Audio By Carbonatix
On a simple wooden outdoor stage, a blond girl in florescent green leopard print tights wildly grinds her hips in a circle.
Industrial dance music buzzes and throbs through the speakers, while a dozen zombies in blood-splattered clothing bob their heads below. There’s a giant, burning halo spinning over the dancer’s head.
At least, that’s what it looks like. It’s really a big hula-hoop with several flames burning all around it, and the blond — a young goth-punk looking girl with a half-shaved head — is whipping it around her body. Her name is Kalei, and she’s one of the entertainers at “Singe,” a flaming new event that takes place at The Firehouse.
The night is the brainchild of local artist Shayne Bohner, who used to
run the “Rave of the Dead” event at now-defunct party house Rasputin’s.
Bohner seems to have a thing for ghoulish sugar skull makeup and glow
sticks, and “Singe” has its share of both, as well as plenty of booze,
boobies, and bizarre fashion. Of course, we couldn’t resist checking it
out this past Friday night.
The Firehouse is the perfect place for a post-apocalyptic party like
Singe — it sits in the heart of central Phoenix, but the backyard’s
surrounded by enough vacant lots that Singe just feels like a big
pop-up party in the desert. A giant UFO welded from metal beams is
perched on the roof.
Apparently, the big summer style for the ladies at Singe is black
electrical tape in X shapes over nipples, along with ripped fishnets
and painfully bright pink or purple hair. Mohawks made a comeback with
the guys; at least four dudes are sporting huge thin spikes that scrape
the tree branches behind the Firehouse, including local DJ Beautiful
John, who greets us, James Bond-style, as we arrive. “Hi, I’m John.
Beautiful John. DJ Beautiful John,” he says.
There’s a zombie theme tonight, and Firehouse proprietor Michael 23
looks glowingly undead. His head’s covered in so much makeup and white
powder there’s a faint cloud around his head when he stands near a
light. The whole scene tonight looks like Mad Max meets Sid & Nancy under the direction of George Romero. With stuff on fire.
The performances at Singe range from Kalei encircled in flaming hula
hoops to fire breathers to traditional fire twirling with poi sticks (which
sometimes looks like someone swinging really long fireball Nunchucks).
At the first Singe event on May 28, there was a
guy wearing a thin coat of combustible gel on his skin who lit himself
on fire and danced. Bravo!
Local DJ Vex (who has spun at *Sadisco events) spins a dark dance mix
that includes a wicked mash-up of The Beatles’ “Come
Together” and Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer”; the music booms down the block
and fills First Street.
By midnight, the backyard is filled with glow stick ninjas, zombie
dancers, and bouncing breasts with X-tape nipples. And the party rages
on.
“Singe” takes place at 8 p.m. every fourth Friday of the month at The
Firehouse, 1015 N. First Street. There’s a $5 suggested donation at the
door. Call 602-300-7575 for more information.
(Dates within this post have been updated.)
