More on Madison

Saturday night we went to Leather & Lace, a monthly fetish night at Inferno. It was cool to find out what a real fetish night is, as opposed to what they call “fetish nights” around here. The venue was packed with bodies, many of them scantily-clad, some bizarrely-clad, some just plain frightening. The atmosphere was very sensual, with a lot more couples or even triples dancing than at a typical goth night. The music mixed familiar neo-goth standbies like :wumpscut: and Depeche Mode with a lot of more trancey and techno tracks. exthesuccubus had raved to me about the DJs, and she wasn’t kidding: the DJs apparently hail from the techno scene, and for the first time I started to understand DJing as an art form. Which is not to disparage the local DJs; but up till now I had seen it as consisting more or less of playing songs in an order that complements the mood of the room. These DJs did live mixing, breaking, and beatmatching (I think these are the right terms), to construct a solid, never broken cohesive mural of music from beginning to end. My only complaint was that it did. not. let. up. Packed between hundreds of bodies in a long pleather skirt, with what seemed like 20 pounds of metal dangling from me in various places, with an implacable beat to drive me, I was a mass of sweat by the end. What with the music, the grinding, gyrating bodies, the heat, and the very potent drinks, I remember the night as a blurred, bacchanalic frenzy which ended all to quickly. I remember meeting many people, notably tricstmr ; dancing madly, dancing with avivahg, exthesuccubus and at least other girl, usually in threes; being yanked by my harness, only to discover I’d been mistaken for someone else; apologizing profusely for accidentally taking someone’s earing out with my mesh shirt, and wandering dazedly outside when the heat became too intense. There is something to be said for abolishing rational thought for a time and being reduced to flesh, instinct, and emotion. It’s cathartic, if nothing else.

Sunday was packed: had breakfast and hangover-cures (bloody marys) bright and early at noonish at Come Back In. Then we (10 or so of us) wandered around downtown Madison all afternoon, seeing the capital, shopping, taking in part of a public dance exhibition (somehow dancing is supposed to promote peace), and sitting and shooting the breeze in a public park. Sunday evening exthesuccubus and darthcrank treated us to an excellent meal at the Angelic Brewery, washed down with some fabulous beers. Afterwards we went home and watched Bubba Ho-Tep, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and then went back out to the Bluefin for more drinking, dancing, and chatting.

And Monday, of course, was sad farewells and the long trip home, stopping in Detroit this time.

Monday evening I crashed pretty hard emotionally. After four days of constant socialization and partying, it was weird to be alone with just avivahg. I couldn’t just wander around and find someone to talk to late at night. It was sad, but I managed to cope by talking to various people on the phone and online. I also arranged to see friends tonight and tomorrow night, so that will help the withdrawl.

I don’t know what this says about me. I’m shy, quiet, introverted, reclusive; and yet when I’m exposed to people whose company I enjoy, and who enjoy my company for any length of time, I get almost addicted. I get so keyed-up and excited. In the past I’ve found that I eventually need time alone, but I hadn’t hit that point yet, or at least not to the degree that I needed more than a few minutes sitting by myself. It’s been a difficult come-down for me.

Ugh… I haven’t said a quarter of what I set out to say, and I need to get going soon. So, to be continued…