Get ready for a new breed of circus, coming tonight at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom.
Unlike Cirque du Soleil or the Ringling Brothers, EMerge: Carnival of Shadows is one part rave, one part carnival, and one part performance art showcase, promising to reveal Denver’s most talented and quirky stage acts along with some of Denver’s best DJs. Executive producer Dan Huber of Wicked i Productions is a relative newcomer to the local entertainment scene, but he has big plans for this event, including eventually graduating from a club venue to the big top.
“I’ve been around the rave scene since the ’90s,” Huber said. “And when I moved back here last year I started coming across a lot of amazing performers. Some of these people are really talented and I can see this growing into someplace like the Adams County Fairgrounds and making it a real circus.”
For now, Huber’s rounded up a smorgasbord of circus and club acts. Look for rave dolls, lion tamers, stilt walkers, fire spinners, hula hoopers, contortionists, burlesque dancers, ballerinas, fortune tellers, clowns, dancing cats, juggling bears, roller derby girls and magicians, all led by Deko the Ringleader.
Orange Peel Moses, a local musician, artist and writer, is taking on the role of carnival barker for the show. “I’m going to be on stilts either with my guitar, or dancing, juggling or hula-hooping,” Moses said.
Another high-profile local performer is Miss Easy, who will make her grand entrance by biking through Five Points on a 15-foot-tall tricycle designed at the Burning Man festival. (Hint: Try to be on Welton Street around 11 p.m. to catch the spectacle.)
“She’s a rock star, go-go dancer,” said Moses. “And she has the best costumes. For this, she’ll be dressed as an evil clown with blood spattered all over her body, going all slow on the tricycle down the street. She’s going to get a lot of attention.”
Huber plans to have the performers mix proper stage performances with casual, impromptu crowd interactions, with DJs doing 30-minute sets on stage throughout the night. “My main focus for this event is on the entertainment and dance music,” he said. “I want it to be like the Cirque du Soleil but with music for adults.”
Huber gathered a slew of local talent to spin, intentionally choosing DJs with large followings but widely different styles, from drum & bass to trance and house. “We really wanted to mix genres and get different groups of people together,” he said.
Saturday’s lineup includes more than a dozen DJs on two stages; catch Trajikk, Fury, Kasia Star vs. Onket and more in the “Freak Arena” main stage at Cervantes. Catch Sound Logic, Ty Tek, Matt Orloff and others in the “Hall of Mirrors” next door at sister club Quixotes True Blue.
EMerge: Carnival of Shadows, Saturday at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom and Quixotes, 2637 Welton St., $20, 8 p.m., 18+, Tix at or at the door.
Alluring offer
Hit the Lure Lounge (1434 Blake St.) on a weekend evening and the crowd is likely to be typical of the downtown lounge scene; sparse in the early hours and packed to the hilt by 10 p.m.
But since Lure serves a full food menu, management is hoping to score a denser dinner-hour crowd by using the oldest trick in the book: bribery. Or, in this case, the new “Pleasures” offer on Saturday night; order two entrées off executive chef Jeremy Roosa’s latest menu (or four small plates) and they’ll hook your table up with a complimentary bottle of wine.
Entrées include seared scallops with cappicola ham and truffle oil, and ribeye steak with smoked sea salt and tomato confit, plus plenty of small plate nibbles such as lamb lollipops, tortilla crusted tuna and crab cakes.
The offer is good Saturdays from 8 p.m. to close, and also includes $100 bottles of Stoli for the bottle service set. Just mention “Pleasures” to your server to get the deal.
Kat Valentine writes about nightlife Fridays in 7Days. Reach her at kat@kingproduction.com or call 303-954-1568.
