Beyond Fetish

And now for something totally different…
Generally when heading out in Ireland you have a few very distinct choices. If you’re looking for some tunes, whether to crunk or mosh to, you head to a gig or a club. Want a show with a bit more culture and theatrics? You check out the latest play. Or if you’re looking for some near-nudity and a bit of titillation, you head to Nimhneach.

But event organisers are beginning to realise that we want something more – the Celtic Tiger Cub still within us wants it all and wants it now, while the inner recessionista wants more bang for our buck. And what better way to satisfy us than to combine all three elements; music, theatrics and a little (or indeed a lot of) raunch into one crazy night? Welcome to Ireland’s alternative scene.
Kristen Kapelli is a singer and performer with Midnight Burlectro, an electro-burlesque troupe, which performed in the Thisispopbaby tent at Electric Picnic. Kristen plays the role of the singing Diva, belting out unique versions of ‘Fever’ and ‘Passengers’ from Peggy Lee and Iggy Pop, songs from Led Zeppelin and Prodigy and her trademark rendition of Electric Six’s ‘High Voltage.’
“The music reflects the whole theme of the show, it’s about pushing boundaries, empowering women and making old-school music and burlesque modern. So I take male songs and sing them as a female, putting my own interpretation on them.”
While Kapelli’s vocals are powerful and playful, they’re by no means the wildest part of the show. “Oh no, people who come just expecting a vocal performance or a dance show might be taken aback!”
Might be taken aback? More like they might need a cold shower, therapy, or both. In one act, a dancer in black lingerie is pushed into a chair, blindfolded and whipped by a dominatrix wearing only a thong and tape over her nipples, all in perfect timing to Goldfrapp’s ‘Tiptoe’. In another, burlesque performer Bella A Go Go sings Prodigy’s ‘Breathe’ with Kapelli before other dancers creep onstage and attack Kapelli with knives, seemingly killing her on stage.
“Yeah, its’s a pretty interesting mix!” she laughs. “We have a zombie cheerleaders routine, there’s bellydancing, singing, we have instruments… and yes, a bit of bondage! All the acts are like separate little stories, but they’re integrated together as a whole. It’s a mish-mash, a dance-techno-burlesque extravaganza!”

LOOK BUT DON’T TOUCH
Of course burlesque is all about suggestion, so the whipping is only simulated, and no-one actually gets stabbed or impaled. Disappointed? Yeah, me too. Luckily, the girls from Sedition Industries are prepared to fulfil our sadistic side by shoving meathooks into their flesh and suspending themselves off the ground. They’re good like that.
Run by Niamh O’Brian, or ‘Scarlett Nymph’ as she prefers to be called, Sedition Industries are alternative music and performance events featuring The Sedettes – a troupe of 12 striking girls who DJ, dance, do suspension acts and have a fetish for corsets and rubber. The nights started last year, after Scarlett became dissatisfied with the alternative scene in Ireland.
“I found the alternative scene quite limited, and very clique-y,” she proffers. “I was involved enough in the scene that I was accepted, but I heard a lot from people who felt that there was a judgemental, isolating vibe, kind of ‘You’re not in our crew’ stuff. People felt that they were looked down on if they didn’t dress right or didn’t constantly participate in the scene. Sedition Industries is more embracing. The crowd we get are fantastic, and so welcoming. Everyone chats to you, and there’s a really positive vibe.”
Now, I ran my 21st birthday in the fetish club Torture Gardens, where instead of blowing out candles, I was presented with a whip by a man wearing nothing but a gimp mask (funnily enough, these pictures never made the family photo album). Basically, I don’t shock easy, and Scarlett is right – the people who attend Sedition nights are really friendly. But when it came to the suspension act, I couldn’t watch. And still struggle to make it through the videos.
Kay Fagan, or ‘PostModern Sleaze Sedition’ is the Sedette who elects to put multiple hooks through her back, shoulders, knees, or stomach, depending on the show, and dangles several feet in the air, sometimes for up to an hour. Does it hurt, ‘cause it sure hurts to watch?
“Of course it hurts!” laughs Postmodern Sleaze. “But it’s odd, it’s kind of a slow-burning sensation, so you can actually relax. Sometimes you’d nearly fall asleep. A lot of people talk about having a Nirvana-like experience, but for me it’s not like that.”
So why the hell would you do it?
“The first time my mates were going to a Bodyshock conference and one of them couldn’t do the suspension, so I just said I would. I didn’t really think about it to be honest! But it’s really satisfying, and you get such an adrenalin rush, it’s good fun.”
The Sedettes also do elaborate dance routines, including a Japanese-inspired one in which three of them made up as Geisha girls rip off their robes and masks to reveal bloody faces. A lot of fake claret and daggers later, one geisha girl kills the other two before escaping into the darkness backstage. It’s what snuff porn would be were it directed by Rob Zombie and DJed by, well, the founder of Torture Gardens. And he did, last month.
“It was a great night, I was quite impressed,” says David Wood, co-founder of the infamous international fetish club. “It reminded me of the early Torture Garden days, in the sense that it’s bringing something new and interesting to the scene, in terms of progressive acts and music – though obviously it’s not trying to be a fetish night.”
It’s not? Hooks, blood, corsets, rubber – sounds pretty fetishist to me.
“It’s closer to the fetish scene than burlesque but we don’t take it as far as doing overtly sexual acts or anything,” explains Scarlett. “We embrace the aesthetic, but we’re not into the play, if you like!”
So if you’re heading along – look but don’t touch. Any other advice for those who want something more interesting than Coppers?
“Go all-out crazy with your clothes, get ready to dance and have a good time” says PostModern Sleaze. “Oh, and wear black – a lot of blood tends to go flying… fake blood, I mean!”