Horrorcore Heroes

Are you “down with the clown?” Which is to say, are you the slightest bit interested in watching five sugar-crazed Midwesterners don face-paint and rap about axe murder? If so, there’s a really strong chance that this Insane Clown Posse-fronted horrorcore supergroup is already figuring prominently in your busy weekend plans. Formed in 1999 when ICP co-bozos Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler joined forces with several of their Psychopathic Records label-mates, Dark Lotus is sort of like The Traveling Wilburys for the white-mall-punk set; one appeals to Baby Boomers, the other to jobless “juggalos,” but otherwise, eerily the same. The extra bodies are also helpful in the stage-stamina department, because – let’s be honest – Bruce and Utsler aren’t exactly a couple of svelte Kenyan marathoners up there. Non-fans are routinely mystified by horrorcore’s durable appeal, but here’s the thing to remember: It’s all about the love. Maybe these lyrics, from the group’s 2001 single “Juggalo Family,” sum it up best: “Mass murder makes me happyyyyy/Dead bodies make me happyyyyy/Until eternityyy/We’ll always have Juggalo family.” Awww, insane clowns say the sweetest things.
Fri., May 22, 6 p.m., 2009