LOS ANGELES — Now in its 12th year, the Erotica LA convention is a Los Angeles summertime staple. The three-day event features over 300 erotic-themed booths and attracts over 40,000 consumers who arrive not just for the scores of scantily clad porn stars, pole dancers and fetishists, but to purchase product as well. While some business-to-business interaction takes place, this convention is geared toward the fans.
Erotica is mainstream, especially in Los Angeles, and it's certainly not just for single guys, either. The Los Angeles Convention Center was filled with couples — man and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, girlfriend and girlfriend. Shortly after the show opened, dozens of couples gathered at the stage located in the back of the Convention Center's gargantuan South Hall to participate in the Sexy Vow Renewal Ceremony, as they raised their right hands and solemnly swore to renew their sexiness with their partners.
Friday night was "couples' night" and one of porn's best-known couples is Tera Patrick and Spyder Jonez, who spent much of the evening taking pictures with fans at the Teravision booth in front of a three-story banner promoting the latest Teravision epic, Teradise Island 2. Sasha Grey was also on hand at the Teravision booth to promote her latest, Sasha Grey's Anatomy.
The Teravision banner may have been the biggest thing at the show, but the Wicked Pictures and Jules Jordan Video booths dominated the show's front entrance. It was an interesting juxtaposition with Wicked's high class, stylized features playing simultaneously on dual giant screens situated high above jessica drake, Stormy Daniels, Kaylani Lei and the long line of fans waiting to meet them. Across the aisle on the Jules Jordan Video screens, the best of the today's gonzo stars were talking dirty, bouncing their boobies and doing everything just short of hardcore. Jordan's booth was the trademark Jules Jordan Video Pornitentiary and the inmates included Jenna Haze, Gina Lynn, Trina Michaels, Shyla Stylez and Allie Foster.
Signs all over the convention floor warned fans to "Use your cameras wisely. Flashing is illegal. Anyone who encourages another person to expose themselves will be ejected from this event." Nevertheless, Savannah Gold could barely keep her Porn.com t-shirt covering her ample chest and ended up attracting a sizable crowd around the Porn.com booth.
The Internet was also represented by VoD giant HotMovies.com, with Rebeca Linares as the centerpiece to the company's lounge-esque booth. Across the aisle, the Brazzers.com booth was divided into two "rooms," one promoting its Big Tits at Work website, the other its Big Tits at School — with Nikki Benz signing autographs from a classic high school desk.
Belladonna, too, drew in scores of fans to the Evil Angel booth. In thigh-high stockings, high heels and panties that peeked out from under a half-zipped hoodie vest, she looked as much of a fashion trendsetter as she is a hardcore trendsetter. And at the Rodney Moore booth, Sunny Lane, Whitney Stevens, Kylee Reese and Samantha Sin took turns on the booth's two corner platforms that gave the girls an eagle-eye view of the convention floor.
On the other side of the South Hall, in the "Sensual Zone," creative entrepreneurs hawked a variety of erotic novelties and products. One of porndom's best known male stars, Tommy Gunn, was signing autographs at the Phallitrex booth, in front of a life size poster of himself, to promote the Phallitrex male enhancement pill. Clothing companies with names like Poon-tang's and I "Heart" Vagina sat alongside booths like Timeless Trends where young women were getting fitted for corsets.
And those who walked by ThePussyWhip.com booth were asked if they "want to get pussy whipped" by a young woman brandishing a riding crop-length flog with pre-loaded audio clips in the handle that barked fabulous pussy whipped quotes like "You're so pussy whipped!" "Strippers? You're not going!" and "No football ... let's go shopping for wedding rings!"
As entertaining as the booths were, some of the most engaging entertainment could be found at the main stage in the back of the South Hall. The shows went all evening long and included a female burlesque performance, an all-male dance revue, a pole dancing demonstration, an impressive choreographed dance troupe called Girl Power and the Twisted Cherry lingerie show which featured loads of runway sass and sexy models in barely-there outfits. The stage shows culminated with the Screaming O contest where fans brought out their best "O" faces for gifts and prizes.
As the final hours of Erotica LA's opening night began to wane, the crowd showed little sign of slowing down. One fan put it best on his way out of the hall: "This show is huge."
