Stage presentation at the Unleashed 5th Birthday completely eschewed the on-stage MC announcements that are popular with other fetish promoters.
Instead, each act’s spoken intro was smoothly mixed into the music preceding the performers’ appearance on stage.
This has been a familiar aspect of mega dance club production for years, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen/heard it done properly at a fetish night before. So full marks to Unleashed for making everyone else’s style look dated!
And The Fuel Girls: what a nice surprise they were, too.
I hadn’t seen them live in any incarnation since the original troupe performed in a Torture Garden show years ago, at a time when they were principally known for appearing at car events in Essex.
Each of the Fuel Girls’ five shows I watched demonstrated the versatility and consummate professionalism of these three UK-based performers
Since then, much fuel has, er, flowed under the bridge (can I say that?).
For example, these days they count among their number aerialist and fire performer Yusura Circus, whose arrival on British shores in 2010, and her subsequent solo appearances at events such as the International Tattoo Convention, Festival of Sins and TG made a lasting impression on London.
All the same, I did wonder, before the party, whether having the three Fuel Girls appearing solo and in various combinations no less than five times throughout the night might be a case of Unleashed trying to get too much value from whatever it was paying the ladies.
But I needn’t have worried. Each of the Fuel Girls’ shows I watched — from individual fire shows, aerial pole, air bondage and aerial hoop to their grand show as a trio — demonstrated the versatility and consummate professionalism of these three performers.
Fire shows in particular are now such a standard component of the entertainment at fetish events that it’s hard to imagine you’re going to see anything you haven’t seen a dozen times before.
But the combination of imaginative props with dramatic music and lighting proved to me just how much mileage there still is in fire when it’s properly produced.
So whatever they got paid, I’d say the Fuel Girls were worth every penny.
After the girls, the main stage offered three fashion spectacles. First came a catwalk show by Berlin’s Fantastic Rubber, showcasing the label’s famously well-fitting catsuits (including the Harley Quinn outfit shown in the banner above this article).
It was followed by two rather more theatrical presentations by local designer Sebastian Cauchos and new-to-me brand Rubberdutch.
Sebastian’s spot was devoted to a typically Cauchos-style vignette in which four modestly dressed (by which I mean latex-headscarved) ladies, who might
The latter singled out one of the four for special treatment, which involved being sheathed in an armless bondage top and ballgagged. You don’t see that on the pavement outside John Lewis.
Amsterdam’s Rubberdutch took to the stage with seven male and female models in steampunk-style outfits (including lots of feathers) to deliver a show that vividly homaged Mad Max.
They were followed by the second UK act of the night, London’s Bliss Theadora and Adreena Angela. Their strap-on domination show got some members of the audience so excited that they decided to do their own tribute performances right in front of the artistes.
As seems to be the tradition in this city, the porniest performance was reserved until very late — in fact, until after the Fuel Girls had done their grand show.
Described in the running-order somewhat understatedly as a ‘fetish show’, its performers arrived onstage in combinations of latex, angel wings and rope harnesses and soon got stuck in — primarily to each other. I think ‘fetish orgy’ would have been a better title.
Much of the action was centred on what different members of the cast could do to Valerio of Love Boutique and Vanadio Piercing fame. And all this only encouraged more excesses within the audience.
Further back in the auditorium, more members of this 13-strong troupe were allegedly performing simultaneously in two podium cages, though whenever I looked, I failed to spot them.
These cages had been in use most of the evening, between or concurrently with shows on the main stage. Caged performances were by viXXXen Dancers, Imaginary Tease, and Bliss and Adreena.
Bliss and Adreena’s show got some audience members so excited, they decided to do their own tribute performances right in front of the artistes
I think it was a bit ambitious of Unleashed’s pre-publicity to describe these two podiums as ‘stages’. But the various incarcerated performers certainly did their best to provide additional eye-candy for the audience.
Fun though it all was, there was a point in the evening when I definitely knew it was time to unsling my camera and head back to the hotel.
It occurred when I was down at the front, leaning against the barrier separating the audience area from the backstage area, and just looking out into the crowd.
Two hot-looking latex-clad women appeared, headed for the barrier quite close to where I was positioned, and began voraciously snogging each other.
Perhaps they were anticipating that I, a bloke with a camera, would want to photograph their generous displays of affection. But sadly, photogenic though the situation undoubtedly was, they’d left it just a bit too late for me to raise the necessary energy.
But another ’tog soon took the bait, so I happily left him to it and headed off into the fresh night air.
UNLEASHED IBIZA
22:00 – 06:00
Club NEXT by Eden Ibiza
Calle Salvador Espriu, San Antonio, Ibiza
On July 8, Unleashed hosts its first edition in Ibiza, the party island of the world. Joining the world’s leading dance nights, Unleashed will introduce the island to its distinctive party concept, providing visitors with a first peek into this fetish phenomenon.
Claimed to be ‘the first proper fetish dance event offered to Ibiza’, it will première at Club NEXT — the intimate basement area of the island’s renowned Club Eden.
With just 500 tickets available, the hosts promise ‘a more exclusive and elite fetish experience’ than found at larger-scale events. Expect a night of high-energy DJ music combined with ‘dazzling entertainment and visuals’.
Amsterdam, Saturday August 20, 2016
UNLEASHED AMSTERDAM
22:00 – 05:00
Panama Nightclub, Amsterdam
Unleashed returns to Amsterdam’s Club Panama for its summertime madness edition where ‘fetish hits the hottest dance floor’.
All the ingredients Unleashed regulars have come to love are promised. That means a strong focus on the high-energy dance floor, large darkroom in the upper area, plus ‘mind-blowing visuals and an exquisite selection of shows and entertainment’.
UNLEASHED ZURICH
21:00 – 06:00
Utopia Fetish de Luxe
X-TRA, Zürich
In collaboration with Utopia Fetish de Luxe, Unleashed hosts a fetish extravaganza in Zurich that aims to take Swiss nightlife by storm.
Normally held just outside Zurich, Utopia is Switzerland’s largest monthly fetish event, and has played an important part in establishing the Swiss fetish scene during its 18-year life.
This special night at Club X-TRA in central Zurich promises the best of both worlds, uniting Utopia’s ‘fabulous atmosphere and beautiful crowd’ with Unleashed’s ‘exquisite shows and visuals’, and a strong emphasis on the high-energy dance floor.
Club X-TRA also has a hotel with rooms accommodating one to four persons, providing international guests easy and comfortable lodging.
Amsterdam, Saturday January 7, 2017
UNLEASHED AMSTERDAM
22:00 – 05:00
The Box, Amsterdam
After its first visit to the The Box for its 5th Anniversary party in May 2016, Unleashed returns to this big Amsterdam venue to welcome in the New Year in glamorous style.
Promising ‘an even more intense true fetish spectacle’ than before, the event will see the main space transformed to host not only the high-energy dance floor and stage shows, but also an extensive darkroom and intimate lounges.
There’ll also be ‘a large luxury smoking area and widespread entertainment throughout the venue’.
Published June 21, 2016
Tags: BDSM play, Fashion Shows, Latex, Leather, Lingerie, Parties, Performers, Play Parties