Boom Boom Club

Wandering through the damp caverns of the Underbelly, decorated with neon crosses and fetish gear, feels a bit like raiding Madonna's crypt. Not that the Boom Boom Club is anything but lively. A night of music, cabaret and burlesque spread across three rooms, there is something for every perversion.

Throughout, there is a cheeky focus on the more unpleasant aspects of sex. The side-show acts, including fire-eating and hula-hooping, combine sex appeal and a fuck-off attitude. Compere Dusty Limits fronts an ever-changing revue of cabaret acts, man-handling the drunk crowd and stripping attractive audience members. The performers lampoon grotesque one night stands, or spray half-chewed food at hecklers, or push the clichés of a beauty pageant to truly nightmarish levels.

Meanwhile in the live jazz club, sweaty people grind against sweaty people, and their sweat pools on the ancient ceiling, only to rain back down on their vile bodies.

All of the amusements are exhilarating, sexy fun. Besides the set acts, there are numerous ‘experiences’, allowing you to talk to a mime or get married in a decidedly uncivil ceremony. The Boom Boom Club needs more of these diversions. It is disappointing to see several alcoves go unused. Between performances you run out of things to do, making the club feel more like a community hall disco than a bordello. The orgy risks become boring.

Your enjoyment of the debauched Boom Boom Club depends on your attitude walking into it. Those willing to lose themselves and swap some fluids will feel at home within its oozing walls.