy Electro & Dirty Nu Skool Breaks” all complemented with video installations by Nuroptics. This was a full-on loud and bouncy party space where everyone seemed to be having a great time throughout the two tiered room. In between dancing and drinking from the well stocked bar the balcony made a nice place to perch and gaze across the lower level and the podiums which were always full of people dancing and bopping the night away.

Across the other side of the club was the excellent Ballroom Blitz. Inside this room was the main stage with performances from Natsumi Scarlet’s twisted burlesque, Empress Stah and Laurie Hagen, not forgetting of course the Midnight Fashion Show provided by Libidex. The music was a heady mix of “Neo Swing, Sleazy Rock n Roll, Gypsy Punk, Glamour Trash, Electro Clash, Ballroom and Drum n Bass” which kept the room pumping all night long. On top of all the main stage action there were regular play sessions and rope bondage displays in the cage by Amrita and Kazaya and various other revellers including a mesmerising rope and hot wax session by Esinem.

When midnight struck in the Ballroom Blitz the place was electric and erupted with jubilation, party poppers and streamers went flying and a massive net of red and black balloons were let loose from the ceiling- everybody had a great time!

This definitely wasn’t a night for the feint of heart, it was a full on assault of the senses from start to finish and due to its global popularity at times a little crowded, not that this seemed to bother anyone as it was the perfect excuse for squeezing past all the beautiful, happy people in their amazing outfits!

All that remains is to say a big thank you to the TG team for having us and from The Fetish Saloon a very happy New Year to all!

DM85

For its 4th consecutive year, The Montreal Fetish Weekend was one of the highlights on the international alternative lifestyle events calendar; the event attracted a huge turn-out of international enthusiasts all kinked-up and ready to explore their secret fantasies. A unique opportunity for the numerous local attendees to mingle and get up-close to some of the stars of the scene: Bianca Beauchamp, Darenzia, RubberDoll, Jean Bardot, The Richard to name but a few…

Offering three grand events, each with a distinct flavor designed to captivate the senses, the weekend started with Kabaret Kink, a Moulin Rouge themed party at the magnificent Olympia Theatre featuring the world premier of international latex fetish icon Bianca Beauchamp’s newest film, Bianca Beauchamp All Access 2: Rubberized. The evening was preceded by the Latexland photo exhibit Cocktail by photographers Martin Perreault and Gil Perron.

As it is now customary, the weekend reached its climax on Saturday night on the occasion of The Latextacy Fantasy Ball, a sensational Ultra-Glam themed event featuring many local as well as international designers (Polymorphe, Ceres Moon, Biomechanical Candy, SIS creations…). A spectacular moment where ordinary people let loose and become stars in their own right. Hosted by Bianca Beauchamp, the event also saw the launch of the Vincent Brothers new CD, Siamese, with an awesome live performance. The brainchild of multi-instrumentist Francis Vincent, this band is sure to become a powerhouse of the scene.

The third of the lavish evening events, The Night of Masks Ball, was inspired by the traditionally decadent masquerade balls of old an interesting twist of mystery and voyeurism with the unique FashionAsia theme. Featuring intense live performances by the likes of Fantasmagorie, Mistress Zyra, Domina Jade & many more, the play party of the weekend had to be one of the highlights of an incredible weekend. With many play stations provided by La Citadelle, teasing and titillating your every senses, everyone experienced the playful synergy between Doms and subs.

To complement the highlighted events of the weekend 3 sold-out Sin Academy workshops were hosted by Ambrosia with featured guest of honor Maîtresse Francoise (France) along with Mistress Antoinette (USA), the workshops also brought the magic of photographer Dominic Vincent (Embryo, Osmoze…) with up-and-coming model/designer Oiszo along with restriction experts Mistress Zyra and Malcolm.

With over 2500 attendees, The Montreal Fetish Weekend gathers in momentum as one of the fastest rising fetish events. Montreal is a place where like-minded enthusiasts get to live-out their fantasies in a most hospitable vibrant and colorful city.

The Montreal Fetish Weekend returns September 4-6 (Labor day Weekend 2009) Info & photo galleries: http://fetishweekend.com/

Now the dust has settled it is time to look back at the recent Passion Expo Held at Earls Court over the late May bank holiday period. First it must be said that the decision to hold the show was both bold and courageous as an undertaking of this size and significance cannot be underestimated, so more power to those that took a deep breath and gave it their best shot, and a very good one it was.

Normally we would not mention the fact that the management team was predominantly female (or would we if it was male) but the team themselves have stressed this fact in the promotion of the event and I am sure that the evident attention to detail stems from the predominance of females in the management team. This was particularly notable in the quality, content and efficiency that the two live stages displayed throughout the two days. It may appear strange to comment on the fact that the shows ran on time, but all too often at other events this is not the case which can leave the visitors with a less than enjoyable experience when it comes to the live acts and fashion shows. This was not the case at Passion and everything appeared to run with a smooth efficiency that was a credit to Mistress Absolute and her team that were responsible for this particular aspect of the show.

I have never before seen a Mexican Elvis impersonator, nor I feel had anyone else for that matter, and the novelty of one acting as compare was an enjoyable aspect of the burlesque stage in itself. To his credit he did a fine job and managed to involve the audience in much of what was happening without resorting to humiliation or cheap jibs at the expense of the attendees which can be the case in less professional hands. The stage shows themselves were an eclectic mix of the new, old and unusual that changed throughout the day making return visits to the Burlesque Stage a must do.

It would be difficult and very unfair to pick out any one act or performer from the many that appeared here but it should be said that all were committed and of a very high calibre setting the feel of the show very well.

On the Catwalk we saw some great new designs from most of the leading players and once again the shows were run with an admirable efficiency that fast became the trademark of Passion 2008. Everything was very well choreographed and admirably compared throughout. Even though, out of necessity the Catwalk presentations were repeated each day there was never a hint of disinterest or fatigue which says much for the commitment to the job in hand and the professionalism of the participants.

Take a look at the galleries on the recent shoots page for some excellent images of the shows which give a real flavour of what was happening on both stages.

Perhaps the biggest compliment that I can pay to everyone in the Passion team is that this did not feel like a first time event, the shows were slick and well run and everyone was very obviously enjoying themselves into the bargain so roll on next year when everything can only get bigger and I am sure better.

We will be posting a gallery later today covering the stage shows and a further report on the exhibition and exhibitors on Tuesday, again with a article specific gallery to accompany it.

Torture Garden once again dominate the pics for this update. We have sets from the Rome and London events both of which were the success that we have become accustomed to enjoying. Mike Crossett travelled to Rome for their weekend and brought back some excellent stuff and Chaz shot the TG event at Area which boasted an excellent new lighting rig that we tried to capture on a few shots to varying degrees of success.
We are also soon to welcome another new photographer to our ranks in the person of David Medlin, a relative newcomer to the Fetish world and someone who has shown a keen eye in the work that we have seen from him. David shot Subversion for us this past weekend and we are sure you will agree he has made an excellent start with The Fetish Saloon!!!!!
We are soon to start a series of three reports covering the recent Passion Expo at Earls Court with special features covering a wide variety of angles on the show which made its debut this year. It was very obvious that a fantastic amount of effort went into the planning and execution of the show which is a credit to the organisors and everyone involved. We hope our reports and images bring a flavour of the Event to you and encourage you to attend next year.
Watch out for our reports from Tokyo (yet another TG inspired event) and Montreal over the next 6 weeks, here at The Fetish Saloon we are keeping our promise to bring a truly international coverage and these Events promise to be something really special.

Club-Rub (www.club-rub.com) Saturday 17th May

Rub do it again. Yet another great night at Club-Rub the monthly Event held close to the Barbican in the City of London. Everything about this event is right from the moment you arrive with a nice touch being a free gift for first timers as they walk in the door.


The venue, which is a cellar formally part of the old brewery, it is the ideal location for our more off-beat type occasions with plenty of room to spread out and explore our interests and secret desires in comfort. The dungeon, excellently equipped by Playpenz (www.playpenz.co.uk), was comfortably busy from the opening stages of the evening with onlookers able to enjoy the fun without cramping the style of the “players”. It is amazing what a few well placed rope barriers and a great deal of respect can achieve.


There is a formal chill –out area and plenty of other places for people to take the weight off and chat a while in between furious sessions of all out attack on the dance floor. As usual the music was excellent with sets from Irish Pete and Rob Parish taking us through to 5.00am in the blink of an eye.


What is exceptional about Rub is the atmosphere, with almost everyone appearing to know almost everyone else and the old hands doing all they could to make the newbee's feel at home. This is added to greatly by the organisers who were always in the thick of things answering questions, providing information and generally hosting the night while at the same time obviously enjoying the party as much as anyone else. The venue is perfect for fetish lovers with the cellars bring just the right heavy feel to proceeding but at the same time allowing plenty of room to move around.


The bar staff were excellent as well and the prices reasonable for a venue that is in the heart of the City and open until the small hours. Staff constantly patrolled the club collecting classes etc which avoided the usual trash bin feeling later in the night that we often get at clubs of all flavours and persuasions.


Mistress Absolute (www.mistressabsolute.com) and friends choose the night to celebrate her recent birthday with everyone around sharing her enjoyment and the particularly good chocolate cake that was there for the taking, I only had two slices, honest! Kim was looking here radiant best in a very lush new Latex Matador outfit (I think only choose this look to remind us that she had recently returned from Spain!) and as usual she managed to keep things moving along well without being in the least bit “I am”. Note - If Kim ever gives how to party lessons I will be the first one to sign up.


On the point of bossy - well done to the Security Team, so often a source of complaint at our events, who managed to keep an eye on everything, ran the doors with calm politeness and generally made themselves scarce unless they we needed to be seen. It is very easy for nights to be spoilt by officious, power crazy, security staff but this was certainly not the case at Rub last weekend.


I left at 5 am with the more hardy of among us going on to the after party which by all accounts was another winner. The only complaint I heard all night was that the party had ended too early, a sure sign of a very successful and enjoyable experience for everyone who was there.


Well done to Kim and the team yet again, all that hard work was well worth it. As I am sure everyone who attended will agree. Roll on 14th June!


Pictures are up in the Recent Shoots section or click on the thumb to go direct

Well what a shame!! A well put together event, good venues in the main but nobody turned up to either the show or the events. It really was a shame because a lot of effort had been put in by the organisers, loads of exhibitors turned up from across Europe, stage shows were good enough given how few people were watching and it was even covered by local radio, I don't think they could have tried harder to make this a success. Take a look at the pics and you will see what was on offer but the lack of atmospher allowed the weekend to dwindle away instead of going out with a bang. Will it happen next year we wonder??????

We are on our way to Dortmund this weekend to shoot the new FET-X-Revolution Exhibition and Weekend Event. We will try to get some stuff up on the site during the three days but if this is not possible we will get a load of pics up for the following weekend. If any of you see us there (photographers in various medical or religious garb, Bishops, Pope etc)please say hello and get your picture on the site into the bargain. Look forward to seeing you there! We also welcome Mike Crossett a new photographer to the Saloon Team who will be shooting at the excellent London Fetish Fair and after party this week. Mike has great experience of the "scene" and is an excellent photographer in his own right. The first taste of his work for The Fetish Saloon will be on the site early next week so why not take a look?