Mardi Gras is supposed to provide people with an outlet to indulge themselves in any manner of sins one last time before the ascetic season of Lent sets in and the serious business of atonement starts. To put it another way, Fat Tuesday is a golden opportunity to “Make a joyous noise unto the lord…” (Psalms 100:1), and on Tuesday, February 8, Beat Circus did just that at Galapagos Art Space in Williamsburg. Joined by a cast of performers that included a yodeling banjo player, a “multi-instrumentalist”, an accordionist and a burlesque dancer; Beat Circus, is an old-fashioned and eccentric mix of sounds and creativity.

Curtis Eller

Looking like he rolled in on one of those giant Victorian, “penny farthing” bicycles, Curtis Eller angrily strums the banjo and yodels his original songs on everything from the Luna Park fire to the current political climate. Sxip Shirey, a “multi-instrumentalist”, follows his act; performing aural portraits of Goth girls he’s known on everything from music boxes to gently tinkling bells. Rounding out the opening acts is Alec K. Redfearn, an accordionist, whose influences include (among other things): “Catholic guilt, clanking, scraping and radio noise.”

The Beat Circus

The Beat Circus itself is not a circus of the three-ring sort, but rather a collection of musicians and instruments designed to evoke the sounds and imagery of a range of time periods from Victorian melancholy to Weimar decadence and beyond. Sawyer (i.e., one who plays the saw as a musical instrument), Leigh Calabrese explains to me that the entire band is made up of members from Providence, Boston and New York and that generally the only time they are all together in one place is on stage. This is surprising considering how cohesive their sound is. While perhaps not for everyone, Beat Circus does bring a certain artistry and exuberance to their performances that’s makes them fun to watch and hear.

Dirty Martini

Dirty Martini’s classic burlesque tops off the bill. Far from your ordinary ecdysiast, Miss Martini boasts the title of “Miss Exotic World” and is practically a professor of the history and technique of tassel twirling arts. For this occasion, she had chosen a fan dance based on the legendary vaudeville dancer’s Sally Rand’s act. Afterwards, she stops to chat with friends and admirers in the audience. She’s so affable and charming, it’s easy to forget she’s holding court in the middle of Galapagos in little more than a feather boa.

Where Galapagos may not have all the decadence and history of Mardi Gras New Orleans, it certainly has taken its first steps toward finding its own unique rhythm.

For more information see:

http://www.galapagosartspace.com

http://www.aleckredfearn.com/

http://www.curtiseller.com/

http://www.beatscience.com/

http://www.missdirtymartini.com/