Jason goes to the Hypnodrome for Shocktoberfest 16: Curse of the Cobra

The Thrillpeddlers' annual Shocktoberfest show is one of my favorite Halloween traditions, even if I didn't get to it until the following Thursday. They always put on a great show.

Cracking the Vein: The show starts with this funny, sexy, murderous story of miners and the prostitutes and whiskey they spend their meager flake on. When they finally hit a big strike, Big John just wants to spend it drinking and fucking, but everyone else--miners and prostitutes alike--has more...forward-thinking schemes. Specifically, schemes to split the loot among fewer people.

We then jumped right into the macabre musical comedy with Donner Party Diner, a hilarious ditty that is just what it sounds like.

The Model House: The next piece was broken into two parts by intermission. After the War, Sarge has gotten into the real estate game, but is still good pals with his unit. In fact, he's looking to impress them at his twins' birthday part, and convince them to buy houses in the new development he's selling. There might be some concern about the fumes, what with this built on the old dump, but he assures them there's nothing to worry about. Heck, he believes in it enough that he's willing to take extraordinary measures to eliminate the crazy old man who's warning people off. that's the first glimpse of his darkness.

Then after intermission, when 10 years have passed (funny, it only felt like 10 minutes) we get a clearer look at his darkness. The years have not been kind, the fumes have not gone away, and he's a real sick fucking bastard who must get his comeuppance. So  I won't spoil it further.

The Revenge of the Son of Cobra Woman: And then the finale is a musical romp, a tender love story between a man and his dog, a voyage to strange, exotic locales, a mystery, a revolution, and a beautifully bloody finale. Awesome.

And, of course, the climactic finale of any Shocktoberfest show is the lights-out scares. I've been coming to their shows every year since they opened the Hypnodrome (and one year before when they did a show at the old Odeon Bar) and even knowing what's coming they usually find a way to surprise me. And this time they sure did. I always love ending my nights with a little scream in the dark.

Jason goes to Shocktoberfest 15: The Bloody Debutante

There are only 654 3 shows left (and one is tonight!) in the Thrillpeddler's bloodiest and best Shocktoberfest yet. And they do tend to sell out have all sold out, so you know, you've been warned. (Although it's always possible for a very few people to show up and be let in if someone who bought tickets in advance shows up.)

Dammit, I need to get better at writing up these reviews faster. On the other hand, they sold out all their shows so it doesn't seem like they need my help. Anyway, on to the show.

The Taxidermist's Revenge: I originally saw this back in 2006 and their Laboratory of Hallucinations Shocktoberfest. A taxidermist who feels his art is unappreciated invites a few high-ranking members of the art elite over for dinner. But first he has to hire a good chemist to assist him with the preparations.

The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether: An original Grand Guignol classic from 1903, based on a Poe story and adapted by Paulo Biscaia Filho (of Vigor Mortis, the Thrillpeddlers' Brazilian friends and colleagues, as well as crowd favorites at Another Hole in the Head. I should take a moment to plug Holehead, it's coming up!) Anyway where was I? Sometimes I feel as if the inmates have taken over the asylum. Oops! Spoiler alert!

Then a brief intermission, where I enjoyed a refreshing beverage.

The Bloody Debutante: The title piece and the highlight of the show. A musical piece of gratuitous gore and debauchery, about a debutante...dressed in Yves Saint Laurent. Her date was a jerk, so she went berserk. The bloooody debutaaaaante! Yeah, she gets gruesome, perverse revenge on a jerk who spilled wine on her dress and then made a period joke about it.

Death Write: And finally, the show was capped off by this humorous two-person scene about writers who argue over credit for their latest work, with escalating deadliness. Hilarious, and of course like all Shocktoberfests it's capped with lights-out terrors!

An awesome night and an awesome show. I say this every time, but I really can't wait to see what the Thrillpeddlers create next.