Review Boudoir Bizarre, October 20th 2007, Koog aan de Zaan

Goth's and Ghosts

Again Boudoir Bizarre held up the promise. The approaching Halloween turned out to be a fitting theme for this fetish event, 'with a burlesque twist', fully satisfying the 'bizarre' element. We had to do some serious thinking to create this horror theme into our outfits without losing the fetish look, but it's amazing what a couple of spooky contacts and black lipstick will do. This time we were accompagnied by a friend of ours, who once enjoyed a previous edition of Boudoir Bizarre and spontaneously decided to do it again.

The usual picturesque look of the Waakzaamheid Venue had undergone a little change for this occasion. In front we were surprised by a nice and warm tent, posing as an extra wardrobe. Apparently the number of tickets sold made it obvious that the regular wardrobe wouldn't be enough dressing space for all the people attending. No more stressing on a square foot per person. Enough space for a complete fetish-morphoses. So before we knew it we were inside, being handed our welcome shots by the doorbitches. After encountering our first life size Halloween ghost at the entrance we were surprised again by Halloween masks, skeletons, grave stones and all sorts of other items of doom on the walls and ceiling, giving the place a genuine creepy atmosphere.

We arrived kinda early which gave us the chance to see all the other guests enter in their outfits. Warming up, getting a drink at the bar and some dancing  on the great sounds by DJ DistortedBoy. And let me say that this is not the same 'standard' music we hear at most parties, but a very welcome change by his added 'gothic twist'. A great way to get into the mood. In the meantime the place was filling up with all our party friends and we spend a lot of time hugging and chatting, before we found the time to make a trip through the venue. Now we thought we saw all the different spaces on earlier editions of Boudoir Bizarre and it is possible we overlooked the darkest corners before, but this time when we climbed the stairs to the balcony and the playroom behind, we actually found another little stairs leading to a dungeon-like space acting as the darkroom. Not easy to get to though. Even for a darkroom, this was dark! But fortunately we could navigate it by the sounds.

One thing we noticed is that the Boudoir Bizarre organization managed to use every square inch of this venue to the fullest. From the outside it looks like a quaint little building, but inside it's set up with a friendly entrance, a small bar, with stage and lounge in the back, a large ambient main room with podium and bar and a inviting play and dark room. Everything the demanding party crowd could want. We arrived downstairs in time for the first main acts. We watched Princess of Darkness crawl out of her coffin and brutalize herself with a crucifix. The Exorcist-way... Scary!

A little later on our adventuring we found the show by 'Iris et Moi', on the small stage. But... uhh... wasn't that the little latex nun from earlier reviews??? In the setting of a real Halloween Wedding we loved watching the bride and her Master. It was their first official show and they were great. We're looking forward the next. Back to the dance floor getting crazy on the sounds of DJ Allen from Torture Garden, London. As far as we know a first for Holland and a very enjoyable set it was. We actually met him a little later and he turned out to be a really nice guy. Friendly, down to earth and relaxed. As were the remarkably sweet, but somewhat chilly restroom ladies and the friendly bar staff.

A lot of the people had adjusted their outfits to fit the Halloween theme. We saw spooky painted faces, spider webbed outfits, lots of goths, witches with real pointy hats, a Bride of Chucky, and many beautiful fetish getups. The host and hostess did their best as well, both clad in black feathers, they drew a lot of attention.

On the main stage it was yet again time for the next acts. The Vivid Angel slowly unrobed the robes attached to her body with needles, which she -for lack of a better place- stuck through her lip for safe-keeping. These tiny details are hard to see though because of distance and lighting, which did bring out the beautiful decor though. We had to pay close attention to what was going on. Impressive it was however, with two silver figures, caught in a spider web, in black light. Closing the acts this night was the almost once a year traditional suspension act by Dr. Mad and the Flying Dutchman, assisted by Dizzy D. and (Dr.Mads') Popje. Pierced and chained together they dangled high above the stage and with an unexpected musical twist at the end of the show wished us all a 'Happy Halloween'.

In between we saw in 'the Naked and the Dead' act, a beautiful looking scarecrow. This spooked us so much we quickly dived back into the party crowd, so didn't see too much of that act. The party was in highest gear by that time and on all floors everybody was doing their thing. Dancing, lounging, chatting, playing, or getting more serious in the darkroom. In short, it was a great relaxed and at the same time exciting party we enjoyed to the max. The time flew by and before we knew it, it was time to leave. We went looking for our friend who found a strategic spot near the darkroom, where he apparently met a really nice lady. And while we enjoyed the last strawberries that night, he enjoyed the whipped cream that came with it. Think he'll be joining us again next time.

plus:  extra heated wardrobe tent
minus: lighting on stage

tip: a heater for the restroom staff...

Translation: Nico2000