Circus Contraption

Circus Contraption: Mighty In Their Tights

Hey All,

From time to time, I have encountered the trappings of an odd sub (or perhaps even sub-sub) genre of music. It's a sound that distills brassy horns and accordions, saints bone flutes and Klezmer, calliopes and sousaphones. You've heard touches to that which I refer in music from Tom Waits and Oingo Boingo and very recently with The Dresden Dolls. There is something macabre and dirge-like, yet bombastic and celebratory.

Some would call these sounds "circus music" or "circus punk." You know the themes-those brassy, rough and tawdry sounds heard issuing from the Hoochie-Coochie shows, or accompanying acrobats, jugglers, snake charmers, and animal acts.

In the fall of 2004 I attended a very odd and surreal puppet show at the now deceased Empty Space Theater in Seattle, WA. The puppet-play, Frankenoccio, was innovative and took some interesting risks, but ultimately didn't do much for me. What did move me about the performance, however, was the accompanying ensemble; Circus Contraption. At the time, their ensemble was rather small; a stand up base, accordion, and several brass instruments. The musicians are dressed in tattered vintage clothing, smudged face paint, and the occasional faded wig. Throughout the performance of Frankenoccio I was continuously moved and intrigued by the music, how it seemed to capture something older and more mythic yet catered directly to the deep and darkening mood of modern goth and emo rock.

Needless to say, I was very exited to have the opportunity to see Circus Contraption (performing without the distraction of existentially tortured puppets) at the Showbox in Seattle last Friday night.

The crowd was quite large, seemingly peopled with extras from the sets of Cabaret and HBO's Carnivale. I leaned against a rail and watched the colorful creatures in the audience. For all the corsets, top hats, cans and cravats, I wondered how close the impromptu milieu resembled the performance spaces of the Weimar period with all its decadence.

Taking the stage, Circus Contraption, this time around, took on more a burlesque attitude that I had previously encountered. Behind the band hung banners featuring images of grind house girls and burlesque dancers. "Burlesque in Black and Blue," one banner cried.

Throughout the show, as the level of tawdriness increased, I felt this group was more about smut and the bawd, than circus. My viewpoint was heavily validated by Sally Pepper's solo in which she encouraged the audience to sing a long with, "I'm Gonna To Tie You Up, and Do Things To Your Weiner."

I think initially I was disappointed in the change of scope the group took on. As I said, I was very impressed by the eerie and intimate atmosphere Circus Contraption created in the performance of Frankenoccio, so I did not anticipate the expansion of their stage presence to fit the space in the Showbox. I think this simply demonstrates the versatility of this group, and their success in blending circus punk, grande guignol, and burlesque tease-all very transgressive forms of theatre, and not rock and roll, per se.

The set lasted about an hour and featured a barrage of jangling, tormented, and ecstatic musical imagery accompanied by jugglers, some audience participatory spanking, one incredibly talented pole-dancer, and girls in poodle costumes.

I had a blast, Circus Contraption is my kind of theatre and I cannot wait to see them trod the boards again.

According to their literature, Circus Contraption is a non-profit, one-ring traveling circus based in Seattle, WA. You may learn more about them by visiting them on myspace or their website.