Jason says Farewell to the Hypnodrome, then rocks out with a few 80's Power Ballads

Happy Valentine's Day (a few days week later) loyal readers!

Of course, I spent it with my loves. First and most important, my girlfriend.

Second, the Hypnodrome and the Thrillpeddlers. I was there when they opened 13 years ago with Welcome to the Hypnodrome (even before, when they were doing their Shocktoberfest show out of the old Odeon Bar,) and eventually the party had to end. I hate to use the "G" word, but I'm afraid they're being gentrified out of the city. But not until one last hurrah, with an immediacy and intimacy that made it a truly special show. This wasn't an audience coming to watch a show, this was a family celebrating an era while mourning it's end, with all the laughter, tears, singing, and drinking that entails. And it ended with a promise that their currently-in-rehearsal show Amazon Apocalypse will go on...somewhere, somehow. Here's hoping that's not the end.

And then third, I made my way back to the Roxie for Indiefest's traditional Power Ballads Sing-A-Long. More drinking, more singing, more 80s outfits and outrageous hair. But I didn't need a wig, and I got enough head-banging in for it to hurt the next day (Shot Through the Heart always does that to me.) Another beautiful tradition.

Running Time: 60 minutes (approximately how long I stayed for the Power Ballads)
My Total Minutes: 419,067

Jason goes to the Hypnodrome and sees Club Inferno

About 15 years ago, when I read Dante's Inferno (I actually read the entire Divine Comedy) along with the copious notes explaining all the characters, I thought, 'This is pretty cool, but it would be awesome if someone did a modern update with references a modern audience can get.' And now the Thrillpeddlers have done just that, in about the most outrageous way possible, in reviving a play that was written...15 years ago, about the time I read the Inferno! Whoooaaah!

Anyway, this glam-rock musical version is a crazy trip, breezily taking you through all 9 circles courtesy of the Hellavator. Xaron is the guide for knocked-out nightclub singer Dante and her new-found friend Virgil. The dead characters range all over history and pop culture, from Cleopatra to the lesbian couple of Mama Cass and Karen Carpenter (opposites attract?) From Lucrecia Borgia to Joan of Arc to Aimee Semple MacPherson (look it up.) All the time with wild costumes (or...parts of costumes) and comedic songs. All the while they're plagued by Furies and Demons, and like any good Thrillpeddlers show, they get right up into the audience (even to play with one's luxurious hair.) What fun.

And if their publicist hasn't announced it yet, let me get the scoop and tell you all that it's run (which was supposed to end soon) has been extended through September 12th! Awesome!

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.

Jason sees the Thrillpeddlers do PEARLS OVER SHANGHAI at the Hypnodrome

In the interest of time and effort I'll just refer back to when they first performed this back in 2009.

The show is largely the same, but after several Cockettes revivals the statement "The Thrillpeddlers haven't done this much music in their shows before" no longer applies. And it's more fun in a shockbox with a significant other. And the show has been held over through June! Tickets here. Also it's kind of amazing to watch an actor with his cock hanging out still project an undeniable femininity. That's great acting!

Jason goes to the Hypnodrome for Shocktoberfest 2013: Jack the Ripper

Oh yes, sometimes I actually go see live theater instead of movies. And my favorite live theater is with the Thrillpeddlers at the Hypnodrome. I've actually been following the Thrillpeddlers since before they had the Hypnodrome, when they were doing their Grand Guignol show, Shocktoberfest! at the old Odeon Bar. Things have changed quite a bit since then, and the Hypnodrome (especially the shock boxes) really up the game.

Anyway, in the spirit of the original Grand Guignol, Shocktoberfest 2013 was a series of short plays, alternating between sexy farces and blood-curdling terror (with bloody special effects).

First up, A VISIT TO MRS. BIRCH AND THE YOUNG LADIES OF THE ACADEMY (Scene One): Author unknown, from 1888, this...is just a spanking scene. That is, the housekeeper likes to spy on the young girls getting spanked by the headmistress, then the girls catch her and spank her. I guess this was the 1888 version of porn, and it takes a unique sensibility to put it on stage today.

JACK THE RIPPER: Originally written by André de Lorde and Pierre Chaine for the Grand Guignol in 1934, this is the premiere of the new English adaptation by Carl Grose. Based on the legend of Jack the Ripper, we have a city gripped in terror, an unruly prostitute used as bait, and a tale of blood and madness. Great, great stuff.

Then a brief intermission, and on to the second half of the show.

SALOME was a short, funny, sexy, and twisted musical take on Oscar Wilde's play. Very freakin' cool.

And finally, the grand finale with THE WRONG RIPPER: or, HEADLINE NOOSE: or, PAGEANT FOR THE HANDSOME ACCUSED. Now, I have no idea if the newspaper sensationalism aspect of this brand new play is inspired by the theory that Jack himself was the creation of a desperate crime writer. But I can tell you that the media sensationalism is played up quite a bit (in a role by Thrillpeddlers master Russell Blackwood as an editor for the '7th newspaper in San Francisco' (a city of six newspapers.) And I can tell you it's based on the very real case of one Theodore Durrant. The play mixes just the right amount of blood and comedy. From the cat burglar using the fear of the Ripper of San Francisco as cover for his crimes, to the prostitutes who simply refuse to believe handsome Theodore could possibly be a killer, to Moira Von Stepp singing about how she's "In love with a naughty, naughty man" and of course the newspaper editor constantly reminding you that the world is dangerous and the information he provides is all that stands between you certain doom! Pretty excellent stuff, and the lights-out thrills were great. This is actually the first time I've had a Shock Box (with a lady friend) for Shocktoberfest, and the extra features in there were...well, I won't spoil it, but they were pretty damn effective!

Shocktoberfest plays Thu-Sat until November 23rd, get your tickets here. And since I recognized new Thrillpeddler George Epsilanty from his work with Performers Under Stress, that also reminds me that P.U.S.'s new show SCAMORAMALAND is currently playing through Nov. 17th. I haven't seen it yet, but hope to before it closes. And I trust them to do good work.

Jason watches the Thrillpeddlers' TINSEL TARTS IN A HOT COMA

Have I mentioned I love the Thrillpeddlers? Well, I do, and while I got hooked on their Grand Guignol Shocktoberfest shows I also love their absurd, bawdy, and outrageous revivals of the Cockettes musicals. This time they do a bit of a riff on the Cockettes cult fame in SF, their glowing review by Rex Reed, and their disastrous show in New York, where they were mocked for--among other things--cardboard sets. They play well to the crowd here, claiming their show in NY was fine, they just forgot to bring an SF audience, and the audience is everything (as the star of several audiences, I'd like to agree--I am the most important part of the show.)

Anyway, it's a hilarious, musical, cross-country-and-back show about fame, the desire for it, and the trouble with it. And by the end there's quite a bit of glittery nakedness. Quite a show indeed, and a lot of fun if you're into that sort of thing.
 

And it's held over until June 29th. Tickets are available here.

Jason goes to the Hypnodrome to see Shocktoberfest 13: The Bride of Death

The Thrillpeddlers never fail to deliver, and their annual Shocktoberfest show is what started it all. I've proudly been a fan since they were doing their show in the old Odeon bar, and have been delighted to see how they've grown since getting their own space--the fabulous Hypnodrome.

Their Shocktoberfest show is their homage to/recreation of Grand Guignol theater (for more information, check out grandguignol.com, which is also maintained by the Thrillpeddlers.) In recent years they've also delved into the Theater of the Absurd and musicals, recreating some of the old Cockettes musicals. Music found its way into Shocktoberfest last year with their Fear Over Frisco show (in collaboration with Czar of Noir Eddie Muller.) And there are some very clever musical interludes this year, too. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

First up, Coals of Fire, which is the simplest and most serious of the plays in the show. An old, blind wife spends an evening talking to her young female companion. Secrets are revealed, and of course there's a violent end. But it's really all built on just the two women talking, if that didn't work I'd have been bored way before the big payoff.

Next up, the first musical piece, I'm a Mummy. A comical duet of Mr. and Mrs. Mummy singing about...well, being a mummy, and all that goes with it.

And then, The Bride of Death. A newspaperman and his photographer travel to an old mansion wherein lives Evelyn Maxwell. She's the former star of several bloody horror plays (including Coals of Fire, and many titles from previous Shocktoberfest shows) but has been out of the public eye for decades. Now she's making the jump to the silver screen with an adaptation of her most famous role--The Bride of Death. But something is pretty odd in the house. A creepy doctor, a mute servant, a star who hasn't aged a day in 30 years, and strange singing from the hidden corridors in the house. Very well done!


And then an intermission. Time to fill up on a little more beer.


Coming back from intermission we had another musical piece, Those Beautiful Ghouls, all about sexy demonic ladies. Lady Dracula, Lady Werewolf, etc. Nice.

And finally, the climactic play of The Twisted Pair. Two scientists--Earnest McKenzie and his assistant Anthony Lark--are working in the basement of their boarding house. Their trying to discover the secrets of life--it's in the blood after all. So far they've failed (and just learned Watson and Crick made a big breakthrough on DNA.) All they've really accomplished is making a powerful adhesive. That was Lark's invention, but it turns out that contact with the skin can cause powerful hallucinations. Too bad McKenzie has glued his scalpel to his hand so he can work non-stop. A wonderfully psychotic and hilarious descent into madness and murder. All for the sake of fame, because first comes fame, and then comes funding. Yup, that seems to be how science works. And, of course, it all ends with their famous lights-out horror effects.


There are only a handful of shows left. The special Halloween and night-before-Halloween shows are sold out, but they still play Thursday through Saturday for three more weekends. Advanced tickets are here and I'd suggest you buy early because they tend to sell out.

Jason goes to the Hypnodrome to see SHOCKTOBERFEST: FEAR OVER FRISCO

I do love me some Thrillpeddlers! And this year for SHOCKTOBERFEST they've teamed up with the Czar of Noir Eddie Muller for a trio of short plays set in San Francisco (all written by Muller.)

We start with a musical number "Fear Over Frisco" taking us through the various decades of debauchery and death in San Francisco. Lyrics by Eddie Muller, music by Cockette and Thrillpeddler Scrumbly Koldewyn.

The first play is The Grand Inquisitor. I had earlier seen this story in short movie form, but it works even better on stage. An old woman living alone gets an inquisitive visitor. Seems some young woman had bought some old books and found tons of cryptic scribbles in the margins. Turns out the books had been owned by the old woman's husband, and the symbols might just be important clues to a famous old San Francisco mystery.

Then a little musical interlude of Johnny Mercer's "I Remember You" while they changed sets for the next play. That play was An Obvious Explanation, and "I Remember You" is a perfect lead-in, because it centers around a man with amnesia. He has escaped from the hospital with just an address, which turns out to be his own home. His brother is there, with a story of robbery and murder, and an important question--where's the money? This was the comedy show of the night (horror-comedy-horror is the traditional Grand Guignol "Scottish shower") and it was hilarious. And it featured the best surprise of the night.

Then we had about a 20 minute intermission. Time to get another beer before the finale.

Post intermission, we came back to a musical performance of "Pack up You Sins and Go to the Devil" by Irving Berlin.

And finally, the closing play was The Drug, adapted from the 1927 Gran Guignol play "La Drogue" by René Barton. A party at an inspector's house. We learn the details of a troublesome case involving an artist who was blinded by his lover. And we learn just who that spiteful, jealous lover might be. And then we sink into an opium dream, gouge out some eyeballs, and have some scares in the dark. Awesome!

There's one more weekend of this show. I don't know if there are any tickets left, but you can find out at thrillpeddlers.com.

Jason goes to the Hypnodrome to see VICE PALACE

The Thrillpeddlers' are now down to their final weekend of their latest outrageous Cockettes musical, and I'm so glad I managed to make time for it.

Based on Poe's The Masque of the Red Death, but spiked with a huge dose of outrageousness, it's a musical revue that takes place in the mansion of Divina. While a plague sweeps the city (there's blood on the piazza), Divina invites all her beautiful, intelligent, trendy friends to her sealed mansion, where they can ride out the plague in safety. To amuse them, she has a series of colored rooms--yellow, green, white, blue, purple...but not red! There she and her staff put on a series of amusing diversions. One esteemed guest is the famed filmmaker Federico Fellatio. He has a grand dream to film real life, which to him means the plague. So to counteract the seduction of his camera, Divina's diversions get increasingly outrageous, up to sci-fi number "A Crab on Uranus (Means You're Loved)," to "Just a Lonely Little Turd," and Federico's own production of "Flesh Ballet." Oh yes, there's nudity (although maybe not quite as much as some previous shows), but mostly it's about the outrageous, hilarious music, ranging from "No-Nose Nanook" to "Song of Abdul the Camel Trainer" (A dromedary camel has one hump / While a bactrian camel has two)

A hilarious, outrageous night. I'm so glad I caught this while I could. They did tape the performance, so that might be available sometime soon, no promises. But I can say that their Shocktoberfest (#13!) is coming up in a couple of months. They'll be doing Fear Over Frisco, with plays by the Czar of Noir, Eddie Muller! I can't wait!

Jason goes to the Hypnodrome for Shocktoberfest '09: THE TORTURE GARDEN

Last Thursday was the opening night/sorta-preview of the Thrillpeddlers newest Shocktoberfest show (BTW, Shocktober is just about my favorite month, competing only with Scotchtober). This was their first time performing this show in front of a live audience, so there were just a few stumbles and missed lines, but not enough to detract from the fun.

The show consisted of two plays, starting with an original story THE PHANTOM LIMB, set in a New Orleans 'house of ill repute' just after the Civil War. Madame du Charmes runs a house that bears no ill will against either side of the war. The war is now over, and the country (or at least her house) is united under one flag--the flag of money. She's an honest businesswoman, taking money from Confederate and Yankee veterans alike. Sure, she had some trouble back in Kentucky, but that certainly won't come back to haunt her. While she employs a team of whores, their services are not always of a sexual nature. They also tend to the wounded, like using voodoo magic to remove shrapnel or scratching phantom limbs. Really, most of their services involve serving "punch" until the customer is too incapacitated to notice his wallet being lifted. Fun story, good payoff, and a surprisingly powerful dénouement in the form of a song. And now that I know the story, I can go watch it again and just focus on the two whores who are always making out with each other [insert "the south will rise again" joke here]

So then during intermission I got a chance to be guillotined. That was a lot of fun. Officially, my capital crime was "being too fluffy":


I am proud that I was the only one that night with the guts to go into the guillotine facing up so that I could see the blade. But I completely wussed out and closed my eyes when the blade dropped. Gotta try that again. Still it was lotsa fun.

And then the second show was an old Grand Guignol classic from 1922, based on a novel by Octave Mirbeau which was once described as “the most sickening work of art of the nineteenth century” (woo hoo!) It's an example of "Orientalism", an artistic movement in 1920's Paris that depicted the far East as a savage, ruthless land of endless depravity (I could go on about how in my modern, enlightened view I abhor the racism and enjoyed the show more as an artifact of European attitudes of the time than for the story itself. But that would sound like I'm so in love with the smell of my own farts that I've stuck my head up my ass). Instead, I'll just tell you it's a story of a mysterious, dangerous woman, the man she seduces, the Prince Li-Tong he (sorta accidentally) kills, and a garden where the blood of tortured prisoners feeds the most beautiful flowers. Oh yeah, and there's rebellion, politics, intrigue, and death.

And that is that. Shocktoberfest is officially on, and officially awesome. Shocktoberfest plays every Thursday and Friday through Nov. 20th. Oh yeah, and Pearls Over Shanghai has been so popular it plays every Saturday and Sunday through the end of the year!

Jason goes to the Hypnodrome for some PEARLS OVER SHANGHAI

And the Thrillpeddlers have out-outrageoused themselves again. This time by reviving the Cockettes gender-bending comic sex farce set in 1937 China.

There are sailors on leave, innocent singing girls, Chinese gangsters, Chinese peasants, Chinese whores, Russian whores, love-struck millionaires (okay, just one of those), and lording over it all, Mother Fu (Thrillpeddlers fearless leader Russell Blackwood).

There are outrageous costumes (even more than any previous Thrillpeddlers show), drag quuens, innuendo coming out your end-o, sadists, masochists, partial nudity, more-than-partial nudity (warning to any squares--that includes male nudity), lights-out hallucinations, and singing. Oh, so much singing. The Thrillpeddlers haven't done this much music in their shows before. The songs are funny, and they keep everything moving very, very briskly, but you can tell the troupe has practiced acting a lot more than they've practiced singing.

And it's funny. It's hilarious. And even if you've seen everything else the Thrillpeddlers have done before, you haven't seen anything like this. And it even has a moral.

Oh yeah, and this was supposed to be the closing weekend, but the show has been such a hit that their held over until September 20th! So 5 more weeks for all y'all to go out and get some culture.

Jason goes to the Hypnodrome for some AUDACIOUS ARTEFACTS

The Thrillpeddlers are at it again, with their spring revival of Parisian Grand Guignol running until May 2. And this show is actually a bit kinkier than they've done in the past (ooh la la!)

First up was a grade school play based on a 1940's grade school first aid manual and the fact that 4th grade kids were traditionally made to do a skit on first aid at the end of the course. Pretty funny, with a weird obsession on splints.

Next up was PRIVATE ROOM NUMBER 6: A drunk, lecherous Russian General reserves a room in Paris to cavort with a lady of the evening. Too bad his legs don't work when he gets too drunk. Why, he'd have no way to defend himself!

Then there was TICS, or DOING THE DEED, a slapstick sex farce about tics certain gentleman have after...being intimate. Tics like stuttering, or twitching legs. Why, those sorts of tics could easily give away a secret infidelity!

Then intermission, time to drink a few more beers.

THE HEAD HUNTERS was the scary show of the night (part of the hot/cold/hot "Scottish Shower" style of Grand Guignol). An ethnologist is lost in the Amazon. His father and his fiancee search for him, while his guide turns on him. Hope they don't run into the really nasty tribe of natives.

And finally, the night ended with THE DISCIPLINE, based on an anonymous French play from 1788. Two nuns in the convent need to be punished, and the rugged, handsome gardener is just the guy to "discipline" them...with his cock! Yeah, porno plots really haven't changed in over 220 years (and I assume, later).

Jason goes to the Hypnodrome Holiday party and sees "A Junky's Christmas" and "Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny"

So I spent last Sunday afternoon in one of my favorite spots, the Hypnodrome. Despite the light rain, they had the BBQ going and lots of food and drink. I was driving, so I stuck to a couple of glasses of wine and then switched over to soda. But it was cool hanging out with all the great people there.

Then, as the afternoon moved into evening, Dead Channels provided some cinematic entertainment. First up was an excellent short, a claymation version of William S. Burrough's "A Junky's Christmas". The story of a junky let out of lockup on Christmas day, and his wanderings through NY City trying to score a fix. A story of the kind of people who are out at that time, and how for a Junky trying to score, Christmas is any other day, just harder to find a dealer. And a surprisingly sincere ending that might just show the true meaning of Christmas.

And then there was the feature, "Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny". An example (a bad example) of regional cinema, this was made in Florida by Barry Mahon, who specialized in two things--cheap soft-core skin flicks and kid's stories for the "Pirate World" amusement park. Santa Claus gets his sleigh stuck in the sand in Florida, and the reindeer all flew away because it was too hot. Unless he extricates himself, Christmas will be cancelled. Local kids show up and try to help with all sorts of animals--horses, sheep, pigs, a gorilla? Nothing seems to work, and they're about to give up. So Santa tells them the story of Thumbelina (insert Barry Mahon's "Thumbelina") to teach them the power of believing in yourself and never giving up or some such crap. So they run off and find a giant bunny rabbit who drives some sort of fire engine--ish truck. He rescues Santa and Christmas is saved. There's singing, the dialogue all sounds like the adults in the Peanuts cartoons, and there's absolutely no ice cream in this movie. The end.

Oh yeah, and the version we watched actually didn't have "Thumbelina" inserted into the right place, it was tacked on to the end. Hopefully they'll have that fixed for next year, as this will obviously become a tradition. Next year I'll be sure not to drive so I can be completely shit-faced.

Jason has a birthday Shocktoberfest at the Hypnodrome

It's that time of year for the Thrillpeddlers big Grand Guignol show, Shocktoberfest!  And this year, I chose to see it on my birthday (Halloween), with as many of my friends who could make it.  So thank you Cynthia, Ira, Alan, Keith, Gerry, and everyone else there!  

The show runs through Nov 22, and it's a good one.  So all my SF Bay readers, check it out.

For those of you who don't know what Grand Guignol is...go learn about it here.  But, in a nutshell, it was a small theater in Paris, now a style of theater specializing in gory special effects and appealing to the baser instincts of mankind.  A typical evening is a series of short plays, some funny (often sex farces), and some scary (and very bloody).  

Oh yeah, and you can get a beer or wine there to help calm your nerves (or just make everything more fun)

The show started with "A Difficult Passage", a tale of danger and sadism in the frozen Yukon.  A group of Yale chums (Bonesmen both, named Bush and Prescott) are on their way to a mining camp where they're promised office jobs (family connections, of course).  But they've fallen into a hole, they're starving, and they've eaten the last of their sled dogs.  If only a Royal Canadian Mounted Police would save them.  Yes..."save" them....

Next was the comedy "A Slight Tingling" (which I had seen them perform before, but is still funny).  A sci-fi blood comedy based on the single line synopsis "Dr. Verdier has lost his scissors, and brings his last three patients back to try to find them."  Add a little imagination, a little wicked humor, and some magnetism, and a good time is had by all--even the confused transsexual.

Then it was intermission, allowing me to drain a little beer from my bladder, pour a little more beer down my throat, and do one of my favoritest things--help lead a sing-along to "Bohemian Rhapsody" on the player piano.  Woo hoo!

And then they even played Happy Birthday to me on the player piano.

And finally, the last play and the big, scary dramatic finish was "The Kindest Thing".  Set in the French embassy in China during the Boxer Rebellion.  The few remaining soldiers keep watch as cannons fire all about.  The ambassador keeps a brave face for his daughter, as the soldiers whisper about how if things get desperate they should kill her--it'd be the kindest thing, compared to the rumors they've heard of what the Chinese would do to her.  Particularly powerful in the staging is how the scene is facing the audience, implicating us in the horrors they witness.  And it all ends with lights out, glow-in-the-dark scares.  Lots of fun.

And finally, let me just give my congratulations to Thrillpeddler masters Russell Blackwood and James Toczyl on getting married last Saturday!  

And in my one act of political advocacy in this blog for this election season, I want to urge all my California readers to go out and vote No on 8 tomorrow!

Jason goes to the Hypnodrome for some Thrillpeddlers Theater of the Ridiculous

I need to make a resolution--go to the Thrillpeddlers shows before the final weekend, so that I can tell you all how awesome they are while you still have a chance to catch them. Better yet, why don't you all just assume that the Thrillpeddlers will always put on a good show, and you should always see them.

The night started out with one of my favorite things--a sing-along of "Bohemian Rhapsody" on the player piano. Always nice.

Then a little guide to manners for teenage girls, read by a man dressed up as a doll, being whipped by a girl. Cool.

Then the main feature, Charles Busch's "Theodora: She-Bitch of Byzantium", a hilarious combination of drag acts, revenge, and palace intrigue. Theodora is an ex-circus performer (and performer of less wholesome acts) who's climbed up the social ladder to marry Emperor Justinian. However, it's a loveless marriage--because Justinian prefers to stick peacock feathers up the ass of his male slave. Said slave is actually married to his own sister, and they're the children of the previous monarch whom Justinian conquered and killed. While they plot vengeance, Theodora looks for advice from the gypsy queen Fata Morgana. To do so, she sneaks out of the palace dressed as a boy. Fata gives her a love potion, but it backfires causing her (still dressed as a boy) to fall in love with a gypsy man who is plotting to sneak into the palace and murder Justinian. And wacky hijinx ensue, ending in many hilarious deaths. A good time is had by all (maybe even the dead people).

Then a little break, to get more beer.

Then we all enjoyed the musical stylings of dark seductress Jill Tracy, including a song dedicated to the recently discovered Bigfoot called "You Leave Me Cold" (as in, you make me shiver).

Then another sing-along, this time to Oom-pa-pa, which is always a good time (especially if you've got a beer to help you sing along).

And then the second play, "Jack and the Beanstalk". Not the kids story, this is the adult version, where the butcher ends up marrying the cow and Jack ends up marrying the giantess. Yeah, it's ridiculous and perverse, and if you're at Burning Man find it Friday night in center camp (at like, 1:30 am or something).

And then one last Jill Tracy song, ending with lights-out frights.

And that was one hell of a night. As I said, unfortunately their summer run is over. Look for their Shocktoberfest in...I guess Shocktober. And if you're at Burning Man, find the Thrillpeddlers at camp Flaming Sin at 9:30 and Esplanade.

Jason goes to the Hypnodrome and watches "The Legend of God's Gun"

I've really got to get back into the habit of updating this blog more frequently.

Last Wednesday was the grand finale of the Dead Channels "White Hot 'n Warped Wednesdays" summer at the Hypnodrome. And they closed on a good one.

"The Legend of God's Gun" is billed as a"new kind of Western--made by musicians!" And it's new, and very different, but is also steeped in the visual language of so many Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns. Think "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" filtered through some sort of drug haze (sorry, I don't know enough about drugs to guess exactly what the filmmakers were on). It takes place in and around the evilest, god-forsakenest town imaginable--Playa Diablo (Devil's Playa). The sheriff doesn't care that his whore wife is banging his deputy (hell, he barely cares about enforcing the law). A semi-retarded bounty hunter has killed a one-eyed member of the local outlaw gang, and is dragging the body back to town. Meanwhile the outlaw leader and scorpion venom-drinking badass El Sobero is on his way to Playa Diablo for a little revenge. But the biggest slice of vengeance is reserved for the gun-slinging preacher. At least, that's how I remember it. I was pretty drunk, and it was pretty awesome. The end.

Jason goes to the Hypnodrome and sees "The Period"

I've only made it to about half the Dead Channels White Hot 'n Warped Wednesdays at the Hypnodrome this summer. But I saw the trailer to this movie at a previous screening and I've been waiting all month for this.

Sherrie Heiman is having one of those heavy flows. In fact, it's non-stop and projectile. It grosses out her girlfriend, feminist artist Clittoria. She loses her job as a nude model for splattering all over the canvases. Clittoria kicks her out, she's homeless and bleeding all over the city. She runs into Clittoria's agent, and becomes a menstrual artist, taking over the pussy art scene of Kansas City (oh yeah, it's from KC). Then her pussy starts talking in a horrible sexist rant, there's a weird mosaic-faced guy following her, and her "punani tsunami" might just be the fucking fountain of youth (or she's run into a gang of really kinky vampires).

It's full of puns, so of course I loved that. If only it had a little more budget (especially for better sound) this would be a perfect movie. Oh yeah, and I guess there's some debate about whether this is all comedy. Well I laughed, I laughed a lot. In fact, I kinda love this movie. I already have the DVD (available at Amazon, of all places), and now I want to watch it at the same time every month until I'm 50.

Here's the mad genius who made this possible, J. Douglas Smith:

Jason goes to the Hypnodrome and sees "The Room"

Another Dead Channels White Hot n' Warped Wednesday last night. This one featuring Tommy Wiseau's "The Room", billed as either the worst movie ever or so bad it's secretly brilliant.

Oh, but first we had a rousing sing-along of "Bohemian Rhapsody" on the player piano. And apparently I'm so (in)famous for singing along that they brought me up on stage to help lead it. Awesome, now I know I've arrived! But for the record, I also can't sing, so anyone who heard me last night, I'm truly, truly sorry.

Okay, as for the movie, Wiseau himself plays Johnny, the perfect adoring boyfriend who is engaged to Lisa. He's a relatively successful banker and buys Lisa lots of gifts. Problem is, she doesn't love him, and starts an affair with his best friend Mark. Lisa's mother Claudette keeps telling her how great Johnny is and how she can't survive on her own. And there's a weird orphan boy Denny who's always hanging out (his story provides more background on what a great guy Johnny is). Now the problems: the acting is atrocious and the sex scenes are revolting. Nothing happens for the longest time, when it does it's unsatisfying, and Johnny is just too ugly and stupid to be a leading man (and his long hair prevents him from being a believable banker). Thank God there was plenty of beer at the screening. And thank God I didn't pass out on the BART on my way home.

Anyway, this was billed as possibly so bad it's brilliant. And Dead Channels programmer Bruce can comment if he wants to. But the crux of his argument, as best I could understand it, is that it might be intentionally frustrating. It gives the audience nothing to hang on to, it has no sense of time (one day the wedding's a month off, the next minute they're all in tuxedos, then the wedding is still a long way off, but Lisa is throwing a surprise party for Johnny's birthday). But if you watch it all the way through it infects you on a subliminal level (in Bruce's words, "The Videodrome signal is embedded in there"). Maybe, but I kind of hope not. I don't want this crap sticking around in my brain. But I do get a perverse sense of glee knowing I survived "The Room".

Jason goes to the Hypnodrome and sees "Hell's Ground"

Aka "ZIBAHKHANA", the first gore splatter film from Pakistan. Dennis Harvey has an excellent write-up in the SF Bay Guardian.

Dead Channels presents the "White Hot 'N' Warped Wednesdays", every other Wednesday at the Hypnodrome. Last Wednesday was a real treat. As I said above, it's a splatter gore film from Pakistan. Check that, it's the splatter gore film from Pakistan.

As a horror movie, it's all over the place. The gang of road-tripping (and sometimes just plain tripping) teenagers run into not just zombies, or crazy vampires, or a creepy old man, or a burqa-clad mace-wielding psycho--they run into all of the above and more.

If it was just about the story, it would be an effective horror adventure in and of itself. But the fact that it's Pakistani is important for more than just a footnote or trivia. It is in fact an interesting cultural document that shows a Pakistan that's much more complex than what we see on the news. Just showing that Pakistani kids smoke pot, have posters of American movies, speak English, etc. goes a long way towards bridging cultural bonds--not to mention that they made a horror movie with homages to American horror movie classics (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Evil Dead movies, Night of the Living Dead, etc.). Hell, the fact that there are drag queens walking the streets in Islamabad makes me think the world's gonna be okay.

And that was my White Hot 'n Warped Wednesday. In two weeks (July 16th) check out "The Room" and then two weeks after that the menstrual horror-comedy "Period". Check out Dead Channels for more information.

Jason has a Starslyderz experience

At the fabulous and 420-friendly Hypnodrome. Sorry I haven't written in a while, but I've been recuperating from SFIFF (I seemed to get a minor cold as soon as the festival was over). But here's the scoop from the day I skipped SFIFF.

So a movie "experience" is more than just a movie. It's a movie...plus some stuff that makes it an experience. For example, this experience started with an outdoor concert by space aliens from the planet Zoopy and their Zoopy Girls:


Now that was an experience! Then a few beers, and whatever, and we all filed inside for the show. Then a little smoke-shrouded homoerotic interpretive dance space-battle (sorry I couldn't get a good picture of that), and finally the movie started.

As for the movie itself, I don't know what the budget was, but it looked like it was lower than the molten core of the earth--and that's part of the charm. In fact, the non-budget + sex jokes + pot jokes is about 90% of the charm (the rest is mostly taken up with the pun "Gorgon, take me away!") In the year 2420 (dude...I just got that) Starslyderz protect the United Planets of America from evil-doers, like the aforementioned Gorgon. Gorgon has kidnapped the President's daughter, and she's hot so Captain Taylor is on the case like...a horny guy chasing after a hot girl. That is, when he isn't getting high and chasing after other hot girls. And wacky hijinx ensue.

Anyway, I had a great time, but I've got a sneaky suspicion that it doesn't necessarily play as well sober. Sometime I might have to test that. And I can, since I bought the DVD, along with a Starslyderz t-shirt, made from 55% hemp and 45% cotton (in China, Earth). I just have to say, I've never actually worn a hemp t-shirt before, and it's really fucking comfortable! I don't care about your politics or opinions about pot. Legalize it or not, whatever. But everyone should wear a hemp t-shirt at least once in their lives. And you want to know a great place to buy one? http://www.starslyderz.com/merchandise.htm Hey, you can get a DVD there, too!


Update: I forgot to mention that the "Starslyderz" experience was presented by Dead Channels, and it's a warm up for a summer of White Hot Wild Wednesdays (or something like that) at the Hypnodrome. The series starts on June 18th (when sadly, I'll be out of town) with "Socket". They played the trailer before "Starslyderz", and it's something about electricity freaks who grow electrical plugs from their wrists and plug in to each others sockets in the back of the neck. It's for gay pride month.

Oh, and as long as I'm adding to this post, please allow me to compliment the Zoopy girls on their talent and professionalism. It was a pretty chilly night to be wearing so little, so I definitely appreciate the professionalism of the Zoopy girls.