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Saints and Sinners Ball |
Saint's and Sinners Ball
[note: Saints & Sinners is not always at the same venue; this review has been written to be fairly generic and is composite of several different S&Ss]
This appears to be one of the biggest semi-frequent alternative-sexuality events in Melbourne, and it's probably also one of the highest-profile. I'd heard quite a bit about Saints and Sinners, from a variety of people. I try to approach such events with low expectations and a 'lets- just- see- what- happens' attitude, so I was looking forward to it but trying not to get too carried away. On the night, however, I enjoyed myself out of all proportion to my expectations; I had an absolutely awesome time.
The venue was an inner-city nightclub with several levels. Upon arrival, we were directed to a cloakroom to remove excess clothing such as... well, most of it, really. I was planning to wear a PVC top, but it was just too hot so I took it off and just wore the mesh top I had underneath. There were two dance floors, one downstairs playing commercial pop/dance, and one upstairs playing house/dance. A mezzanine level featured a pool table and an area with a lot of bean bags, but oddly I didn't see a television to watch while sitting in the bean bags1. There was a bar on each level.
So why did I have such a good time? Several reasons, and the (slightly average) music wasn't one of them. Firstly, for me, size does matter; the number of people who are into tgirls (while not tiny) is relatively small, so a larger party gives me more opportunities to find playmates. This probably applies to everyone else too; if there are more people at a party, then you've got a better chance of finding someone you click with. Secondly, I like seeing erotic outfits. Some people spend lots of time and effort on their outfit, and I love to see the results. There were some truly amazing outfits and if you like that sort of thing it's probably worth the admission price for that alone. Thirdly, they're tgirl-friendly, which is always nice- soooo many places aren't.
A couple of safety points: firstly, safe-sex supplies are not obvious. What the fuck!? Apparently some are provided, but I couldn't find them. I find this, frankly, appalling. At an event like this I expect to see condoms all over the place, and preferably a safe sex poster or two as well. Contrast this with the hard-to-miss safe-sex message found in many gay saunas and some swingers parties like Party Insatiable or Attunga Parties. The lack of accessible condoms at a fuck party is just ridiculous; it's like handing people a hot barbeque sausage without a piece of bread to put it in- sooner or later, someone's fingers are going to get burnt. If you're going, it's probably best to take your own condoms2, until the organisers fix this inexcusable oversight3.
Secondly, at least two of the venues this party has been at have had really steep metal staircases. That might be something you consider when making footwear selections.
1 Much to my amusement, later in the evening one of the bean bags developed a tear while a couple was shagging on it, and the little white polystyrene balls kept flying out in time to the thusting, like a never-ending orgasm.
2 For those who are interested, I took my standard play-party selection: 2x Durex extended pleasure condoms, 2x Saturn extra-strength, 4x assorted flavoured, and 2x sachets of lube.
3 And before you whinge 'but it adds to the organisers' costs', yes, that's true. Condoms retail for 50 cents each (I assume less in bulk) so if a party has 750 patrons, or say 400 males, each using an average of three condoms that's 1200 condoms. At 50c per condom that's $600, or (at $50 per ticket) about twelve people's entry. I reckon that's probably about 1.5% of the overall budget. You might say that people should take responsibility for their own safety, but the organisers are making a profit from this and I think they have a moral and ethical responsibility to provide a safe environment. You wouldn't buy a car without seat belts, would you?
Last attended: October 2006
Positives: Freakin' awesome... I'm not sure what else I can say. If you're into the swinging scene you really should go to this, even if it's just once to see what it's like. I'm looking forward to the next one.
Negatives: Unfortunately, the lack of a safe-sex message is both obvious and easily fixed.
Web site link here.