Bozo Porno Circus: no masks, just good music

This is not the type of carnival you want to take your children to.

After a five-year absence, Texas' very own "Goth" fetish rockers, The Bozo Porno Circus, played live at the Curtain Club on July 24. Bozo Porno Circus (BPC) was joined by other local up-and-coming acts, including the Razorblade Dolls (RBD), Scary Cherry and the Bang Bangs, and Red Pyramid.

The club scene in Dallas, particularly Deep Ellum, has been losing its pulse for quite some time now. It is very nice to see it breathing again with fresh music from these local industrial metal acts. Five years ago I was 18 years old with a dream of being in the music business with acts such as BPC, and now I'm 23 and writing reviews about their shows.

Red Pyramid opened up the show with a short but to-the-point set. They played maybe a five-song set, which was a great tease. These guys had no gimmicks either.

Their music is not tainted by a rap undertone; they don't wear masks or try to scare your parents. They just play good music. They had no trouble capturing an audience that had little or no previous knowledge about them.

The best way I can describe the next act is if you took the Stephen King character Carrie and gave her a role in the Rocky Horror Picture Show. You would then have the music of Scary Cherry and the Bang Bangs. They're in your face; they're loud, a little odd and could probably kill you. However, they would look quite sexy when they do take you out. Their smash-face attitude can be compared to acts such as L7 or Jack off Jill. They had fun antics such as starting a high school cheerleader chant and even did the "Time Warp" from Rocky Horror Picture Show to close out their show.

After Scary Cherry performed, I was in the mood to be covered in blood. Luckily, the Razorblade Dolls were the next act. Last time I saw them they weren't able to perform their signature move of sawing through a fake pig's head and spew blood on to the audience. This time it happened. The RBD's performed to an audience that seems to grow each time I catch them. They carry a true rock 'n' roll persona with them every where they play. They're loud, they [tick] off your parents, and they are a soundtrack to rebellion. I lose myself in the moment when I hear songs such as "They Kill" or "Swindle." I just have to move when they're playing.

Finally, the wait was over. Bozo Porno Circus took the stage and ended their musical coma. Where else can I find men and women in latex suits piercing each other on stage besides at a BPC show? Demonic vocals and hard-ripping guitars were the sounds of the night as stage performers breathed fire and literally sent sparks flying by gyrating power-tools against what I'd call metal bikinis being worn by the performers. The fun just doesn't stop as they act out all of the seven deadly sins on stage. I have plenty of photos from the show that Web sites like MySpace won't allow me to post and would ruin my reputation if I were to post them in the paper.

I left this concert sore, practically deaf, covered in blood but with a smile on my face. You'll have to catch this carnival of desire on your own to understand what I mean.