Last-night I went to Stereo on Renfield Lane in Glasgow to watch the Pretty Things Peepshow on the last leg of their UK tour.
I picked up the tickets from a deal on ITISON for a mere £7 each, not because I'm a cheapskate, but because I hasn't actually heard they were coming until I got an email, plus I'm hardly going to turn down a bargain!
Pretty Things Peepshow is an American sideshow act made up from 4 performers (sometimes 5) who have performed a Coney Island and who are now performing all over the world. I had head about then from watching a show that myself and the other half enjoy called Oddities. A show about weird and wonderful items and weird and wonderful people.
The show began a bit late (told should be there from 7.30pm and show would start at 8pm...didn't start till around 8.40pm which was a bit of a pain). Introduction to the show was by the wonderfully moustached (we all know how much I love a good moustache) Donny Vomit. Donny is known as 'the Human Blockhead'. Throughout the show he performed magic, laughs and hammered a nail into his nose! revoltingly amazing! He also juggled using knives and swallowed a sword, which he allowed an innocent audience member to pull from his throat! I don't think I could have done it.
The next act in the show was the gorgeous Go Go Amy. Amy performed a number of wonderful burlesque acts and made me kind of want to get up there and do it myself (if only I didn't have two left feet and the body of a hippo)...a lady can dream. She is also a skilled fire eater which she performed flawlessly.
Another act was Rachel Renegade, also known as Pain proof Princess. Rachel is a performer who, as stated is pain proof Her acts included walking on a staircase of machetes (these were also used to chop up fruit from her bottom by their 'resident strongman known as Charlie Atlas'. Other acts were laying on a bed of nails and swallowing razorblades and regurgitating them back up attached to a piece of floss.
The next act was the special guest La Loco or 'The Freak Exotique'. La Loco was met by the Pretty Things at last years Edinburgh Fringe and invited to join them on some of their shows. La Loco is a male burlesque and variety act whom performed with the best women burlesque acts I have seen...a bit of a shock to my dad when he realised it was a man, but enjoyable all round.
The last and final performer was the 27" tall 'Midget of Mischief' knows a Little Miss Firefly.Little Miss performed burlesque while dancing on broken glass and escaping from a straight jacket, while also 'burlesquing'.
The last and final performance involved Go Go Amy climbing into a box and Donny Vomit shoving in blades which he explained Amy would bend around as she is also a skilled contortionist, but what the audience could not see. The audience was then invited up to have a look in the box, for the fee of no less that £1. This part of the show felt (as described by the other half) as a little bit of a scam, but as rightly described by Donny, and the fact that they are 'Carnies' this is how they make their money. Unfortunately, none of us went to have a look and I'm slightly kicking myself now as I now want to know what was going on!
My only other disappointment was that Heather Holliday wasn't there, but a little Google showed she's busy doing other things at the moment.
All in all a wonderfully amazing show, one of which I have never seen before. Highly recommended and completely worth the money.
I have put some photos below, apologises for the poor quality, I was a little bit away and my camera on my phone decided it didn't want to focus when I was zooming in!
Pretty Things Peepshow (with Heather Holliday).
Donny Vomit
Go Go Amy
Rachel Renegade
La Loco
Little Miss Mischief
