Jerry Springer wishes he could get into the Arizona Fetish Prom.
courtesy of Arizona Fetish Ball
Strapped for fun, fetishists get their prom on.
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Takes place 8 p.m. Saturday, June 4, to 3 a.m. Tickets cost $15, and are available to those 21 and older at the door or via Internet pre-sale at
» web link.
The Sets, 93 East Southern Avenue in Tempe
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After all, there's going to be enough subculture action going on that he'd have material for his show for the next 10 years. But unless Springer springs for a leather g-string, he'd look really out of place.
"We're going to see rubber, latex, leather, boots, the whole gothic lifestyle, the vampire lifestyle," says Mitch Palmer, a member of TNG, the fetish organization that's co-sponsoring the event with Horns & Haloes. "We'll be doing candle wax demos, bullwhipping demos, spanking and strapping demos . . ."
Audience members can get in on some of the action, but their participation is limited. Some people just can't take the pain. "The audience will have the ability to participate in the spanking demo and the strip pole dancing. They won't be able to do much more because of liability," says Palmer. "People think, 'Oh, I'm going to be in a bullwhipping demo, but it's not going to hurt.' Then they come out all red and bleeding, and we get sued."
Maybe it'd be better just to watch. And there's plenty to watch. In addition to the fetish demos, there will also be "girl-on-girl biting and sucking," body painting and liquid latex, an erotic and exotic fashion show, strip pole performances by the Pin-Up Girl Lounge, tons of fetish vendors, fire dancing by Flames of Pyrotique, and the Pussy Posse.
Wait, the Pussy Posse? "They're a group of bisexual women and lesbians. They sex each other up," Palmer says. "It's for the girls, but guys can watch. There's nothing hotter than a bunch of women running around in latex and leather, kissing on each other."
How about people hanging from hooks in their backs? That's pretty hot. Before you picture the infamous meat hook scene out of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, bear in mind that these people are "professionals."
"We're trying to do traditionally artistic suspensions, rather than just lifts," says Palmer. "There's an intricate suspension planned, where two people will be suspended above the outside patio bar, and they'll be on ropes, moving back and forth over the entire crowd."
Maybe they'll hang out over the stage, too, as bands My Darling Murder, The Year of Acceleration, Selfless, Curse of the Pink Hearse, and N17 (in what's been touted as their last show ever) rock the house.
A Fetish Prom "King" and "Queen" will be chosen by audience applause near the end of the event, and there might be some stiff competition. "This will be the largest fetish event to date in Arizona. We're looking at 1,500 people," Palmer says.
"We're trying to break the mold, the mold being that Arizona is an ultra-conservative, white, over-50 state," Palmer adds. "But there are a lot of underground events and fetish groups here, and this [event] will show that we can have a large fetish ball here. People think they can only see this in L.A. Well, we're not the wicked stepchild of L.A."
But we might let them spank us.
