Enter: The Freak Bar (Sideshow Edition)

While Burlesque dominates the Freak Bar after sundown, there are those who work a "regular 9-5", gracing the stage with their unique talents and uncanny abilities to draw in and play an audience with all the grace and dynamic range of a concert pianist.

The Coney Island Sideshow began in 1985 as "the world's first professional non-profit theatre dedicated to keeping alive the American sideshow."

The 2009 regular lineup consisted of the following outstanding performers I'm happy to now call friends:

Donny Vomit

PHOTO BY LAURE LEBER
I met Donny early on during my own "residency" at the Freak Bar. He's an Oklahoma boy with a voice naturally built for the stage. There are few people who can project and their voice with such controlled velocity sounding neither forced nor irritatingly piercing.

Known as the "Human Blockhead" within the Sideshow Community, he specializes in...well...pounding freaking nails into his head. He's taken the classic act to the next level by utilizing an electric power drill during the act. The audience's gasps of horror and awe as the screaming drill nuzzled its way into Donny's receptive nasal cavity never got old.

Mr. Vomit is a conusment professional in all regards (as well as a super fun dude to hang, drink and BS with). He also blows a mean fireball:

Visit the most excellent 'Vomitorium' blog to keep up to date with his adventures.

Kryssy Kocktail

PHOTO BY LAURE LEBER

Unfortunately I didn't get to hang with Kryssy all that much until later in the summer.....but the ensuing adventures I was a part of made up for it tenfold, ha: Crazy performances at Cha-Cha's with circus co-workers,  an evening in Brooklyn meeting interesting new people that stretched into the wee hours after her guest bartending shift (I think I have may have been dragged onto a stage to play drums while my motor skills were severely lacking), a memorable yet foggy afternoon/evening as a background extra for an episode of 'Bartender Wars' (the prop drinks were most definitely real, haha), and a particular evening at Peggy O'Neils with other sideshow cast where a certain drunken asshole Russian acrobat on the tour learned who NOT to mess with solidified my high opinion of this totally bad-ass chick.

Mediastorm.org produced an excellent short film about Kryssy. Check it out! Family Kocktail

Serpentina

I met Stephanie early on during our stay and it was of no big surprise that the already established trend of quality character and distinctly rad personalities found in everyone I had met continued. Fun times were had just hanging at the Freak Bar with her, Evarts, and her awesome partner-in-crime: Little Butch the dog. Steph had a very commanding stage presence during both her Snake Charming act and while fyring Kryssy in the electric chair. Her eleaborate 'Pinocchio' themed burlesque performance at Cha Cha's near the end of the summer was entertaining, creative, and memorable.

The remaining 3 cast members I unfortunately didn't get to know all that well.

I  spent an awesome evening at a Slipper Room event where I ran into The Black Scorpion who was there with Mr. Vomit (story of that evening shall be shared in a later entry ha) and Mat Fraser. Jason was a quality dude hailling from Austin, TX. I'm not sure if he's coming back again for the '10 season but if so, more hangination is most definitely in order!

Heather Holiday's mesmerizing sword swallowing act affects audience members in different ways depending mainly on age and gender, ha. She's an accomplished sword swallower and fire eater and has no problems at all completely enthralling her audience both on stage and off. I'll hopefully get to hang with her a bit more this coming summer. Heather's website.

Scott Baker is classic sideshow personified. The only time I saw him perform was the night the Sideshow Cast put on a special show for the Boom-A-Ring cast. It was great watching him do his thing....and he did it very well.

There were also some special guest performers that the Sideshow hosted throughout the summer that warrant their own entry. So yeah, more to come.