Las Vegas Mixtape v37: Fetish Fever, Standout Steakhouse, and Sparkling Rock Fashion

Track #1: Bondage Ball @Fremont Country Club/Backstage Bar & Billiards

This past Independence Day weekend, you might’ve enjoyed a barbecue at a friend’s house, lounged on a boat at the lake, and watched a dazzling fireworks display.

You could have also expressed your freedom by attending the 24th annual “Bondage Ball” downtown at the reliably adventurous two-venues-in-one Fremont Country Club and Backstage Bar & Billiards. Known as the “largest and longest-running annual one-night, fetish dance event in the world,” this year’s “all-inclusive, body positive” traveling domination-and-submission hoedown also hit Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego. The vibe was peace, love, black leather, and latex—not to mention corsets, horse-head masks, fishnet, and rubber, too.

It was a terrific way to spend my Saturday night, watching revelers live their lives out loud while giving a giant middle finger to repressive thinking. I saw performers being spanked and hung upside down with ropes and chains, while multiple DJs in both rooms spun NIN, New Order, and Frankie Goes To Hollywood. You know you’re truly some place exciting when you Shazam unfamiliar songs and the app tells you “no results found.”

Whip your fantasies into shape here. (Image: courtesy of The Black Room)

After a fashion show where models posed in fetish wear from The Black Room store on East Sahara Ave, the crowd delighted in watching a very tall woman, in skyscraper-high stilettos, lead another woman around on the floor by a leash. Me, I couldn’t help but think about the Tears For Fears song “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” It’s important to note that the crowd impressively respected the privacy of others by (largely) not snapping photos. Remember, when you go out, always “read the room.”