Roll up! Roll up! See the show!
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!
...A show 7 years (plus 100, give or take) in the re-making. Or did it ever end?
For those brave enough to venture out, and lost enough to find us, we bring a return to our twisted little theatre of the mind, a place where tortured souls do epic battle with temptation, and some of us are only half there.
TWO NIGHTS ONLY:
October 30 for a full concert & party experience
October 31 for the trick or treaters
Welcome back, my friends, to the rock 'n' roll sideshow.
Sideshow #9, featuring Spiney and the Backbones, first appeared in this location back in 2009. The bizarre show is a remnant, a memory hearkening back to The Carnival of Souls, which strangely popped up again on Halloween 2008 after a mysterious disappearance 100 years before. Stories range from them having been run out of town to even burned to the ground.
The old carnival used to come to town via a railway just up the street from this spot, which was then just a field. Power lines now run along that old railroad right of way, but the ghosts of trains past still roam the landscape, and the Carnival of Souls comes and goes in much the same way.
Read up on Spiney's first appearance: 2009: Spiney & the Backbones
Revisit the original Carnival of Souls: 2008: The Carnival of Souls Presents "It's A Circus"
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| Now we're steppin' into the Twilight Zone... |
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| Treat bag assembly line. Glad we prepped some extras this year. |
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| Somewhat disturbing carni ducks. (Two heads? Seriously?) |
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| Seems friendly enough... |
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| Party gathering before Friday's show. |
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| Spiney's Backbones featured a special appearance by The Sinister Sisters on Friday night. |
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| Roll up! Another new player on Friday, a lady Ringmaster recruiting for the Carnival of Souls. |
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| A Strange Thing? What could it be? |
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| The Strange Thing revealed! (Yeah, we're not sure either.) |
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| Spiney, Ribsy (L) and Skully (R) ready to rock. |
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| Then on Halloween a haunted wagon pulled up. Instant party! Thanks for stopping by! |
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| Aw, Spiney has a soft side. Or at least a creepy teddy bear. |
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| Skully, the drummer, was just bone tired. |
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| The old ticket booth appears again. |
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| Welcome back to our nightmare, and Happy Halloween. |
• Karn Evil #9 - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
• Sideshow - Alice Cooper
• Welcome to My Nightmare - Alice Cooper
• Gimme - Alice Cooper
• No More Mr. Nice Guy - Alice Cooper
• Nothing’s Free - Alice Cooper
• Twilight Zone - Golden Earring
• Unholy War - Alice Cooper
• Cleansed by Fire - Alice Cooper
• Run Down the Devil - Alice Cooper
• Can’t Sleep, Clowns Will Eat Me - Alice Cooper
Freaky Facts: For those curious, Sideshow #9 has nothing to do with order at all, but references the songs "Sideshow" and "Karn Evil #9." Incidentally, the first year Spiney appeared was 2009.
Some may also recall "The Carnival of Souls" is a double reference to a classic horror film and a lyric in Alice Cooper's song "Stolen Prayer" from his "The Last Temptation" concept album. Based on a graphic novel written with Neil Gaiman, this is the story of a young boy tempted by a Showman whose theater, once burned to the ground, mysteriously reappears around Halloween. Several songs in the setlist come from that album.
October 2014 was the 20th anniversary of "The Last Temptation," celebrated by a special Deluxe Edition release.
Not only was Spiney back, but with a fresh new look to the old box. Spiney was now propped up on top of a crate... perhaps even the one it was shipped in on the train. Some other additions included "The Strange Thing," an oddity in an antique stroller we still can't explain, and a new skeletal drummer named Skully (kindly lent us by our pals at Pale Night Productions.)
Some old familiars did, of course, appear, including Yorick the skull and the original Carnival of Souls ticket booth.
For our first night, a new character also appeared before the show, a somewhat sinister Lady Ringmaster seeking souls that might want to participate in Sideshow #9. By this means, we obtained two guest Backbones known as The Sinister Sisters to sit in that night on bass and drums while Skully just hung out. Much thanks to the girls for filling out the band, and a hearty спасибо to their father for loaning them to us, despite much trepidation. (Poor guy is just terrified we're gonna turn his kids into carnies. But, hey, you can trust a randomly appearing Carnival of Souls with your kids, right? Besides, he also happens to work with me in "real life." Keep your friends close, and all that...)
Freaky Fact: Our Sinister Sisters and our primary inspiration, Alice Cooper, all have something in common... They're all PK's. That is, pastors' kids.
Thanks once again to mom for making sure all the kiddies got their treats on Halloween proper. Thank you to all who brought food to share on Friday night. And thanks to our church family for the loan of some canopies, a drum kit and drink dispensers to treat our guests. This was a huge undertaking with plenty of moving parts, so all help and loans were much appreciated.
We were especially excited when an entire haunted wagon stopped by and a whole hoard of people piled out. Instant party! You guys know how to rock! Thanks to everyone for stopping by and enjoying the nights with us. You make it fun.
Oh, and how do you tie in God's story to a wacky rock 'n' roll carnival side show? By showing God as the ultimate Showman, that's how! This was a fun card to put together, and on some attention grabbing, carni-style bright green paper even.
This was also the first year we started using our very own hashtag. Thanks for tagging your shared photos on Facebook and Twitter with #HallowsGarage.
We’re so pleased you managed to find your way to see Spiney and the Backbones at their twisted little rock ‘n’ roll sideshow filled with all manner of strange and amusing distractions, including Spiney itself.
As we wander with our traveling carnival, we’ve noticed life sometimes feels like one distracting sideshow after another. It’s easy to get sidetracked by all variety of things, people, our own selves (you try being half there…), even stuff the devil puts in front of us. And all of it has the potential to distract you from seeing the ultimate thing—God Himself.
What’s impressive, even to a couple of carni hacks who are actually paying attention, is the fact that God truly is the ultimate showman. You can simply look around at creation to see that. He also gave us a glimpse of some of His many miracles throughout the collection of writings we call the Bible. None of our puny little tricks or treats even begin to come close.
Still, the absolute greatest show in Heaven or on Earth has to be the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God in human form, who didn’t show up just to show off. (Though we're perfectly content to watch if He wants to!) Like no one else, Jesus went so far as to live a perfect life exactly the way God says to. He actually died to take the punishment for the times we earned for letting our distractions lead us to ignore God. And then, in a display never to be equaled, He came back to life. Jesus did all that, and far more, for anyone who really believes Him and gets more mesmerized by Him than the stuff of life. And because of who He is and what He did, not even the devil stands a chance. God always wins.
We hope you’ll get caught up in the unrivaled creativity and astounding wonder of who Jesus is. For more thrills and chills, roll up to MiniMinistry.com to read more about Him. We'll even send you a free book or Bible if you like. No carnival games attached. (Kiddies under 18 need to check with the adults first.)
Have a rockin’ end to your 2015 and, of course, a fantastic Halloween.
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Return to the original Carnival of Souls, Spiney’s first appearance & our other haunted memories at hallowsgarage.blogspot.com. #HallowsGarage