Sideshow Villains to mix music with dance, circus and cabaret acts when it performs Oct. 22 in Chicago

 

By ERIC SCHELKOPF

Chicago band Sideshow Villains believes in giving their fans more of an experience than they would get from your average concert.

Accompanying the band when it performs Oct. 22 at Alhambra Palace, 1240 W. Randolph St. in Chicago, will be dance, circus and cabaret acts. The Deviant Cabaret show starts at 6 p.m. and tickets are available at sideshowvillains.com.

Sideshow Villains recently released the EP "Claws for Breakfast." I had the chance to talk to band leader Dante Ingram about the EP and the upcoming show.

Q – Great talking to you. Of course, your group Sideshow Villains released "Claws for Breakfast" earlier this year. In sitting down to make the EP, what were your goals and do you think you accomplished them? 

 

Several of the songs were started years ago and one of the main goals was just to get them released into the world. I also wanted to create an EP of songs with a cohesive theme – this one being criminality.

 

I think we accomplished that, even if stylistically it is fairly diverse.

 

Q – It seems like the upcoming show at Alhambra Palace will be more of an experience than your average concert. There will be plenty to see and hear. Will this show be a template for upcoming Sideshow Villains concerts?

 

Yes, that is the plan. We would rather do fewer bigger shows than frequent small ones.

 

Some of the musicians I work with are on the West Coast. This is a blueprint of what we could potentially do out there as well.

 

Q – I know that Mark "The Knife" Faje will be part of the show and that you previously have been his assistant in his knife throwing act at a freak show. What made you want to join the Psycho Circus freak show and what did you get out of the experience?

 

I was young and wanted to escape my life at the time so I literally ran away with the circus. Mark and I have been friends since high school, so it was an easy escape route.

 

I had a blast on the road with him; the freak show, and 13 MG – the band we were touring with. Mark and I continued to perform together for almost 10 years.

 

He was generous enough to include me when he was on David Letterman and the Discovery Channel's "More Than Human" show.  

 

Q – Aerial artists will also be part of the show and that is something you have done. What do you enjoy about being an aerialist? How will you be showing off your skills at the Alhambra Palace?

 

Aerial arts are incredibly meditative. Once you have the strength to get yourself up in the air, it isn't an option to think of anything apart from the movement.

 

I love that about it. I'll be performing on silks with my 5' skeleton puppet, Frank. 

 

Q – Do you have any dream projects or collaborations? 

 

Yes! I'd love to expand the skeleton piece in the show and work with a composer to create new music – ideally accordion and strings played live during the act. In a perfect world, I'll be able to perform that and another piece I have in the works in the Chicago International Puppetry Festival in 2025.