upcoming events

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past events

Ongoing: Russian Banya Parties 12.31.14 - The Court of the Snow Queen 10.25.14 - Masquerade Macabre 07.12.14 - The Lost Circus 05.03.14 - Cantina at the End of the Universe 02.15.14 - Meet Me in Paris 12.31.13 - The Bootleggers' Ball 10.26.13 - Masquerade Macabre 08.09-11.13 - G&S 10th Anniversary (First-ever NYC Steampunk Weekend) 10.27.12 - Masquerade Macabre 12.31.12 - Black & White Masked Ball 08.11.12 - The Lost Circus 04.12.12 - The Drowned Ball 02.11.12 - Meet Me in Paris 12.31.11 - The Glitter Ball 10.31.11 - Speakeasy Dollhouse 10.29.11 - Masquerade Macabre 08.21.11 - Black & White & Red All Over Ball (Coilhouse Magazine BDay party) 07.16.11 - The Lost Circus 07.14.11 - Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing 2011 - Swing House 12.31.10 - The Bootleggers' Ball 10.30.10 - Masquerade Macabre 07.31.10 - The Lost Circus 04.24.10 - Swing House 2-Year Anniversary 03.07 & 21.10 - JaNk! 02.14.10 - The Vault of Golden Vapors 12.31.09 - The Bootleggers' Ball 10.31.09 - Masquerade Macabre 07.17.09 - Nouvelle Époque Cabaret-Salon 06.27.09 - Hobos & Mermaids on the High Seas 04.03-05.09 - Luminous Flux NYC - video art weekend 03.15.09 - Swing House 1-Year Anniversary 11.01.08 - Halloween Vintage Masquerade Ball 10.31.08 - Voodoo Culture Clash 2008 - Swing House vintage dance monthly 02.14.08 - Get Off...Line VI: Roaring 20th 08.18.07 - Radiate Fire! 10.31.06 - Halloween Parade Afterparty II: Devils n Dolls 10.31.05 - Halloween Parade Afterparty: Mardi Gras 06.21.05 - Exotica: Tiki Lounge Shindig 02.14.05 - Get Off...Line III: Say Cheese (and Chocolate) 02.14.04 - Get Off...Line II: Code Red

10.27.12: Fourth Annual Masquerade Macabre Halloween Party

Brooklyn Lyceum, 227 4th Ave | Event on Facebook | Twitter: #MasqMacabre

A marvellous and mysterious event...a Halloween celebration of the extravagant and the grotesque...an all-night spectacle of atmosphere, costumery and diverse entertainments...an explosion of live music, dancing, circus arts, fire and late-night revelry, snake-charmed into an absinthe-fueled early-morning speakeasy. Also, Miss Scorpio's Birthday!

The main event takes over two full floors of Brooklyn Lyceum, a creepy and cavernous turn-of-century bathhouse with soaring ceilings and arched windows.

Everyone's favorite brass mayhem makers Hungry March Band; The brass band nobody wants parading down their street: Stumblebum Brass Band; Tuvan-throat-singing-as-dubstep-beats by Liron Peled; Virtuosic human beatboxing by Adam Matta; Bloody Sweeney Todd cello tribute by Valerie Kuehne; Blasphemous burlesque by Lewd Alfred Douglas; Aerial artistry by Lisa Natoli; Scary skeleton dance and stilts by Renata; Haunting visual projections by Sebastian Masuelli.

Two demonic dance floors: DJs Joro Boro, Reaganomics & Friendly Knowledge.

Exciting diversions: Fantastical face & body painting by Painteresse Elyzabeth; Mystifying silver film likenesses produced in front your very eyes by Tsirkus Fotografika; Frighteningly accurate fortunes told by practitioners of the occult arts.

VIP absinthe den, 9:30pm-late: A few blocks' walk from the mayhem at the Lyceum is the G&S loft--2,000sq ft of brick walls and wood floors of classic raw Brooklyn goodness, with a huge roof. Open all night for only VIP-level tickets, it'll be set up as a lush absinthe lounge with comfy seating and low light. Live music: brass kick-off by Hungry March Band and dub shenanigans by Jahfurry. Exotic beats by Myk 2melo (Cumba Mela) and Poodlecannon (Mehanata), plus a brass-led parade to the Lyceum at 11pm for the main event (you get access to both). Absinthe and other mind-altering potions by The House of St Eve (yes, t.h.o.s.e. cocktails...).

*An additional $20 gets you a commemorative Masquerade Macabre hip flask engraved with the monster hybrid Victorian couple from the event flyer.

Costumes required. Inspiration: macabre carnival, aberrations of nature, cabinet of curiosities, dark Victoriana, evil funhouse, steampunk, Jan Svankmaier & Brothers Quay films, Freaks, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Think dark & creepy.

Press: "Late-night absinthe-fueled revelry, with dancing, circus arts, and a Victorian-inspired dress code." - The Village Voice. "Denizens of the night should head to the Masquerade Macabre, put on by baroque party planners Gemini & Scorpio. Down absinthe until the sun rises." - TimeOut New York. "Absinthe-fueled debauchery." - Paper. "Vintage-inspired spectacle." - New York Press. "...collection of artists who revel in all things exotic, sensual and creative." - Examiner.


 

More on our artists:

Wondrous entertainments!

Madcamp brass: Hungry March Band

As if they needed an introduction, Hungry March Band is a 15-piece brass marching band rolling out the sounds of New Orleans, gypsy/roma, India, jazz, latin, klezmer, punk and hip hop. They are a legendary NYC street brass march band, roaring out of Brooklyn in the anarchic style that has become their trademark. Put on your dancing shoes and break out the fancy threads because they've got a party going on - a blazing parade of flesh, blood, steel, brass and wood. "Mardi gras beads swing, saxes buck, trombones extend. There's a cabaret feel, with wigs, goggles, pigtails, spinning bass drum mallets, fedoras; spoons rattle a washboard; there are epaulettes, a hula hoop, marching hats and a frilly red crinoline. The playing is tight and immaculate." - The London Times

Madder brass: Stumblebum Brass Band

Meet the brass band that no one wants parading down their street. Even though they have a deep respect and admiration for the art of both Louis Armstrong and Nirvana, the Stumblebums reject nostalgia in favor of riotous spontaneity. Too punk for guitars and amps, they are known for ambushing innocent subway passengers and crashing bars with their post-apocalyptic Lower East Side punk brass sound. Together the three Stumblebums create a manic wall of musical sleaze, the perfect soundtrack for a night of dirty living. "The Stumblebum Brass Band's gritty, whiskey-soaked songs like "Smokin' and Drinkin'" rile up guests with Mardi Gras verve" - New York Magazine.

Tuvan throat singing: Liron Peled

Liron Peled plays live dubstep with Tuvan throat singing, with strong influences from metal and Middle Eastern music. His sound has been described as 'the soundtrack of the multiverse'. Liron is known as a founding member of world music group Raquy and the Cavemen, and for his work as a performer and composer with artists such as Balkan Beat Box, Sxip Shirey and Omar Faruk Tekbilek. His instrumentation includes a Middle Eastern drum set with double bass pedal and an electric Doumbek, and he sings phrases in English, Hebrew, Tuvan, Arabic and Gibberish.

Virtuoso human beatboxing: Adam Matta

Adam Matta is a beatboxer and vocal performance artist. With an arsenal of vocal instrumentals including brass, beats, vocal scratches/turntablism, and mechanical sound effects, Matta references blues, rock, rap, heavy metal, drum-and-bass, freestyle jazz, and Middle Eastern, sometimes all in the same composition. "His ability to remix his own voice is remarkable, at first singing over a synced beat and then slowing it down, speeding it up, dubbing, scratching, even using the layrngeal equivalent of a wah-wah pedal" - Village Voice. "beatbox maestro" - Wired Magazine; "virtuoso" - Flavorpill; "brilliant...like sonic abstract expressionism" - Ithaca Times.

Bloody cello: Valerie Kuehne

Valerie Kuehne is an electrically charged virtuoso of all purpose cello. Fearlessly unapologetic, her work shamelessly destroys the lines defining genre, mixing performance art with opera, comedy with horror, heavy metal with swan song. Ms. Kuehne has appeared at a myriad of spaces (Carnegie Hall, The Stone, The Wendy Williams Show) and a myriad of international festivals (MPA - Berlin, JazzPeru, Sonic Circuits). She also works as an impresario: her performance series, The Super Coda, has defined and united the experimentally minded in Brooklyn and beyond for 5 years running.

Dub shenanigans: JahFurry

Jeff Newelt aka JahFurry is a performer, producer & promoter renowned for his Fiddler on the Roof-inflected freestyle dancehall reggae vocals. He often duets with rubadub master Ilie-Kochie Banton and guest-appears with allstar ensembles including I&I DrumLink (drummers from Burning Spear, Steel Pulse, Babtunde Olatunji), Clark Gayton's Explorations in Dub and KlezSka (combining members of Skatalites with cats from Klezmatics, etc). He was blessed to have legendary Cedric IM Brooks as a musical mentor. He promoted the seminal RubADub Jazz club night in the mid-90s, and has since been an active promoter and performer in the NYC underground reggae, blues & jazz scenes.

Blasphemous burlesque: Lewd Alfred Douglas

Lewd Alfred Douglas is a music hall hottentot with a taste for the Gay Nineties, the Occult, and Bright Young Things. He is an artist and layabout, and is known to hang about the Baritarian Embassy peddling smut.

Aerial artistry: Lisa Natoli

Lisa Natoli is a Brooklyn-based aerialist and artistic director of Lisa's Bright Ideas, which has presented work at Galapagos Art Space, Gowanus Ballroom, Monkeytown, Cantina Royal, Irondale Theater, and CBGB's Gallery. She has also performed aerials with Constellation Moving Company, Above and Beyond Dance, Emily Power Dance, and General Mischief Dance Theater. Lisa teaches aerial silks and rope at The Skybox and Embody Studios, and has led workshops at Bumpershoot Aerial in St. Louis, Miraas Aerial in Denver, and The Muse, Brooklyn.

Stilts and dance: Renata Bergan

Renata is a multi-faceted performer: dancer, singer, percussionist, stilt walker, fire spinner and actor who takes you on a journey with her riveting theatrics. She is a member of two Brooklyn based dance companies, Desert Sin and Alchemy Dance Theater; a percussionist and singer for the Balkan and Turkish influenced quartet, Sherita; and a chorus member of the New York Arabic Orchestra. She performs frequently at various event throughout New York City. Her other life is as a documentary filmmaker.

Demonic dance floor!

Irresistible ethno-mesh: Joro Boro

Former resident of the legendary Mehanata Bulgarian Bar in New York, Joro-Boro plays and promotes etnoteck - the dirty and uninhibited side of globalization as a forced feed back into a party without borders, a three-day Balkan wedding in a post-national state where noise, bass and desire detonate the conglomerate monoculture. He is a monthly host of MoGlo (Modern Global) on Radio New York, has toured with Balkan Beat Box, and has performed with artists ranging from Bassnectar to Tinariwen.

Exciting eclecticism: DJ Reaganomics

DJ Reaganomics is resident of the famously variety-obsessed Rubulad parties, and never fails to deliver bangers from all over the world: kuduro, juke, batucada, cumbia, bhangra and other examples of regional underground shake appeal.

Mixtape mashup: Friendly Knowledge

Friendly Knowledge's set is part mixtape, part mash up, and part remix all wonderfully and energetically smashed together to create an audio adventure. His sound is sample-based headnod-endusing brain beats. Chill or dance through these emotional escapades of eclectic, eccentric washes. An esoteric music obsessive set to shuffle. This central New Jersey resident is part of an eclectic collective of like-minded various electronica artists, ilkrecordings, which contains: Mussy, Friendly Knowledge, Owl Challenger, Alexcweiner, and Sister Waize.

Slinky exotic rhythms: DJ Poodlecannon [VIP den]

Marc Nasdor (DJ Poodlecannon) grew up in Baltimore but has lived in New York City forever. He has been a resident DJ at Mehanata Bulgarian Bar since 2006, scouring the planet to spin global party music that no one else in their right mind would touch with a 10 ft. pole. He has performed at venues around NYC, and in Baltimore, Budapest, Pécs (Hungary), Mexico City and Mérida (Yucatan).

Exciting diversions!

Fantastical face painting: Painteresse Elyzabeth

Painteresse Elyzabeth will be offering her exquisite freehand Face & Body Artistry. From small sexy embellishments to ornate masks, from tribal to victorian, in black and white or vivid color, with glittery tattoos and special long-lasting phosphorescent Glowing makeup. Dare to become Illuminated...(You can reach the fabulous Elyzabeth at Painteresse*at*yahoo.com)

Silver film magic: Tsirkus Fotografika

RA Friedman's Tsirkus Fotografika is art, fantasy, time travel and alchemical wizardry. Tsirkus reinvents the modern portrait invoking the spirit of the itinerant tintype artists of old while mixing in retro-futurism a la Jules Verne and a bit of Dr. Caligari-esque mystery. It's instant art made on real silver film, an experience of collaborative creation, an encounter with the dark and perilous science of photography, and a chance to swim in the fiery waters of mad genius...All this is topped off by a sitting fee that belongs in the 19th century. "Steampunk Photography!" - Egophobia Magazine, Romania. "Friedman's frozen photos have the look of splashy oxidation - sometimes sexy and wasted, sometimes gloriously wretched, always stately." - Philadelphia City Paper

Terrifying tarot: Marcy Currier

Irrepressible mystic and visionary, Marcy Currier is an intuitive healer skilled in the metaphysical arts. Unphased by the impossible and guided by the Unknown, Marcy's mission is to engage as many people as possible in celebrating life as an endless series of experiments in Truth and adventures in Love.

Haunting visuals: Sebastian Patane Masuelli

Video installation artist Sebastian Patane Masuelli will be heating up pixels, regaling the crowd with VJ sets of eclectic splendor.

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