Last night was the first night of the Rock And Roll Circus at the Big Apple Circus tent in Lincoln Center. The show was free and some of Brooklyn's finest were playing. That combined with the fact that it's a show in a fucking circus tent meant there was no way I was missing it.
I got to the show early because I was worried about getting in. Turns out the tent is gigantic so I had nothing to worry about. After I got in I roamed around for a few minutes and eventually went to grab a beer. There was a sign on the bar that said, "$8 Beer, $12 Mixed Drinks". I'm used to pricey drinks at shows but holy shit man! And the cups were little 12 oz. joints.
Luckily, it was at this point that I checked my email and found out I was on the press list which not only got me backstage and front row seats but also came with free Sixpoint and Belvedere from the VIP bar! Drink in hand I was ready to party!
We entered the back room of the tent which was a big circus ring. There was a huge lit up "Big Apple" sign overlooking the circle with a slide coming down from a platform onto the floor. The show started with a huge drag queen who cracked a few jokes and announced the first band, Electric Tickle Machine. One by one the band members slid down the slide into the circle and took their places.
The tambourine player/hype man of the band was wearing a crazy balloon thing on arms with high waisted leather pants and green shades. I've seen ETM before at a DIY show at Shangri-La in Greenpoint. They were pretty good then but man, they've come a long way. They were fucking amazing last night! Super high energy, amazing songs and a great presence. They even included a cover of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" which was pretty damn good, and it ain't easy covering the Beatles.
After ETM finished up we went back for some more booze and wandered around a bit more. They had all types of booths set up for face-painting and shit like that but no carnival games. I would have dug a few carnival games but it's cool.
We missed the first song or two by So So Glos, they were already playing when we made it back to the circle. They sounded great but the vibe was kinda mellow for an SSG show. They noticed this too and invited everyone onto the floor to dance. At first everyone looked at each other wondering if they were serious and if rushing the floor would be kosher. Then our favorite drummer and good friend, Jamen of Regal Degal, ran out there and, upon seeing one person do it, a stampede followed.
Now there were about 75 kids on the floor dancing and crowd surfing and just having some fun. It was quite a sight with the circus tent and "Big Apple" sign as a back drop. They played about two or three songs with the crowd just going totally apeshit.
Then they announced that they had one more and upon kicking off the last song it got even crazier. Halfway through the last song of the set security rushes the crowd and
