Sword swallowing, burlesque dancing, fire breathing: It was all that and more on Feb. 28 at the Pretty Things Peepshow.
Held at Fishlips Bar and Grill, the show included the burlesque dancing of Go-Go Amy and Bettina May, the fire-eating, sword-swallowing and science-defying side shows of Donny Vomit and Heather Holliday, as well as a special guest appearance from Bakersfield’s own George “the Giant” McArthur.
Spectators were awed by the feats of the show. “You don’t see this in town, I thought it was really nice,” said Bob Gissel.
Cameron and Joseph Serpa said that their favorite part of the show was, “The knives, definitely.”
Go-Go Amy, founder and curator of the Pretty Things, started doing burlesque shows with Bettina May. After doing a couple of West Coast tours, Amy got a job at a sideshow where she met Vomit and Holliday. “Basically I wanted to do a variety show. Not just a sideshow and not just a burlesque show, I wanted every act to be different.”
In between acts, spectators were humored with the wits of Vomit who said things like, “She makes the old feel young and the old want to feel” and “Are you nervous? You should be, because I’m drunk,” when performing his juggling knives trick.
Touring with Pretty Things in the winter, Vomit has worked in sideshows for five years at Coney Island with Heather Holliday and started hosting small burlesque shows. “I’ve been working sideshow for a while, doing stuff like straight jacket escapes, hammering the nail into my face, more traditional sideshow stuff,” he said.
Fitted with a handlebar mustache, Vomit said, “I started growing it about three years ago. Didn’t start getting real work until I grew out a big stupid mustache. I used to have hair, I used to have a pompadour, a pair of wired glasses, sideburns, got the laser surgery to take care of the eyes, shaved the head, grew out the mustache and started getting work.”
The dances featured hand-made clothes by May and Amy. Cat calls were kept respectful and when one man got out of line, he was quickly shot down by the wit of Vomit.
“The reason we don’t get a lot of people cat calling or leering in a way that’s creepy is, first of all, we usually have a pretty mixed audience of men and women and it’s usually more women than men,” said May. “A lot of people come on dates with their girlfriends or ladies come for a ladies night out.
“People see how we dress and it really reminds them of their grandparents, so no one is going to say anything nasty to someone who reminds them of their grandma,” said May.
At one point in the show, Amy was put into a box while Vomit and Holliday proceeded to shove metal dividers in the box. After all the dividers had been placed, Vomit informed the crowd that it is merely a skill of contortion, and then invites the audience on stage to gander at the twisted, but fully intact, Amy.
“There is no trick in side shows, it’s not magic; everything is completely real,” said Holliday. “Your body is an amazing thing. Your body adapts to anything you put it through. Stretching your ears, a gymnast that does the splits, they can’t do it at first and it’s the same thing with swords.”
Fans were involved in the show as well, to pull a sword from the mouth of Holliday, illuminate a rod held by Vomit merely by standing on a magic box, and drink from a straw placed through the nose and mouth of George the Giant.
“It’s a really interesting show to come to,” said Vomit “It’s good clean adult fun, is what our show is. Everyone that comes has a good time.”