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Archival Abby
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State of the City
The Scene in NYC
The topic of
what has happened to kinky nightlife comes up all the time and those of
us involved in the local BDSM/fetish/nightlife community repeatedly
find ourselves at a loss. I recently sat on a panel organized by TES to
discuss the current state of the New York City “scene.” How are things
now in comparison with the past? And where is “the scene” going? My
co-panelists were Lenny of Hellfire fame and Hilton of Purple Passion.
Both gentlemen gave great historical insight into Manhattan’s
underground scene as it once was and the three of us discussed several
reasons why things just aren’t as good as they used to be.
First and foremost, we agreed, were the many series of crackdowns on
clubs during the Giuliani administration. Many venues were closed down
and the most crucial repercussion from those closures was an
environment of increased paranoia. What had once been an atmosphere of
live and let live laissez faire had become a police state. We also
agreed that increased residential rents had driven both the artists
vital to creating nightlife and their equally creative clientele out of
Manhattan, while rising commercial rents had made it virtually
impossible for underground establishments to renew their leases. Where
the Hellfire once was home to beatings and bondage, a trendy,
overpriced restaurant caters to wealthy European tourists. Shudder. The
mere thought of anyone dining within those hallowed brick walls makes
my skin crawl!
The third, most obvious reason that things aren’t quite the same is the
internet. Freaks and pervs once needed to venture out of their homes to
find fellow freaks and pervs and otherwise satisfy their base needs.
Now one need only log on to alt.sex.whateverthehell to find the freak
of their dreams. Or, perhaps even more convenient, Craig’s List! Just
click on their “Casual Encounters” link and you can find a fast friend
who will show up within the hour and gladly gratify whatever your
specific kink may be.
As for the current nightlife climate, the scene is depressingly dismal.
There is the monthly BYTE and, as much as I love the party, it is
hardly a den of debauchery. About one third of the crowd, at most,
sports serious fetish attire and as for public scenes, only a small
fraction of the club’s floor space is devoted to play. Occasionally an
obliging or exhibitionistic domme may punish a slave or succumb to a
bit of foot worship, but you won’t often see anything serious unfold.
Performances range from the live bands downstairs to hot young go-go
eye candy on the main floor, with nary a piercing or suspension, let
alone a good bloodletting!
The Baroness perseveres with her monthly Fetish Retinue, held in a
warm, neighborhood lounge with a casual atmosphere, if not a casual
dress code. Latex fetishists find refuge here and it’s a wonderful
place to see familiar faces, but this Sunday soiree rarely last longer
than three hours, not quite enough time to sink into any sort of
serious depravity.
Master Steelow’s weekly Funhouse fetish bash appears to be defunct
after being shut out of a series of venues. His Peep Show party may
have a fetish component, but they are, primarily, a sex-slash-swinger
event. Of course, if you’re interested in something along those sex and
swinger party lines, you’re much more in luck, with a wide selection of
choices, including Palagia’s One Leg Up events, Lou’s Bi-Swinger
parties, Voyeur Events, Devious Delights and others. Seems that it’s
much easier to get your dick sucked than your ass spanked these days.
And if you just want a slight bit of titillation, you can catch a
burlesque show almost every night of the week in one borough or
another. But if your tastes adhere to a more “strict dress code, dark
dance track and extreme stage performance” sort of evening, you’re
pretty much shit out of luck.
Shane Savant has revived his Zenwarp party and time will tell if that
will successfully resuscitate flamboyant nightlife. At the very least,
Shane believes in high production values, décor and high drama,
so it will certainly be a spectacle.
But probably what is worst about what was once “the scene” is that it
has splintered and sputtered. The “safe, sane and consensual” kinksters
of TES and DomSub Friends continue to gather at their weekly meetings,
demos and nights at Paddles, but those situations never reach the
critical mass of an “event.” The regularly scheduled parties at
professional dungeons don’t seem to be happening much anymore, though I
have no idea why. Perhaps the enormous egos and dominant personalities
have clashed so often that no one has the intestinal fortitude to
organize them anymore. Obviously, the Meatpacking District’s Mother is
still sorely missed and people can hardly converse about the state of
the scene without mentioning its demise. But lamenting the passage of
the good old days, whether they were the 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s, is
pretty pointless.
I hate to complain without offering constructive options. Personally, I
don’t have much patience for the fetish scene anymore anyway. Everyone
just started to take themselves way too seriously. I’ve always
preferred the themes, probably best evidenced by my Gomorrah
Oktoberfest. I mean, no one really has a fetish for dirndls, pretzels
and beer steins. Or do they? I also believe there’s no longer a big
enough an audience for regularly recurring full scale BDSM/fetish
events. The Black & Blue Ball manages to attract large numbers
through a combination of sheer long-standing momentum and its once a
year occurrence. I don’t think anything new will ever be able to match
it. Sigh.
A hard-core creative underground scene does still exist in New York,
even if it has been exiled to the outer boroughs. Warehouse dance
parties, artist happenings and offbeat after hours events can be found
if you know where to look, and if you’re in search of freaks and pervs
or an element of danger, those things, too, are out there. And no doubt
there are plenty of people engaging in all manner of deviant behavior.
They’re just doing it behind closed doors or at more intimate house
parties. I have to admit, my personal life is chock full of deviance
and debauchery and spectacularly sleepless nights. I see the sun come
up at least once a week and it ain’t cause I’m an early riser.
Hmm…perhaps the best way to experience the interesting underbelly of Manhattan is to merely tag along with me! Hah!
[Written Nov. 2005]
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