By Hollie Gibbs
Step right up! Step right up, folks, and experience six hours of non-stop entertainment! More than just an event — the acts performed on this stage will dazzle and amaze you! Step inside and prepare yourself for an adventure you won’t soon forget. You’ve seen the 10-in-1s. Now witness — for your entertainment — a 20-in-1 variety show. Twenty acts on one stage, one night for one price.
The fifth annual Sin & Skin variety show will turn heads on the Peabody’s main stage on Sat 8/25, for one night only. See RW MAGIC perform tricks that will leave you scratching your head for days on end. You won’t believe your eyes! Watch Mark Angelo juggle fire! Watch him juggle knives! Watch him play songs on his Roland TD 9 by juggling balls onto the keys!
For $12 — just 2 singles and a 10 — you’ll witness the girls they’re talking about with the act they have to whisper about. All women from top to bottom — burlesque acts Bedlam Bettie, Kitty Blue, Rubber City Bombshells and the lovely ladies of Cleveland Exotic Dance Studio shimmy and shake so hard they just might hurt someone.
All live! All local acts! Come one, come all! What are you waiting for? Aella Rose and the Monster Dolls will wiggle and gyrate as they entice with dances forbidden for centuries. Watch sketch acts by Cleveland Fetish Community, Mistress Natalia, and Red Hot Heathens. And see Jimmy Coffin breathe fire, eat glass, then take a rest on a bed of nails. Between acts, peruse local vendors’ wares and services or get yourself a psychic reading or caricature.
“While focusing on all things local, it has given us a fantastic sense of community,” Jenn Elewski of Infusion Crew said of the annual show. “We highly encourage those that come and have projects and businesses of their own [to] bring their promotional materials and network. We’ve always had local acts, but more and more it’s become a staple. As the event grows, we want to give back to those who have been there since the beginning. We may eventually bring in ONE semi-national to national act per year, but the idea is to give the local talent and businesses added exposure. Bringing in one outside act will only be done when it is beneficial to those already involved.”
The group who first introduced Sin & Skin to the city in August of 2008 consisted of fledgling performers involved with Acid Rain, a club night at the Rock Star above Peabody’s. The club owner had booked a Pittsburgh-based fetish group while Nine Inch Nails was playing nearby. He asked the Acid Rain performers to make a night of it. They performed, along with Eileen’s Playground and Induction at what was dubbed Sin & Skin, the Nine Inch Nails After-Party.
When Acid Rain ended in November of 2008, 12 of its members formed the performing arts group Infusion Crew. They hosted a second Sin & Skin the following August to a crowd that more than doubled the previous year’s. Four years in, the crowd grew to 10 times that of the first year at more than 500. Infusion Crew expects at least that number again this year.
Infusion Crew has teamed up with the Agora Theatre to present to you a show more amazing, more diverse than ever before! You’ve heard your friends talking about it; now see it for yourself.
Elewski said the group seeks new acts every year.
“Different bands in different genres is always a top priority. The same band has yet to play twice and probably won’t. They do return though, to enjoy the event and promote themselves.”
Step inside and hear the bone-chilling sounds of Cult of the Psychic Fetus, the crushing metal of Order 66, and sex and drugs set to music by The Giggitys. Keep in mind, ladies and gentlemen, this is a variety show and not a fetish ball. It is of the utmost importance that those in attendance feel comfortable.
“It is something amazing to see the same crowd mosh to a metal band one minute, then swing to a rockabilly band the next,” Elewski said. “Never once has someone been rude to a performer, nor started a fight. We’ve been blessed with an amazing crowd year after year.”
Don’t be shy! Step inside the fifth annual Sin & Skin variety show on Peabody’s main stage, Sat 8/25. Doors open at 6:00pm. An 18+ event, tickets are $12 with $3 cover charge for those under 21. Advance tickets are available at http://SinAndSkin5.eventbrite.com and on http://TicketWeb.com. For more information, go to their Facebook page.
Hollie Gibbs has a BS in journalism from Kent State University and studied photography at School of the Visual Arts in Manhattan. Her articles and photographs have appeared in numerous local and national publications. She can also be found playing guitar with various bands and building life-size monster props.