The second annual Freak Show Festival hit Austin on October 15th, offering a line-up hand-picked by festival founders Clint and Rachel Simmons that was also informed by a Facebook poll of last year’s attendees. Danger*Cakes, Austin’s local Pickled Punks, and horror punkers Calabrese got the party started while people melted in the sun. Koffin Kats returned to the Freak Show for their second year with what I believe was probably the high point of the festival in terms of audience reaction and energy. These guys always know how to give their all to the audience, and we weren’t disappointed. Next, Colleen Duffy of Devil Doll brought her blend of Wanda Jackson-inspired rockabilly to the stage, proving she’s not one to be messed with as she waved a fake pistol around during her rendition of “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).” Finally, Mad Sin graced the stage, having come all the way from Germany for the gig. True psychobilly fans were obviously pleased to have a chance to see this legend of the genre, but it felt like much of the crowd had already dispersed. Nevertheless, the wrecking pit was decent and lead singer Koefte de Ville was in fine form.
Talking to some of the members of Mad Sin the next night, I could tell they were slightly disappointed with the turn-out. This year’s heat wave didn’t help matters, as it seemed the crowd was low on energy and slightly dazed from a long day in the dust and sun. Last year’s performers – The Creepshow, Horrorpops, and Reverend Horton Heat – had more cross-over potential, something necessary given Austin’s fairly small psychobilly/rockabilly scene. But, Mad Sin was the number one choice of last year’s attendees, and a personal favorite of founder and organizer Rachel Simmons. I’m grateful they came to Austin, and wish more people would have come out to support.
The downtown location of last year’s event probably also contributed to the higher turn-out last year; passersby might have been drawn in by the pop-tinged vocals and catchy rhythms of 2010’s acts. The isolated Eastside location this year (4th and Waller) wouldn’t have drawn in casual observers. Wearing high-heeled shoes, I personally preferred last year’s smooth parking lot to this year’s gravelly, unpaved grounds. With practically no places to sit other than the dirt floor, the location wasn’t particularly suited to the female rockabilly/psychobilly contingent. Nevertheless, the founders mentioned that they wanted a venue with more space this year, and plan to use the same spot next time. Think carefully about your shoe choice!
It’s hard to follow in the footsteps of last year’s festival. Well over 2,000 people attended last year, the location was a prime choice, and the more mainstream and/or “pop-a-billy” bands drew a large crowd. Still, I could tell that the organizers put a lot of thought into growing the festival this year. The non-musical and freakshow-esque activities were clearly expanded. The Minor Mishap Marching band paraded through at seemingly random intervals, the Brass Ovaries pole dancers seemed constantly on display, the PURE Cirkus from Seattle entertained guests between musical acts with burlesque, comedic skits, and pyrotechnics, and there was a new act in which a man was suspended in the air by hooks. The organizers clearly want this to be a well-rounded freak show experience, not organized solely around the musical line-up. I asked Rachel how she felt about the new developments: “I was really happy to grow our “non-traditional” performances, like adding the suspension, the marching band and the go-go dancers. I feel like we really provided a larger variety of things to see. SO much more going on [this year] and I was MUCH happier with the layout situation. Organized chaos, that's what I am going for and we really made moves in the right direction this year.”
We’ll have to see how next year’s festival plays out. Rachel hasn’t released the official line-up yet, but she promises that people will be “VERY happy with it.” I’m sure they’ll continue to expand this into a fully weird and demented experience that caters to all the freaks of Austin, not just the rockabillies and psychobillies. Rachel is excited about the future: “We're two years young and moving in the right direction. We're going to get peoples attention. We plan to just keep adding more roaming performers. I'd like to see a ventriloquist added to the show, and maybe some trashy x-rated magic. And you know, I am determined for midgets so we'll see.”
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