Northbound Leather’s Scandal
Sat, Oct 25 at The Sound Academy

No. Jian Ghomeshi is not at Northbound Leather’s 18th annual fetish fashion show. And although the name of this year’s event is Scandal, it and the 54 pieces shown on the runway have nothing to do with his termination by the CBC for alleged sexual misconduct. But if Ghomeshi were at this year’s event he might find a partner who is into what he is (and would also learn what consent means), plus he would get some great fashion tips on what to wear while doing it. This is the last year the event, produced by Paul Ciantar and designed by Cheryl Kocot, is being held at The Sound Academy, as the space is scheduled for a major renovation under new owner Charles Khabouth, who recently sold the legendary Guvernment to condo developers. This is probably a good thing as the space is now far too large for the shrinking crowd that still attends. I blame the internet and the rise of camera phones. Even the fetish scene would rather order in whips with a side of chains than go out. Those who do go out are wary of being caught on camera. And even though last year’s theme, iKink, paid homage to online sex, it seems harder than ever to lure the virtual crowd back to the real world. The real scandal is that many of us are still jacked in. We need a modern-day Morpheus (who looks hotter than melting leather in his on-camera fetish wear) to rescue us from our online sexual matrix. But my friend who attends for the first time gets to wrestle and make out with a straight guy while his girlfriend watches. She consented.

Adam & Brennan

Jay, Chris, Blair & Chris

Maurice & Julien

Vincent, Winston & Joe

Runway showgirls

AX Halloween
Sat, Oct 25 at the Courthouse

No. Jian Ghomeshi is not at the AX Halloween costume party at the Courthouse. A week later, though, I do bump into a brown guy carrying a teddy bear that is blindfolded with electrical tape. The bear is meant to represent Ghomeshi’s now infamous stuffed toy, Big Ears Teddy, and he is meant to be Ghomeshi. Yes, Halloween is the time where an ugly real-life episode can become the next hot costume. Tonight, however, inside the Courthouse, the costumed crowd is sporting more politically correct creations, like angels, devils and Pikachus, oh my. And wouldn’t it be an interesting world if we always accepted the sight of Aquaman getting felt up by a slightly overweight Ninja whose moves aren’t so silent on the dancefloor? And though headliner Sofonda could easily pass as Ghomeshi (out of drag), she instead keeps the crowd in a trance performing as a psychotic jack-in-the-box come to choreographed life alongside two killer clown backup dancers. Her makeup is beyond perfect, while the costume (which she made herself) is award-worthy creepy. Add a hot lineup of gyrating go-go dancers working stripper poles to DJ Alex and not one but three other performances by AX Maximus, Daija Vu and the incredible Nikki Chin to tonight’s bill and you’ve got a party that keeps going like an Energizer bunny. Or perhaps a stuffed bear whose ears are too big for its own good.