Fetish ball proves you can't force trauma

Evolved's annual fetish ball Trauma advertised itself as "Fetish Extravaganza + Freak Show Extreme," but those who attended the festivities Thursday Oct. 26, myself included, only left feeling, well, traumatized.

Columbus area tattoo parlor Evolved (on North High street) helps to host the fetish ball every year in late October, and the event usually boasts an array of activities, performances, contests and merchandise booths, not to mention the colorful cast of people in attendance.

This year, however, something went awry. Whether it was the venue change (the past two years, Trauma was held at Red Zone in downtown Columbus, but this year it was hosted at Fat Eddie's and the Basement in the Promowest compound next to the Lifestyles Communities Pavilion) or some other unknown element, this year's Trauma ball was lacking a certain something.

The lack of space was noticeable, for example.

Red Zone's compound is larger than this year's venue, and even though the number of people in attendance was also somewhat less, conditions were cramped.

Some of those in attendance also seemed to have trouble following the clearly posted signs with the rules for the event.

The most glaring infraction were the attendees who seemed to not be able to read the rule stating, "ASK PERMISSION BEFORE TOUCHING SOMEONE." Since the signs were neither illegible nor in Swahili, there was no reason anyone should have had a hard time reading them, but my rear still got groped by three different people, all unwelcome, before the end of the evening.

The event also seemed poorly organized. Bob Weir and RatDog performed next door to the Fetish Ball, and it would have been hard to get two more different groups of people in almost the same place at the same time. It was a match-up that might have easily been called "Hippies Versus the Freak Show," to steal Trauma's self-styled title.

Some of the performances were also starting to grow stale. "Bondage 101," for example, was presented for the third year in a row, and nothing had changed significantly from previous incarnations.

Newer ideas and panels would have been a welcome change.

The merchandise booths were missing this year, no doubt because of a lack of space, and their absence was certainly felt. The annual costume contest suffered from being crammed onto the small upstairs stage, as well.

Not everything went poorly, though. The usual atmosphere of acceptance and experimentation was in effect, even if some of the participants seemed more interested in ogling all the scantily-clad women than in practicing open-mindedness. Interesting, creative costumes were also in abundance, both on men and women.

Overall, although it wasn't the worst way I could have spent a Thursday night, I was sorely disappointed by this year's Trauma compared to previous years. Hopefully next year will be better.