Jenna Jameson came to town, and the city turned out to get her autograph.
Well, okay; maybe not the whole city, but the line definitely stretched the full length of the L.A. Convention Center's South Hall, site of this year's Erotica L.A. convention, and the crowds directly in front of the Club Jenna booth (we understand Vivid Video was in there somewhere as well) made the aisles almost impassible.
It's hard to blame them. After all, Jenna's face graces the cover of the official show guide, and while it pains us to imagine anyone taking a Sharpie to those saucy eyes and open mouth, at least fans wouldn't have to buy a photo for her to autograph...
But Jenna was hardly the only sight to see this evening. Also front and center as attendees entered the hall was the Wicked Pictures booth, now sporting posters of its contract stars that seemed, in Hunter Thompson's words, about six times the size of God. Several of the gals were present to sign autographs, including Jessica Drake, resplendent in her white suit and hat, and Stormy in a rather low-cut evening dress.
Though the evening's attendance figures weren't available, and fans were still coming in as we were leaving, AVN officials estimated that this was the largest attendance ever for opening night at Erotica L.A. – and there were plenty of businesses and stars there to greet them, since this year also saw the largest number of booths sold for the convention – more than 260 – and some of them were selling the strangest shit around.
Take Velveteeth, for instance, selling a plastic appliance that slips over one's upper and lower front teeth so as to prevent any accidental nicks while giving blowjobs. And then there was a prototype of a computerized gadget that slips over a man's cock and delivers the sexy impulses generated from a dildo-like device that could be thousands of miles away.
In line with the national fight against obesity, there were at least a dozen candy vendors, featuring all flavors of sugar and/or chocolate molded into the shape of cocks and tits.
But speaking of strange shit, we saw our first stretch Corvette, complete with gull-wing doors, at the convention. And a company named Integrated Innovations had about a dozen vehicles on display, from a classic Caddy to what looked like mutated dune buggies.
And let's not forget the art! The OtisErotica booth was selling original comic art by legendary sexy illustrator Bill Ward, while the X-Art Gallery displayed erotic paintings and videos from a variety of artists.
The usual suspects were pretty much all in attendance. Both Red Light District and the Platinum X conglomerate both had plenty of floor space, as did the Romantix store chain. The Evil Empire, however, fresh from wrapping its Fashionistas 2 shoot, took more modest digs this year, with Tricia Devereaux (Mrs. John Stagliano) holding down the fort almost single-handedly.
Speaking of shooting, we ran into retired performer Lola, who informed us that she'd scored a directorial gig with NaughtyAmerica.com, and will be handling six video series for them.
And speaking of retired performers, Mimi Miyagi has a booth to promote her run for governor of Nevada. She'll be sending in a press release, but among the planks in her platform are legalization of prostitution in Las Vegas and Reno, plus legalizing fully-nude strip clubs. We also saw '80s/'90s star Alicia Rio selling photos and some of her classic video releases, and ran into Anita Cannibal, who says she's back making hardcore features – at least for the summer.
The point is, this year's Erotica L.A. has something for just about everybody with an interest in erotica, so if you're in the area, why not come down and check it out?
Visit www.erotica-la.com for ticket information.
