I had no idea what I was in for when I showed up to the midnight show at the White Lightning Wherehouse under a full moon last night. I knew this much: Old Scratch was performing along with the amazing, ever-changing lineup of Cirque Stupendo.
I stepped into the Wherehouse to find Old Scratch bathed in green light, making their painted faces seem eerily inhuman. However, the green glow rendered my camera useless without the flash, which blasted the green right out of the shots. Though I’ve seen OSRS many times, last night’s show was a treat with all members of the band plugging in, allowing the perfect conglomeration of voices and instruments to take on a fuller sound through the amps. They always play wonderfully hard, and front man Brooks Strause is the most auditorily pleasing screamer I’ve ever encountered. Like I say after every show, I wished they’d played for hours longer.
They were followed up by the demiurgic displays of Cirque Stupendo.
I have seen the circus perform once before, and was in childlike awe at their G-rated trickery. To the contrary of these expectations, it was like my eyelids were peeled back from my eyes last night as I witnessed suspension, erotic dance, body paint, planned property destruction, phallic attachments on scantily clad men (a welcome alternative to the over exposure of boobs among the general realm of performance) as well as the standard juggling, belly dancing and live music. Sadly, as the show crept into the wee hours of the morning, I crept home and missed the tight rope walking, fire dancing and God knows what else – proof that I should never leave the party early. Here’s what I saw:
just a warning: there are some photos that may not be for everyone.
