FetiSM a Smashing Success
Now, while it's still fresh in my mind, here are my impressions of FetiSM, the event I brought to your attention in a previous post.
First, the event was organized by our own esteemed blogger, Kogure, and this was the first time she had organized such an event. She deliberately chose a smaller venue, Cozmo's Cafe in Shibuya, simply because she couldn't have had much of an idea as to how many people would actually show up.
She needn't have been concerned. The place was packed. To the gills. In terms of the number of people that attended, this debut event by Kogure-san was a smashing success.
Numbers are one thing and they're certainly important to an event promoter. But aside from the numbers, I'd just like to say that the people I ran into and with whom I spoke at the event, were very nice. There was an overall "good vibe" to the whole thing.
I'm not sure what accounts for this. I've been to a lot of bondage shows, fetish events, whatever name you want to go with, and FetiSM was one of the best, if not the best. Because of the success of this event, I'm assuming Kogure will want to try her hand again in the future. If so, I highly recommend that you attend. If you're serious about kinbaku. She may have to find a slightly larger locale in the future, however.
Kogure's purpose for the event was to display an "artistic kinbaku performance" and with the participation of the famous bakushi Arisue Go, she not only met her goal, she exceeded it by far.
I arrived pretty early because I was to video the event. I'll talk about this aspect later in this report, however.
At first, it appeared the turnout might be light. But it didn't remain that way for very long. By the time Kogure and another young lady took the stage, it was standing room only, literally. In fact, it felt a little like being on the Yamanote line at rush hour.
Kogure was dressed in an exquisite outfit that, dare I say, really served to accentuate her amazing, er, posterior. I think it was made of leather but I'm actually not sure, not being much of a leather or PVC guy myself.
She and the other cute girl (also dressed in sexy fetish garb) began dancing and gyrating on stage to the beat of the DJ's handiwork. This served as an interesting and, to me at least, unique introduction to a kinbaku show.
Before long, the master himself, Arisue Go, took the stage. Believe it or not, he was wearing an amazing and gaudy wig which completely took me by surprise. I know this was all part of Kogure's plan and in line with the theme of the event. She had warned me earlier that she and Arisue were going "shopping" for some special attire. I guess I should have been ready for anything.
Arisue Go began by binding Kogure in the most amazing ways. I almost always refrain from recounting the names of the various ties or giving a blow-by-blow account of a kinbaku performance. But, I know great shibari when I see it, and this was great stuff. It was incredible having a ringside seat, observing an individual who is at the pinnacle of his art form.
This was also a long show, at least in my experience. I believe it lasted nearly 50 minutes. Arisue Go put Kogure into so many suspensions, one after the other, I lost count. Finally, Kogure was trussed up so effectively, dangling in midair (even her mouth was gagged with rope), that Arisue decided to turn his attentions to the other young lady on stage.
While Arisue had been working on Kogure, the other girl continued her dancing, looking on and smiling as Kogure tasted the tight ropes. Now it was her turn. In what seemed like a matter of seconds, she too was trussed and hanging in midair.
A quick note about the bondage frame used here. This was the largest frame I had ever seen at an event, where it all has to be set up and then torn down again afterward. It had two suspension points, obviously, to facilitate the two bound girls.
After each suspension, Arisue would give the girls "a spin", so to speak. This was a crowd pleaser and always got an animated reaction from the audience.
I've only described briefly here the first show. There were two shows this night. And, in between, those audience members so disposed took the stage themselves and tied up their girlfriends, boyfriends or whoever desired to be tied.
Arisue Go and Kogure both joined in the fun and the space below the bondage frame was wall-to-wall people. I must say, some of the "amateurs" in the audience were doing some pretty amazing kinbaku as well.
The pricing for the event was extremely reasonable, especially considering the level of mastery of the presenters. I think the basic ticket price was 3,500 yen. Discounts were available and couples got in at a discounted rate as well. This also included a free drink.
It's not unusual for an SM event to run 10,000 yen or more. If you happen to be independently wealthy and go to an SM-style hostess bar, expect to pay by the hour. If you stay for any length of time, and you're a drinker, your tab will easily exceed 10,000 yen.
I mentioned earlier that my responsibility was to shoot the video. There was a professional photographer on hand (name withheld because I forgot to ask his permission). It's a good thing he was there (and Kogure told me his photos were great), because the video end of things turned out to be a disaster.
I was going to go into this but it will only bore 99 percent of the readership, so I'll hold off for now. This could be a subject for a future post: How Not to Shoot a Live Kinbaku Performance.
KabukiJoe
